An Analysis of the Current Gender Roles in Society

Our identity, whether we are male or female, is perhaps the most basic aspect of our whole identity. The first thing people want to know about a new-born baby is whether it's a girl or a boy. Sex is so important partly because of what a society or culture adds to it - the idea that there are different roles for males and females. We are raised from a young age on the premise that men behave one way and women behave another, and that this behaviour is all part of our physical makeup over which we have little or no control. Women are measured in worth by how they look and act while men feel the pressure to support the entire family. However, if men are shown doing something that is considered strictly feminine, what does that mean for the entire perception of gender.

Society's traditional view is that masculinity is shown through bravery in battle, strength in the face of suffering, and level-headed rationality. Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If,"states all the characteristics he believes is essential to be man. For him, a boy becomes a man when he can wait patiently, endure the criticisms of lesser men and the reversals of fortune without complaint, and give his all by seeking success at every moment, neither proud in victory nor broken in defeat.

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These are qualities that can be found in anyone including women but Kipling specifically men. Men are also stoic in the face of emotion: all the way back to Shakespeare's time, men were supposed to be strong enough to fight their own tears. Losing that battle is a feminine sign of weakness. Before World War Two, it would have been unusual to see a man changing a nappy or feeding a baby because this was considered a woman's job. This created a dilemma for men who wanted to have a genuine relationship with their children. It was also considered the man's role to be the disciplinarian as women were viewed as the softer face of parenthood.

The whole assignment of gender specific roles have faded over time. If we look at the feminine aspect of gender stereotyping, the media view of femininity has changed drastically. Women in the 1950' and 60's were portrayed as housewives, mothers, nurses, teachers, or in some other form of caring role. Today, the traditional view of a woman as a housewife or low-status worker has been exchanged for the successful woman in a position of power such as a business leader. Women now see their lives as more meaningful and they are anxious to have their say in the way the world is run. Women have become more optimistic, enthusiastic and confident, setting themselves high standards.

They are ambitious and aim to be financially independent, no longer happy to rely on a man to support them and their children. Young girls today differ from their mothers in that they do not see their futures merely in terms of marriage and children. They can look to positive female role models in the world of entertainment, politics, business and fashions. By the 1990s, women were beginning to flex their muscles, egged on by the media which unveiled the idea of 'girl power'. The media also reinvented the masculine ideals of toughness and self-reliance in the form of men who have emotions and who need to seek advice. It is true that gender categories have not been totally eliminated, but the numerous alternative ideas and images have provided space for a much greater diversity of identities.

Women should not have to defend themselves as De Beauvoir does; she said that "in midst of discussion it is vexing to hear a man say ‘you think thus and so because you are a women: but i know my only defense is to reply: 'I think thus and so because it is true.'" The fact that men could assume women are wrong purely because of their physical difference is bigoted and wrong. Aside from the matter of whether a man is strictly masculine and a women is feminine, there is no basic respect for other people. If people were so strictly divided by sex and its characteristics, then technically, any one of the LGBTQ2+ community would not exist. Men and women have been portrayed in the media and in history as masculine and feminine respectively, but it is clear that it is an outdated construct of society. Men do not have to masculine and women do not have to feminine.

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