Being Male or Female Locks Us Into Roles - 1195 Words

In most cultures, the term gender is associated with social roles and labor tasks and is usually determined by biological sex. To be male or female is a pre-constructed identity which locks people into roles and behaviors and penalizes deviation (*). If a person identifies themselves as a man, they are expected to perform the role as the strong, independent and hardworking man. If a person identifies themselves as a woman, they are expected to be beautiful, nurturing, passive and dependent on other people. These identities of male and female creates a strong divide between people and produces a hierarchal society. These ideas of masculinity ultimately portray dominance and power over women which further encourages hegemonic masculinity that is already present in contemporary social structures. This idea of masculinity is highly evident in social structures such as education, workplace, military and various forms of media. Through generating these notions of masculinity, it will conti nue to place women in subordination. A part of being masculine is possessing dominance through education. Men need to be educated in order to succeed and exert power over women and do so through the intellectual. Even throughout history, males had full access to education while women were prevented from being educated. For a man to be educated, he is then able to obtain good paying jobs to support his family. The wealthier a man is, the more strength, power and dominance he conveys. AlthoughShow MoreRelatedEssay On Organizing A Team1370 Words   |  6 Pagesthat both me and my sister have perceived at our senior executive retreat. Despite the seclusion of us from the rest of our other team members, we still tried to include ourselves in all their socials whenever possible with our biggest efforts. Me and my sister had each paid $55.36 to attend the retreat, and felt that it was worth the price if the participation could be exchanged for the inclusion of us in the group. I had sugg ested that we should go out and eat because Allison, the VP Internal of theRead MoreWomen s Rights Within The Viking Age924 Words   |  4 Pagesperceived the Viking world as being dominated by men with the majority of studies being concerned with exploring the life and material culture of the male part of the society. There is no denying that archaeology is a discipline which has traditionally been deeply colored by a predominantly male bias, and the historical dominance of men over women had been accepted to such a degree that it appeared to be the natural order of things . Popular imagination was of male Viking warriors with their longRead MoreSex Is A Biological Concept1197 Words   |  5 Pageshow to raise us. Our sex determines what is expected from us in our future roles in society. It defines what basic character traits we are looked upon to exhibit. Society says that sex determines our gender. It is ingrained in our care takers to nurture and raise us according to what ha s been deemed appropriate by our sex. How do we go about developing our biological make-up and forming a gender identity? Two words, gender roles. There are many factors in the development of â€Å"gender roles†. Care takersRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay1208 Words   |  5 PagesGilman. In the story, three characters are introduced, Jane (the narrator), John, and Jennie. The Yellow Wallpaper is an ironic story that takes us inside the mind and emotions of a woman suffering a slow mental breakdown. The narrator begins to think that another woman is creeping around the room behind the wallpaper, attempting to break free, so she locks herself in the room and begins to tear down pieces of the wallpaper to rescue this trapped woman. 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An airline pilot played by Garcia as Michael and his wife Alice portrayed by Ryan are forced to deal with her alcoholism. Within this family it includes that of her two children and the nanny (Lauren Tom). The film offers several hint ing scenes to Alice’sRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice1616 Words   |  7 Pagesno man exists to fill such a role. What remains of the patriarchal authority, particularly the casket trial by which Portia’s future husband must be chosen, is even subverted by Portia’s ability to guide her suitors to a proper or incorrect choice. Her seemingly innate guile and resourcefulness set the stage for her entry into the male arena and the inversion created by her crossdressing (Newman, pp. 26-28). By becoming Balthazar, Portia steps outside of her role and function as a subservientRead MoreGender Issue in Legally Blonde1592 Words   |  7 Pagesmatter where you live, there is the presence of a male dominated world. It especially extends into the working fields. There are professions that are categorically ‘womens jobs like nursing, school teacher, or secretarial jobs. The rest of the professional world is mainly male dominated, i.e. engineering, CEOs of major companies, and Law Firms. Which brings us to the movie I picked to watch, Legally Blonde? In the movie Legally Blonde the male dominance over the legal field is everywhere. ThisRead MoreExamine the Ways in Which Rhys Demonstrates How Women Are Victims of a Patriarchal Society in Wide Sargasso Sea.1605 Words   |  7 Pagestakes into account the complexity of male-female interactions, in an attempt to try to change the ideas of patriarchy and its deep-set gender norms. This attempt to try change the ideas of patriarchy can be seen within the novella when we are not shown what happens with Antoinette and the candle in the closing as it does not show us any achievement to change opinion that she may have achieved through these actions. During the time of the novel, women’s role in society was for them to be submissive;Read MoreComparing The Representation Of Women s The Yellow Wallpaper And Pride And Prejudice 1662 Words   |  7 Pagesextent do you agree with the view that Gilman presents conventional patriarchal expectations of women, more critically than Austen. Both Austen and Gilman breakthrough the conformity of femininity at a time of rising feminism in a bid to encourage the female viewpoint which was put down or rather shunned to be less valuable by the society they lived in. Gilman however presents it in a more peculiar and violent way in making her character fall into sanity to bring across women’s right of voice. One could