Brief Summary Aaron Devor discusses the patriarchally-expected gender roles of today’s society. He delves into the discussion of femininity versus masculinity. Society associates femininity with weakness, whilst associating masculinity with greatness. Furthermore, Aaron sheds light on today’s societal gender norms. He explains that men must be seen as the providers, while women are seen as caregivers. He writes that society doesn’t appreciate when people deviate from the norms that they’ve been shown. Women are supposed to be available for men at all times, and men are supposed to always be seen as strong. Devor tells that to be taught how to be “properly gendered” (Devor, 424), one must first establish a gender identity; this is something …show more content…
This should enrage anyone who considers themselves to be female. For example, Devor talks about how women are seen as creatures who always want to avoid confrontation and who are instinctually maternal. Females are just expected to want to have and raise children, appeal to men, and be completely and utterly weak-natured. When they break beyond the boundaries that society has glued them into, they are seen as undesirable and tainted by feministic ideology. Furthermore, society, especially men, seem to have a strong disdain for feminism. There seems to be this notion that if society treats women as equals, the entire world as we know it will cease to exist. Even if that were true and happened, it might not be such an awful thing. It seems that nowadays if a person even says that they are a feminist, they are seen as a misandrist and immediately need apologize for their man-hating ways. In reality, feminism has absolutely nothing to do with misandry; it has everything to do with empowerment and equality for all persons. Everyone deserves to be treated as an equal, regardless of appearance, race, or …show more content…
It’s hard to hear about the way something is without reading or learning about it for one’s self. This paper helps someone do exactly that. Society does have an impact on the way people think, and in some ways they mediate or control what is being thought through their actions. When Aaron said, “As we move through our lives, society demands different gender performances from us and rewards, tolerates, or punishes us differently for conformity to, or digression from, social norms.” (Devor, 424) he was right. People are afraid to stray from what they have been conditioned to think by society. They believe that they aren’t doing anything wrong, because the patriarchy rewards them for acting a certain way. The problem is that just because something is the norm, doesn’t mean that it’s the only right answer or solution. This paper highlights that in specific ways. Humans feel the need to categorize everything, but gender isn’t something that is black and white. There are grey and in-between areas. Sex characteristics do not always define a person’s gender identity. Many people are nonbinary and that’s perfectly okay, just as many people are cisgender and that is fine as well. The best thing about this paper is that it explains that, and that many cultures accept this
It is a popular belief that feminism is supporting females being over males. This is not the case, in fact almost the complete opposite is true. “Feminism is not the belief that one gender should be raised in power above another.” (McAtamney) Instead feminism is a movement advocating for equality between females,males, and transgenders without discriminating. Equality across the world will help reach a more successful and balanced world.
Feminine. This suggests that a clear distinction exists between men and women, one that supersedes biological differences, allows the for division to creep in between them. This understanding of gender cascades into the concept of hegemonic masculinity, a reality in which man “sustains a leading position in social life”
Have you ever realized how society put us in categories, on how we should act according to our gender? Or have you ever watched commercials that actually try to break free from the gender stereotypes? If not then you should pay attention. Gender is something that strongly influences the world around us, whether it influences our behavior or how people treat us, it is still something with great power. Investigating how we are socialized in regards to gender is interesting because it is such a broad topic on how society characterizes everyone by gender.
In today 's world, gender roles are being shattered on a daily basis. Women are supporting their families, becoming involved in STEM field, and proving themselves to be more than just their gender. Similarly, men are becoming stay at home dads, participating in household activities like cooking, and also proving themselves to me more than just their gender. Respect for either gender is growing day by day; however, this isn’t always the case and hasn’t always been the case. As seen in the play Fences written in 1985 by August Wilson and in the painting American Gothic created by Grant Wood in 1930, Gender makes people act in demeaning or conforming ways simply because of it’s implied societal meanings.
Undeniably, women have been subjugated under men’s relentless, patriarchal control in both political and cultural spheres of society throughout history. Attributed to stubborn male social ideologies, patriarchal constructed superiority has advocated and maintained unequal and unfair sex and gender boundaries. According to Thomas Lacqueur, our social gender structures are based on “a continuum, with perfect maleness at one end and imperfect, defective, or defective maleness (what we might call “femaleness”) at the other” (What is Christian, 26). To break these evident, unequal boundaries between men and women Lacqueur suggest manipulating perceived patriarchal ideologies by exploring “sex differences and the gendered characteristics accompanying
A true feminist not only fights for the rights of women, but for men as well. The whole concept of feminism is to create and fight for equality yet we feminist sometimes only fight for ourselves. I feel that in order for me to call myself a feminist, I must first realize that women are not the only victims in this society. Men are expected to be strong just as women are expected to lack that quality both physically and mentally. Our society is constantly pushing the stereotypical expectancy of masculinity and superiority onto young boys as well as men.
We lock our self in a “web of lies” whose main consequence is to keep patriarchy going (549). So many females depend on fathers to do so many big events but need to stop relying on this because women are just as equal to men and play their roles, many mothers have to already. He brings up the different “human qualities” both men and women have (549). Men are entitled to do manly duties and women must do the homework, cooking, and taking care of the children. It should not be like this in my opinion.
Feminism one of the most controversial topics that occur at least once in your average history class or in some cases English class. A topic that is received with sporadic emotions involving lots of qualifying and temperate jabs at some beliefs but still receive an overall laudatory reaction. High school students can be some of the most open minded individuals at times but unfortunately not everyone does, there are individuals that think misandry when feminism is mentioned. Feminism has been subject to vituperative remarks since it first arose but overcame and became one of the most influential movements on society. Current day feminism is accused of an ignominy towards the hatred of men (The Misandry Bubble).
Feminism is more than about women, it is about empowerment and equality. It doesn’t seek female dominance or influence rich verses poor, and it doesn’t see race. Radical’s and different viewpoints alter this definition and give feminism a bad reputation. Most of the issues feminism battels is in the work place and organizations. For example, “Women in the U.S. who work full time, year-round are paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men — and for women of color, the wage gap is even larger,” (National Women’s Law Center).
The barrier between the two genders is not the fault or responsibility of just one gender. The definition of feminism is, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” In the fight for gender equity, we should not put one gender above the other. I would like to believe that I could be a feminist, but people like me are what is holding back the movement. If more people stepped out of their assigned gender role and chose a different path, change can and will happen.
Essay Topic In what way is gender basis a basis for inequality in contemporary society. Start point: interpreting the essay question and key words By asking for ' In what ways ', the question wants me to explain or interpret the proposition of how gender basis is a basis for inequality in contemporary society, by using relevant sociological theories and research.
According to Webster Dictionary, the word ‘feminism’ is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Many people, however, mistake that word for ‘misandry’, which is simply defined as the “hatred of males.” This might be because the word ‘feminism’ is rooted by the word ‘feminine’, which may give the impression of gender bias against men. This is not the case. The act of feminism is an act of equal rights.
If these roles are not followed by the specific gender, society judges the individual and claims that what they are doing is wrong. This book gives countless great examples of the roles that genders are expected to follow; specifically
Society has changed since Margaret Mead has written Sex and Temperament; however, her concept on masculinity and femininity is still something we face to this day. Meads viewed a masculine woman as someone who is more dominant and a feminine man as someone who is gentle and submissive. Today’s generation regard reverse gender roles, which are masculine women and feminine men, as different than normal, but not as drastic as Mead’s perception. People expect the man to be the head of the household and the woman to be the person who takes care of all the household chores. Even though in modern society woman have more freedom and goals than in the past, they are still expected to cook the food, clean the house, and care for the children.
Or at least that is the reason that was given and it might just be a large section of the female population suffering from internalized misogyny after all. Now, there is no doubt that we are far away from that point where men and women will be seen as equals. But that will not happen till it becomes a common knowledge that, while different from each other – Masculinity and Femininity both are two sides of the same coin. But looking back at the human history, we cannot ignore how far our society has come with this particular issue.