1. Believe it or not, Gender Roles are Socially Defined
Gender roles are socially defined. This means that that gender roles can come from media or cultural backgrounds. In Mexican immigrant households, all children have responsibilities in the household. Children have to grow up rather quickly and complete adult activities. Girls participate more than boys in tasks that require more responsibility. Boys have to much less work around the house because many of the tasks are seen as only a "woman's job." Cultural factors shape gender roles. Some people think that gender roles are assigned at birth or that gender roles kind of just happen, but they are actually learned. We should move away from gender roles to find out who we really are!
Jr., A. Valenzuela. "Gender Roles and Settlement Activities Among Children and Their Immigrant Families." American Behavioral Scientist http://42.4 (1999): 720-42. Print.
2. Gender and Sex are NOT the same thing
3. Our Day to Day lives are restricted by Gender Roles
According to Judith Lorber's "Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology", there are so many gender roles controlling our lives. She speaks about "gender-marked" areas which are areas in society which define certain gender roles in society today. In sports and media, media is most likely to only cover men's sports and women are portrayed as sexy or fragile. Social practices are transformed into social facts such as in driving, men are always responsible for driving. Women are always seen as passive and men are seen as strong. This applies to all areas of life including work, technology, and restrooms. Society needs to break these roles.
Lorber, J. "BELIEVING IS SEEING: Biology as Ideology." Gender & Society 7.4 (1993): 576. Print.
4. Yes, we can just throw gender roles out the window
In Native American cultures, there is recognition of a 3rd gender. A two-spirit is someone who although is biologically male, they choose to dress as a female and take on tasks performed by women. This two-spirit has a special spiritual connection within the tribe. Although, two spirits cross-dress, they are not considered homosexual or transsexual. This is something that happens in early childhood and is a choice for both females and males. Sexual behavior should be individually based. Many tribes around the world assign roles based on skills or talent. Maybe we should do same, and choose the roles we want and ignore the roles we don't want.
Jacobs, Sue-Ellen, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang. Two-spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997. Print
5. We can't limit ourselves to ONLY two genders
Gender does not have a binary system like sex does. There are more genders than just male and female. Some people are born one way, but choose to act another way that may not match the way that they were born. Not everyone can fit into the mold that is male or into the mold that is female. Gender does not have any system for classifying someone's identity. Transsexual is the only category that describes someone who feels like "they were born in the wrong body". Even with this category, gender is still very hard to categorize and some people don't even fit into the transsexual category.
S., Mallory. "Sex and Gender." 13 Jan. 2015. Lecture.
6. We can’t let gender roles form our identity
The Miao in rural China have always thought that men are the superior gender. Recently, tourism has become an important part of the economy of the rural county of Fenghuang. With more tourism, the labor has changed for women and they are now allowed to have more flexible schedules. Women are now allowed to do whatever they want. Even with this new found freedom, women still think that they should be obedient to men. Therefore, the labor has changed, but women are still going to do whatever the men say. This proves just how much gender roles are socially built. In this culture, women have allowed this ideology form their identity. We shouldn't let gender roles define who we are, let's make sure that we are not limited to what society tells us to do.
Feng, Xianghong. "Women's Work, Men's Work: Gender and Tourism among the Miao in Rural China." Anthropology of Work Review 34.1 (2013): 2-14.
7. Great things come from Debunking gender roles
Life on Wall Street can be described easily: hectic and male dominated. Ever since the 1950s, women can been trying hard to change this idea that only men can rule the scene on Wall Street. After increased efforts to establish themselves on Wall Street, women have actually increased feminism! These women broke the idea that men are the only ones intelligent enough to work in this field. Gender roles are all about how society sees things, but we should debunk this idea and focus on what we think of ourselves. If we can do it, then we shall do it!
Michel, A. "Melissa S. Fisher: Wall Street Women." Administrative Science Quarterly 58.3 (2013): 487-90. Print.
8. Introducing Gender Roles at Home just isn't okay!
9. You wouldn’t want gender roles to stress you out, correct?
Science actually shows us that gender roles are more responsible for sex differences in stress responses. Everyone is always taught that there are sex differences when it comes to health. Increased stress levels can be linked to heart disease and type 1 diabetes. Your body needs a balance between catabolic and anabolic processes if it wants to stay healthy. Today, this balance is offset by the high pace lives everyone lives. Studies have actually shone that biological factors do not affect sex differences in stress levels. We only think there are differences because we are told so. So next time someone tells you that you have a higher risk for heart disease because you are a man, relax and know that is a social fact and not a scientific fact!
Lundberg, Ulf. "Stress Hormones in Health and Illness: The Roles of Work and Gender." Psychoneuroendocrinology 30.10 (2005): 1017-021. Print.
10. Gender roles affect men too people!
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