Cultural Norms, Gender Roles, and Negativity, Essay Example

Gender roles are culture-based parameters for the acceptable social behaviors of members of each sex. Some of the aspects of gender roles establish order in extreme circumstances, as occurred during the sinking of the Titanic. Other aspects, such as negative acculturation, often produce a sense of either aggression or helplessness (Myers, 2005). “There are no human societies in which women dominate men” (Myers, 2005, 94). Despite the force of antebellum beliefs in the inferiority of peoples of non-European origin, African American men were granted the right to vote dozens of years before suffrage was extended to women. Today, our country has elected the first non-white president; however, we still have yet to elect a female to the post. Clearly, despite the social progress of acceptance in regards to the rights and capabilities of women, there are still legitimate accusations of sexism.

Male domination aside, the typical gender roles vary widely by time, place, and even by trend. After World War II, when many former Rosie the Riveters returned to home life, many perceived their constricted roles as unjust- especially given their contributions to the country. After the backlash and the cultural changes began in the fifties, the sixties and seventies saw a revolution in the treatment of women. Despite the growing acceptance of women as valuable employees, the lifetime potential earning gap of men and women persists. While some of the causes, the traditional role of women in the process of childrearing, for example, are not related to personal discriminatory decisions of employers, the overall social attitudes and beliefs of current American culture reinforce the underlying principles that demand that women take more family time off of work (Myers, 2005).

For men, the obtainment of the alpha male status is a major stressor in the developmental years of adolescence. This has been highlighted in the last twenty years- with the very public actions of maladjusted teen boys across the country, who have orchestrated dozens of school shootings. Gender roles limit who people are and limit acceptance of both differences and progress.

References

Myers, D. (2005.) Exploring Psychology. 6^th ed. New York, NY. Worth Publishers.