Gender Roles In The United States

Under U.S. state and federal law, it is discriminatory to treat persons in different ways simply because of their age, gender, or race. The American society has only recently recognized gender inequality as a social problem. However, women in the United States have struggled to gain equality for centuries. Women’s rights and their status in society has substantially improved, but gender roles remain very important in our society today. Women still strive to be equal to men at home, in workplaces and in the government. Gender roles are significant to our lives from birth, and as we grow older these roles become more apparent within our society.

Differentiation between the two genders forms the core of gender ideology. These differences establish social positions, a superordinate-subordinate hierarchy, provide access to resources, and create stereotyped roles for men and women. Consequently, men are associated with high status, productive employment, skills and inheritance, and obtain access to land holdings. On the other hand, women are low in status, receive minimal medical care and education, suffer violence, and are denied life.

Gender culturally specifies who and what we are expected to be in society. Society shapes gender identity through socialization, creating social institutions such as the family, religious groups, political structures,
There are three differing perspectives of sexism; the functionalist perspective, the interactionist perspective, and the conflict theory. The functionalist states that sex-based division of labor was logical in the past. Traditionally, men performed instrumental tasks and women performed expressive tasks. The Industrial Revolution influenced social changes and lead to the imbalance of the sex-based social structure. Functionalists claim that sexism can be eliminated by redefining gender roles and adjustments in the family, as well as other social