INTRODUCTION
As for the present generation, men are viewed as the strong foundation of the smallest unit of our society. They are expected to be alpha, firm and leading. They could not show any sign of weakness because of this gender role strain. Because of the burden of the expectations that men carry on their shoulders, they experience psychological distress that can be manifested in the level of anxiety they feel or even the relationship they have with the people around them.
Because of these constructs, an individual can and may suffer from psychological and emotional distress. The broad-spectrum term for negative emotions that affect a person’s working level is called psychological distress. It can lead to pessimistic approach in every aspect as well as in self. Some of the indicators of psychological distress are melancholy, anxiety, disturbance and other symptoms of mental illness (Williams, 2010).
One reason that may cause the psychological distress of men is gender role conflict. According to Crapser and O’neil (2011), gender role conflict is a mental state wherein the gender role label has a destructive effect on the person as well as to the people around him. It arises when their roles have turned to sexist causing restriction, devaluation or violation of self and or others. Gender role
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One hundred forty-two (142) men assessed their real level of gender-role conflict, their ideal levels of gender-role conflict, and their psychological distress. Results disclosed that both real and ideal gender role conflict were positively correlated. Consistency was also observed in the test results of the sample. This happens when the psychological distress and real and ideal gender role are highly related to each other. This study concluded that Gender Role Conflict Scale is beneficial in determining and understanding conflict and
Overtime, these roles lead to the development of patriarchal society. According to Allan G. Johnson’s article on Patriarchy, “a society is patriarchal to the degree that is male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered ” meaning that it was a system where men were in authority over women which could be considered as a variation within The Takers philosophical supremacy (153). The practice of patriarchy or male dominance benefitted men of all races and class, but in turn, placed women at a disadvantage. With patriarchy, the society became centered on men, which overshadowed women.
This type of message reinforces the idea that men should not express vulnerability or seek help when they need it. While it is important to recognize the impact that societal expectations of masculinity can have on men's mental health, it's also important to acknowledge that not all men feel this pressure to conform. Some men may feel comfortable expressing their emotions and seeking help when they need it and may not feel the same societal pressures to conform to traditional norms of masculinity. Still, it is important to recognize that these societal expectations can have a serious impact on men's mental health. By promoting more positive and healthy models of masculinity, we can help break down the barriers that prevent men from seeking the support they need.
In this article, the journalist Julie Scelfo discusses the causes, symptoms and consequences of under-diagnosed male depression. The author starts by assessing that from the millions of Americans who suffer from depression, very few men seek help. Indeed, men tend to not take care of themselves and therefore often fail to recognize depression symptoms. Another important factor is that many men won’t admit their struggle, seeing the illness and its acceptation as weakness. Influenced by social norms or ideals by which successful men should be positive and in control, some even prefer to kill themselves than to admit they need help.
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.
More often than not, society compels us to behave like genders we are not. For instance, when faced with challenges like finance, family issues and education, women are expected to be exceptionally strong. Likewise, when men are confronted with sensitive issues they are not expected to openly show their emotions like women. Some jobs description requires female
Gender roles play an important role in A Raisin in the Sun. During the time A Raisin in the Sun was written the idea of set in stone positions in a household and society were common. Women were supposed to do house jobs, keep their mouths shut, and support their husbands’ decisions and men were seen as the headman or boss. A Raisin in the Sun shows readers a window into the world where those gender roles have a twist on them. Women in the time of A Raisin in the Sun were supposed to be subservient to men.
Consequently, for many men, their masculinity was undermined as they could not fulfil their obligations as the sole provider or protector feasibly due to the fact they had poor credit or unemployment or even a mental or physical disability. Hence at a more personal level, the adult male became depended on the women of the households, not in the way women were but a psychological dependence on the wife who would not only take care of any domestic chores in the household but
The typical 21st century man shows lots of strength, courage, and honor. In many cases throughout America the man of the family has a job and makes the money while the women of the household takes care of the children all the house chores but each of those roles are definitely vice-versa in many families. Men usually serve as the protector and provider of the families. Men also are very well known not to express emotion unlike their female counterparts. According to (Male Gender Role: http://www.psychologyofmen.org) men are supposed to “be a big wheel” which means to strive for achievement and success, focus on competition.
The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) has been the focus of numerous studies during the past forty years. There has been widespread interest in the concept of gender role orientation and the potential role of masculinity and femininity in the social and psychological lives of men and women. Moreover, the BSRI was an attempt to measure the concepts of masculinity and femininity as unidimensional and orthogonal constructs. Based on this assumption, the construction of the BSRI included a separate Masculine scale and a separate Feminine scale, which Bem (1974) defined on the basis of college students ratings of the desirability of sixty traits in the American society.
Being pressured into conventional roles today is less common than back in the 40’s and 50’s when society had nothing but conforming roles for men and women in society. examples of this come from how men and women were brought up, culture and media. If it were not for these three factors gender roles would be farfetched. But unfortunately, there is still this pressure of gender roles and one way or another everyone has to make the decision of whoever they want to be and live with those roles. In this essay culture, media and how both men and women being raised affect gender roles and socialization.
Life is our stage; we all have a certain role to play, some of us have more roles than others, this doesn’t make them more important, this just means they have more conflicts of strains on the roles they play. Henslin (2015) quoted Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many roles… (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7)” (pg. 103). Each one of these roles has different conflicts, are anything from choosing work over a social event or a friend over a spouse.
1. Have gender roles changed? Explain based on the duties of women and men. Yes, gender roles have extremely changed.
This article, “Gender Development Research in Sex Roles: Historical Trends and Future Directions” was written in a 2011 on NCBI, which points towards how the gender roles are different and how the society views them. This text includes the study of gender development, sex roles and trends over the past 35 years. Today gender roles, especially in the United States, are different from what they were in the past. But there are still many differences in roles of sex in many places around the world where women are considered less than men. They are not allowed to go out without a man going along.
The fact that I am male and my sister is female plays an important part in how we view life. There are certain situations that I will go through as a male that she will not understand and there are certain situations that she will go through as a woman that I will never understand as a male. This is important when it pertains to stress like situations. In the Therapeutic Communications for Health Care, the authors stated concerning stress “It is interesting to note that men and women respond differently to stress. Men often become physically or verbally aggressive, and may also use denial as a defense mechanism.
Gender Equality is the only way forward. What is gender equality? Gender equality is achieved when all genders enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favored.