Gender Roles vs. Gender Stereotypes Essay Example
Gender Roles vs. Gender Stereotypes Essay Example

Gender Roles vs. Gender Stereotypes Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1210 words)
  • Published: July 30, 2021
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Women and men all play different roles, they are cultural and personal. These roles determine how men and women think, dress, speak and interact. Society plays a big role in their lives, in which men and women should live their lives. Then, there are gender stereotypes, which is opinions about the gender attributes, differences, and roles of everyone and/or groups. Stereotypes can be negative or positive, but that doesn't mean their opinions are accurate information about others. When people apply gender assumptions to others regardless of evidence, they are continuously gendered stereotyping. Some examples of gender profiling stereotypes are, “women do the cleaning and the men do all the heavy lifting” or “girls aren’t good at sports.”(1) And here are examples of cultural stereotypes, “all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists” or “all America

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ns are obese, lazy, and dim-witted.”(1) Then, there are the group stereotypes, such as, “All girls are only concerned about their physical appearance” or “only anorexic ladies will become models.”(1) But that also doesn't mean there aren’t good stereotypes, but it’s more often you here the typical bad stereotype.

In Scott Russell Sanders’ essay, “The Men We Carry In Our Minds,” discusses gender equality which accumulated in his mind after witnessing the harsh lives of his surrounding group of people. In the essay, Scott explains how men had little options for their futures. They could only survive in the world if the men were to work at the factory or as a soldier. Though in Scotts life, he had struggles and women had these perfect, easy lives. Yet, women's lives were far from perfect and easy. They were forced to be cleaners or sta

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at home mom, while the husbands did labor work or fought for their country. Women were forced into a society where they had no rights. But to come to a realization Scott is shown that women have struggles like men, women's lives aren’t all that perfect as it seems. 'A woman is human. She isn’t higher, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human. ' (Vera Nazarian) As in the quote, the woman is human being just like men are. Though only because women aren’t perfect, doesn’t mean they don’t play a role in life, such as being nice, kind or smart. Like during this quote, 'I think feminism's a bit misinterpreted. It was about casting off all gender roles. There's nothing wrong with a person holding a door open for a lady. But we tend to kind of threw away all the foundations, so everybody's confused. And qualitative analysis becomes a sloppy, uncomfortable, unpleasant thing.' (Zosia) Women can play those roles in life, which doesn’t make them a stereotype it just shows they have character, and men can have the same characteristics as well. “People share a common nature but are trained in gender roles.” (Lillie Blake) Which is basically saying that all people are equal, but the gender roles define who we are.

In the short story “Pink Think” by Lynn Peril, it is “a set of ideas and attitudes about what constitutes proper female behavior,' she says, and it 'assumes there is a commonplace of behavior to that all ladies .. must aspire.' (Perils) “Pink Think”

is not you ordinarily typical girly drama book, it’s not stereotypical. It’s about women worldwide, and their lives from the 1940’s to the 1990s. 'I cannot very speak to what it had been prefer to decision yourself a feminist within the past on a private level however, I think occupation oneself a feminist within the past might are hostile as a result of feminists within the '70s were the primary to actually challenge deeply embedded gender roles and demand concrete political and economic rights. They were soliciting for rights that looked like an immediate threat to those in power - they were soliciting for quality in a very society that did not have it in an obvious way. They were placed down and villainized as a result of they were seen as threatening.' (Julie Zeilinger) But these women’s lives were stereotypical because that’s how the men wanted their wives to be. They had no power then, but nowadays women have as much power as the men do. But what does power for women mean? It means that women can take control of their actions, they don’t have to take the abuse and/or neglect from men, and it means they can do anything they want in their desire. Women can speak their own words of wisdom. But men still continue the neglect and abuse, women aren’t totally free. Men could be sentenced to prison or jail for their actions in that meaning, but men still think it’s alright. 'When individuals were terribly involved regarding the violence against ladies, I encouraged people to stick with it because it was going somewhere and there was a reason why.

It's all a writing on gender roles and ladies and having to be the demoiselle or to remain on the ranch or to remain reception.' (Evan Wood)

Women in 2006, about 232,960 women were abused or sexually assaulted.

In the story “A vindication of the rights of women” the author Mary Wollstonecraft writes about the greatest gift, the ability to reason. And since men and women are all born with the ability to reason, women should have as much rights to enjoy education, power, and influence in society as men do. The reason why women don’t seem like they are smart as men, Mary says, “Is because they aren’t given the same education.” (2) The only thing Mary is willing to admit is that men have more of a physical advantage in strength. But nowadays that shouldn’t really mean anything. But in Wollstonecraft's time, there would be very few occasions in life where the men would be called upon their strength. Throughout Wollstonecraft's argument, she claimed other writers said, “Women’s education should focus solely on making young women pleasing to men.” (2) In other words women shouldn’t be educating themselves, they should be sitting still and making themselves look pretty. Which comes to thought, without education and ability to reason, how is a women ever going to be able to raise a child? And so forth, the story continues as Wollstonecraft still argues that education is important for women, an that women should have equal rights as men regardless of how wealthy one another’s family are. That’s why Wollstonecraft want there to be public schools that are free for children. Which in modern day society education isn’t

such a problem as to when it was Wollstonecraft’s time. But to end with Wollstonecraft's argument, she points out that no matter what evidence she uses to support her story nothing will change the support for women to become educated. Wollstone states, “that a future with educated women will be much brighter than a future without them.” (2) In other words, life will be much better if women are educated too, then without them being educated.

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