Most societies define the roles of men and women based on the social constructs that have been adopted from the individual culture and passed on to other generations. The trend makes individuals from an early age seek to conform to the socially acceptable behaviors to ensure they fit in their societies and cultures. Children from an early age tend to conform to the choices made by their peers such as the games to engage in and the toys to use. They label objects where some are depicted to be for boys and others for girls. Also, one’s sexual orientation i.e. being male or female is used in society to determine the access to resources like education, jobs and property. It implies that the socially constructed beliefs of the roles of men and women lead to the discrimination and exploitation of women.
Thesis
The roles of women and men in society are shaped by gender stereotypes.
Review of Research
In today’s society, the role of men and women are shaped by stereotypical behaviors that have been passed over generations. The experiences of being a man or woman is shaped by societal expectations that are imposed from a very young age and is primarily shaped by the relationships that women develop with men. In most cases, men perceive women in an objectified manner as men are perceived to wield more power and higher status in society in comparison to women. The socially constructed identities and roles of men are shaped by their distance from the female gender and the relative position that society bestows them of dominance (Dresden, Dresden, Ridge & Niwako, 2018).
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According to the social role theory, the stereotypical distribution of gender roles in society emanates from two main dimensions of culture i.e. agency and communion (March & Grieve, 2016). The agency dimension includes the acquisition of traits such as aggression, assertiveness and independence. The communion dimension is associated with traits such as altruism, politeness and a caring attitude. In most societies, men are perceived to be high in agency and low or fail to embrace communion. However, women are perceived to be low in agency and high in communion.
The stability of the gender roles’ stereotypes across most cultures are entrenched due to the over and under representation of either gender in different social roles. Even in societies that are perceived to demonstrate higher levels of gender equality, men are less involved in domestic duties when compared to women. Also, men are disproportionately represented in leadership positions where most of these positions in areas such as the managerial roles in employment and in the political sphere are the preserve of men. It is also evident that men are underrepresented in roles that require care-taking activities like elementary education and nursing. The prevalence of such gendered division of roles enhances the prevalence of gender stereotypes in role subdivisions in society ( Baumeister & Bushman, 2016) .
The entrenchment of gender stereotypes in society has also led to the perception that different skills, abilities and knowledge are crucial in enhancing the ability of an individual to fulfill his or her role in society. For example, kindergarten teachers are required to demonstrate care and compassion to young learners and are required to demonstrate skills like empathy and compassion. However, such communal attributes are perceived to be unnecessary and can even be regarded as detrimental to an individual occupying the position of a military leader.
According to the stereotype content model, the gender differences evident in role distribution in society emanate from societal structures (Kaufman & Bernhardt, 2015). The group stereotypes are cemented through the prevalence of competition versus cooperation and the status differences enforced by culture through beliefs and norms.
Analysis of the Findings
The roles allocated men and women in society are based on the societal expectations and the prevailing attitudes that men and women have been accustomed to since birth. It means there is a direct connection between sex and gender. In every society, gender is used to outline the socially constructed roles and behavior that should be performed by men and women. Every society has attributes that are deemed essential for either men or women. These stereotypes tend to be prescriptive in nature as men are in most cases expected to be tough, courageous and dominant. Women, on the other hand, are expected to demonstrate compassion and have a caring attitude. It demonstrates that gender stereotypes have a phenomenal impact on the goals, behaviors and the self-concept of an individual.
In most societies, girls and boys are supposed to remain observant of the roles being performed by women and men and then fit accordingly. It means the girls and boys have to develop behaviors and attitudes that conform to the stereotypical expectations of their seniors. Also, the gendered expectations are then communicated in subtle and nonverbal ways leading to positive or negative reactions depending on whether the expectations have been met or not. Such subtle forms of communications can be used as a basis of rewards for boys and girls based on their ability to conform to the stereotypical roles of their gender in society. The efforts by the boys and girls to elicit positive reactions from others perpetuate the stereotypical behaviors.
The prevalence of stereotypical beliefs in society based on gender has had significant impacts in areas such as performance and achievement. Parents have persuaded their children to pursue courses that are perceived to align with their gender. The trend has led to the overrepresentation of women in courses such as nursing that require the adoption of compassion and caring attitudes. However, in other careers such as the military, men are overrepresented as the career is perceived to required dominance and aggressive character that are regarded to be the preserve of men.
Conclusion
Individuals across societies are supposed to conform to accepted patterns of behavior based on their gender i.e. either male or female. However, such gender roles are not natural but socially constructed. They are the result of interactions amongst diverse cultural aspects such as politics, geographic location and the prevalent norms and beliefs that have been passed over generations. The trend leads to the programming of men and women into distinct roles that are subtly communicated from an early age through processes of socialization and interaction. The trend has led to the entrenchment of gender stereotypes where women are allocated roles that require soft skills of compassion and care unlike men that are associated with roles that require aggression and dominance. The prevalence of gender stereotypes in society has led to the exclusion of men and women in some roles that can be performed by either gender. Such exclusion has led to the agitation of equality between men and women in society as the gender stereotypes lead to unfairness and discrimination.
References
Baumeister, R. & Bushman, B. (2016). Social psychology and human nature (4 th ed).
New York. Cengage Learning.
Dresden, B., Dresden, A., Ridge, R. & Niwako, Y. (2018). No girls allowed: Women in male-dominated majors experience increased gender harassment and bias. Psychological Reports , 121 (3): 459-474.
Kaufman, G. & Bernhardt, E. (2015). Gender, work and childbearing: Couple analysis of work adjustments after the transition to parenthood. Community, Work & Family , 18 (1): 1-18.
March, E. & Grieve, R. (2016). Social -economic theory and short-term mate preferences: The effects of gender roles and socioeconomic status. Australian Journal of Psychology , 68 (4): 241.
