In today's society there is emphasis on gender roles on both men and women. Gender roles are stereotyped by the media and society. When boys are growing up they tend to be raised on the extreme side of the spectrum. They are given trucks, and sports views. As they grow up they are still shoved towards the extreme side. They are pushed towards sports and fast cars and who can get the hottest girlfriends. Men are supposed to be the tough, and the rock to the women. The "popular ideas about masculinity seem to have stagnated" ('Men are stuck' in gender roles'). Slowly men have been able to become more feminine but "men remain rare in stereo-typically feminine positions." ('Men are stuck' in gender roles). Through every stage leading up to adulthood boys are taught to be tough and be the man with the general phrase 'stop acting like a girl' to program them to be tough and that a girl is a weak. |
As a girl in today's society it is more acceptable to act more like a tomboy and a girly girl. As a girl you are now able to run a family, take care of a household, and own a business. "More than 80 percent of the jobs lost during the recession had belonged to men, which led to women holding the majority of jobs in the United States for the first time ever " (Are men and women's roles in society changing?). When a women wants to walk around and dress like a man it's considered acceptable. But when a "6-year-old [boy] is running around in a dress, people think there's something wrong with him" (Are men and women's roles in society changing?). Women could be viewed as authority instead of an underdog. Society has evolved and switched the roles to where the women could be authoritative. |
In this society it is easier to be a women because they are less pressured to become what society had showed them what they are to act like since birth. Although, society has said that they do not pressure children to be a specific gender role their actions say otherwise. Society has been portraying gender roles onto the world for many generations and more to come. It is easier to be a girl because they are able to push the gender roles away from themselves and also climb to the top of the ladder while the men are falling down the other side. Because "If a little girl is running around on the baseball team with her mitt, people think, 'That's a strong girl'" (Are men and women's roles in society changing?). They think that girls who defy gender roles are strong and independent but if a boy was to then "boys make fun of other boys if they step just a little outside the rigid masculine stereotype" ('Men are stuck' in gender roles, data suggest). As they grow up "several studies have found that bending gender stereotypes in childhood is tied to worse anxiety for men than women in adulthood." ('Men are stuck' in gender roles, data suggest).
Sources:
"'Men are stuck' in Gender Roles, Data Suggest"
"Are Men and Women's Roles in Society Changing?".
Pictures:
http://idroidsense.com/read/the-easiest-way-to-learn-how-to-play-backgammon-ehow
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-interacting-with-woman-leave-man-cognitively-impaired/
http://www.lifeofguangzhou.com/node_10/node_32/node_555/2008/11/26/122768887055962.shtml
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20528327_21053945,00.html
"'Men are stuck' in Gender Roles, Data Suggest"
"Are Men and Women's Roles in Society Changing?".
Pictures:
http://idroidsense.com/read/the-easiest-way-to-learn-how-to-play-backgammon-ehow
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-interacting-with-woman-leave-man-cognitively-impaired/
http://www.lifeofguangzhou.com/node_10/node_32/node_555/2008/11/26/122768887055962.shtml
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20528327_21053945,00.html