Gender Roles

Try to imagine life in a society that refuses to allow individuals to act a certain way because how they want to behave is nit considered appropriate for their gender. Imagine people being around their peers, friends, and family, but not being able to be themselves. The fact of the matter is, one does not have to try to imagine this because this is the society everyone lives in. Society should accept people for who they are, not subject them to the traditional gender roles society has set up. Men and women have been treated differently for centuries, based on how people believe both genders should behave. In society today, people have the image of the perfect family consisting of the traditional man and woman, married with kids. The
Unfortunately, some influences have an effect on the view of same sex marriage, which are the negative influences. In the Salem Health: Psychology & Mental Health article by Elyssa Pearlstein shows the gender role influences on married couples. Pearlstein states, “In the United States, women have typically been responsible for caring for the children and home. Some people see this unequal distribution of familial responsibility as unfair and think that each parent should take equal responsibility. Boys may underachieve because they feel that they are supposed to be “macho” or “tough,” and they may view sitting in a classroom, quietly doing written work, as “wimpy” or “compliant” and therefore undesirable behavior”. In this article both men and women have negative gender roles that effect how they are suppose to act in life. Girls are taught to only be able to care for their children and to do the housework. On the other hand, boys are taught that being smart in school isn’t manly and that being compliant isn’t tough. For example, I work at Vons as a Curtesy clerk and there are girls and boys that work there also. As a curtsey clerk its part of my job to help the customer out by bagging their groceries and helping them out if they need it. Sometimes, when I help a customer out who has heavy things such as water they always say “ Are you sure you can help me? Isn’t this a man’s job”? Even when I’m pushing
Regardless of how one looks to society, everybody should be allowed to express themselves without being judged because of what they like. For example in the article My Son Loves My Little Pony by Sean Williams there’s this seven year old boy who gets bullied because he has a my little pony backpack. Williams state’s, “It’s hard for any kid to bend outside assumed identities, but it’s particularly hard for boys who want to embrace their femininity. Women’s magazines and princess movies are still a horror show of female subjugation, but the battle against that involves encouraging girls to be as masculine as they want to be. “Strong is the new skinny,” etc. But men and boys are mostly shamed for expressing anything outside of the macho ideal”. This example shows how it’s easier for girls to be like boys but it isn’t easy for boys to be like girls in society. Why should this boy get bullied just because he likes My Little Pony? This isn’t right and this isn’t the boys fault. This is why gender roles should be changed to they don’t have to be only put into two categories. Richard Rodriguez explains having acceptance is important when expressing who you are as an individual. In “Family Values” Richard Rodriguez also points out that, “There are families that do not accept. There are children who are forced to leave home because of abortions or homosexuality. There are family secrets that Papa