Outline
A gender roles essay is a type of writing where you are requested by your tutor to define the roles that are specific to both females and males. In your gender roles paper, you should state how the current generation reacts to the set of behavior norms set by our forefathers. When writing an analysis on gender roles topics, you should be able to compare and contrast both generation’s behavior and roles in the society.
As you write topics on gender roles, your primary aim is to be persuasive and draw attention as you provide proof to the era when females didn’t have equal rights to men and how things are today. Before you commence writing your gender roles paper, you should be able to differentiate between gender and sex. Gender means the responsibility that a person plays in a particular society while the word sex defines the biological features of a person.
Introduction
Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society, community or social group that dictates which titles, task, activity, and responsibilities are meant for female and male. In the society that we live today, gender roles are defined as an expected way of how people should act, behave, talk, dress, groom, different color tastes or conduct themselves as per assigned sex. For example, in America pink color was for women while the blue color for a male. The gender roles are mostly instilled in people when young such that even when they grow up, they tend to stick to the characters.
In most cases, character traits for both men and women are expected to be different among the eyes of the society. For example, women and girls are expected to dress in a specific manner that portrays their feminism. Politeness, nurturing, and kind nature is character traits that are attributed to them, while men are expected to be bold, aggressive, energetic and the leading provider of the family.
In society, men are said to be weak if they show their emotional feelings openly especially when women and girls are present. Even after losing a loved one, men and boys are not supposed to cry but instead should hold their tears and proof to be strong during the tough situation.
Gender Stereotypes
A stereotype is a broad accepted bias or judgment about a group or a person. When it comes to gender roles, stereotyping cause unequal treatment. There four kinds of gender stereotypes found in diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Physical Appearance – In most cases, society expects women to have small bodies and be peaceful, while men are expected to have a large and muscular physique. In a community, there is a suitable mode of dressing for both men and women where a man is supposed to wear trousers and cut the hair short and women wearing dresses and make-up.
Domestic Behavior – Mostly, a man is expected to cater for the home bills financially, repair falling fences, taking the car to the garage, while the woman is likely to cook for the family, clean, and take care of the children.
Occupation – The society expects men to hold positions that are perceived to be hard and challenging like being a doctor, engineer, masons, pilots, while women are supposed to be teachers, nurses.
Personality Traits – for example in society, men are expected to be aggressive and have self-confidence, and women to be emotional and accommodating.
In various communities, gender roles planning dictates that women who have low income have more roles to handle in the society, unlike men whose role are primarily not much.
Types of Gender Roles
Productive Roles – Productive roles is the work done by both women and men for pay. The production includes substances produced for either to take to market or for domestic consumption. In the agricultural production area, women work tends to be independent farmers, wage workers, or peasant wives.
Community Politics Roles – Various gender roles activities undertaken by men in the community level include organizing national political frameworks in the area they are living. Men are usually paid for the work either through wages and salaries or through the status of power.
Reproductive Roles – women in different communities do children bearing and nurturing together with other domestic responsibilities. As part of their gender roles, women are expected to guarantee the maintenance and reproduction of the labor force. Other than biological reproduction, the society depends on women to maintain and take care of the workforce within the family and the entire community.
Community Managing Roles – Community managing roles are activities that the society delegates primarily to women at the community level. The functions include the provision and maintenance of scarce resources meant for consumption within the family set up like water, health care, and education. Women are not paid for the work since the tasks are done during free time voluntarily.
Multiple Roles – both women and men play various roles in society. However, the main difference between the functions is that men tend to perform their tasks sequentially. Naturally, since men do not multitask, they focus and put their mind on a single reproductive role each at a time. Women can be able to do multiple tasks simultaneously with ease. They can balance the demands of each job within a short period.
With time, gender roles are changing in multiple cultures and countries. In America, you will find that the main discussion on gender roles is on how to handle an evolution where initially a family used to rely on a single source of income which mostly was coming from the man. Currently, families have multiple incomes from both the man and the woman which means even other roles that were expected for women should be discussed before things fall apart.
Conclusion
When writing a gender role essay, your thesis statement should echo your perception about what gender role is, and should be supported in the body using relevant ideas that help distinguish the roles of both men and women in the society. Each individual essay on gender roles will have varying ideology depending on how you view the society, and you should seek to make yours as persuasive and informative as possible. In today’s society, gender roles are changing in different cultures as people continue to embrace the fact that every person can do any task irrespective of being a male or a female.
