I think that one of the biggest reasons women and men have such hard types working in each others gender based work fields is the stereo type as Kirlin mentions above. Men need to be masculine, strong, and provide while women need to be pretty, quiet and on the sidelines this is the American trend. A more important question that we should be asking is why did this trend start? In some Native American cultures basket weaving and clothes making were considered men’s work while women’s work consisted of keeping house and by keeping house I mean building it and maintaining it. It is strange that in these two very different cultures the gender roles would also vary so much.
If men are supposedly stronger why wouldn’t they be responsible for building houses? It seems although women have been graduating from college at higher rates than men and still earning less than men that it is just a part of our culture. If our culture calls for women to help others and be less superior then males perhaps they are doomed to stay their since graduating at higher rates hasn’t helped. Could this trend be irreversible will women always just be left striving to be equivalent to males. Even if we look way back to cavemen times perhaps this is where the trend started; women aren’t strong enough to hunt so they will stay at home while men go and provide. If gender inequality has existed for thousands of years is it able to be broken down?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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I love this question at the end, and obviously far greater minds have thought about this than my own. Gender inequality will always be around in my opinion. I'm a religious guy, and I think that is the beauty of God's creation. Leaving all emotion and strenght out of the picture, lets talk about certain attributes that are present in men and women. Men are more big-picture oriented. This is why managing businesses and such are easier for men. Women, however, are better with details, which is why administrative roles are a much better suit. God created men and women different because they need the other in their lives. They not only need the other, but they need to combine those gifts that God gave them and utilyze them for the good of the relationship. If you are a creationist it is hard to deny that God has given women certain gifts that are more evident within them than they are with men, and vise versa. How many times have you forgotten, as a man, to write a thank you card. How many times, has a man had to be a sustainer in the relationship for the woman, and vise versa.
ReplyDeleteI think there is such divine beauty in the gender inequalities of life. That is simply my opinion. :)
I think that one of the biggest reasons women and men have such hard types working in each others gender based work fields is the stereo type as Kirlin mentions above. Men need to be masculine, strong, and provide while women need to be pretty, quiet and on the sidelines this is the American trend. A more important question that we should be asking is why did this trend start? In some Native American cultures basket weaving and clothes making were considered men’s work while women’s work consisted of keeping house and by keeping house I mean building it and maintaining it. It is strange that in these two very different cultures the gender roles would also vary so much. If men are supposedly stronger why wouldn’t they be responsible for building houses? It seems although women have been graduating from college at higher rates than men and still earning less than men that it is just a part of our culture. If our culture calls for women to help others and be less superior then males perhaps they are doomed to stay their since graduating at higher rates hasn’t helped. Could this trend be irreversible will women always just be left striving to be equivalent to males. Even if we look way back to cavemen times perhaps this is where the trend started; women aren’t strong enough to hunt so they will stay at home while men go and provide. If gender inequality has existed for thousands of years is it able to be broken down?
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