Submitted by: Crystal Barker
In a world filled with billions of people who are as uniquely different as we are the same, the opinions on the definition of male and female and the accepted behaviors for each of these roles by society are as varied as the number of stars in the sky.
Sociology has studied the differences between male and female on the macro and micro levels and have put forth four main perspectives of how ascribed gender roles and stereotyping affect women and their place in society. In this case, I am looking at the feminist perspective. Once a baby's biological identity has been determined, they are then socialized and trained to follow the rules of that gender. Boys are taught to be tough and in charge and girls are taught to be 'lady like' and cooperative. This mind set is generally followed into adulthood and now the men are heads of households and women are helpmates, doing whatever the husband says. The man went to work and made the money and the woman remained at home and handled the domestic side of family life. At one time, these roles were clearly defined and strictly adhered to.
In time, a few things happened to rock the foundation of the male dominated society. The advent of World War II, Gloria Steinem and the Woman's Liberation movement. World War II brought about the first major wave of women into the workforce doing non traditional female work. Many women worked in factories making parts for planes and missiles. These factory positions formerly held by men were now filled by women out of necessity. All of the men were at war and someone had to keep the ammunition coming. In 1942 there were also major advancements made by women in the military. The U.S. Congress established the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp (WAACs) in May, in the month of July,Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services (WAVES) was authorized by the U.S. Congress and in September, the Women's Air force Service Pilots (WASPs) were also established. The armed forces were supplied with more than 1000 pilots from the WAVEs. Women were on the move and the gender roles were beginning to intermingle.
The fight to gain equality and to improve the social status of women began before World War II. During the nineteenth century, one of the most recognized and outspoken activists for women's rights was Susan B. Anthony(Feb. 1820-March 1906). Gloria Steinem picked up the torch during the 1960's. Ms. Steinem is an American feminist, journalist and social and political activist. During the 1960's and 1970's, hers was one of the loudest voices to be heard in the fight against discrimination, sexism, and gender bias. She is still active and fighting for women's rights at the age of 77 years old. HBO very recently showed a documentary of her life titled 'Gloria: In Her Own Words'. (Metro Daily News paper dated August 15, 2011)
This is a link. http://www.feminist.com/about that offers helpful information and other links to issues that concern women.
Today, there is still a gap in pay between men and women. But as time has shown, the roles are changing for both males and females. The gender restrictions are no longer so stringent and inflexible. We now have women playing major roles in media such as Oprah Winfrey, who owns her own television network and news magazine. In years gone by that would have been unheard of. There are women who are performing equally as well or better than men in many formerly forbidden corporate positions. Women are Corporate Executievs, firefighters, astronauts, chemists and even race car drivers. As far as equal pay, we still have a ways to go, but we are cracking that glass ceiling every day.
In a world filled with billions of people who are as uniquely different as we are the same, the opinions on the definition of male and female and the accepted behaviors for each of these roles by society are as varied as the number of stars in the sky.
Sociology has studied the differences between male and female on the macro and micro levels and have put forth four main perspectives of how ascribed gender roles and stereotyping affect women and their place in society. In this case, I am looking at the feminist perspective. Once a baby's biological identity has been determined, they are then socialized and trained to follow the rules of that gender. Boys are taught to be tough and in charge and girls are taught to be 'lady like' and cooperative. This mind set is generally followed into adulthood and now the men are heads of households and women are helpmates, doing whatever the husband says. The man went to work and made the money and the woman remained at home and handled the domestic side of family life. At one time, these roles were clearly defined and strictly adhered to.
In time, a few things happened to rock the foundation of the male dominated society. The advent of World War II, Gloria Steinem and the Woman's Liberation movement. World War II brought about the first major wave of women into the workforce doing non traditional female work. Many women worked in factories making parts for planes and missiles. These factory positions formerly held by men were now filled by women out of necessity. All of the men were at war and someone had to keep the ammunition coming. In 1942 there were also major advancements made by women in the military. The U.S. Congress established the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp (WAACs) in May, in the month of July,Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services (WAVES) was authorized by the U.S. Congress and in September, the Women's Air force Service Pilots (WASPs) were also established. The armed forces were supplied with more than 1000 pilots from the WAVEs. Women were on the move and the gender roles were beginning to intermingle.
The fight to gain equality and to improve the social status of women began before World War II. During the nineteenth century, one of the most recognized and outspoken activists for women's rights was Susan B. Anthony(Feb. 1820-March 1906). Gloria Steinem picked up the torch during the 1960's. Ms. Steinem is an American feminist, journalist and social and political activist. During the 1960's and 1970's, hers was one of the loudest voices to be heard in the fight against discrimination, sexism, and gender bias. She is still active and fighting for women's rights at the age of 77 years old. HBO very recently showed a documentary of her life titled 'Gloria: In Her Own Words'. (Metro Daily News paper dated August 15, 2011)
This is a link. http://www.feminist.com/about that offers helpful information and other links to issues that concern women.
Today, there is still a gap in pay between men and women. But as time has shown, the roles are changing for both males and females. The gender restrictions are no longer so stringent and inflexible. We now have women playing major roles in media such as Oprah Winfrey, who owns her own television network and news magazine. In years gone by that would have been unheard of. There are women who are performing equally as well or better than men in many formerly forbidden corporate positions. Women are Corporate Executievs, firefighters, astronauts, chemists and even race car drivers. As far as equal pay, we still have a ways to go, but we are cracking that glass ceiling every day.
I think this is a very good post. I also love the fact that women are gaining their rights. Yes, Oprah Winfrey is a woman who plays a major role in media, but more importantly, she's a person who gives back. Women should be paid by their skill, knowledge, and education instead of by their sex. Some owners hire women to attract consumers, but these women are still under paid. People should fight sexism, etc. without becoming sexist, etc. themselves.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. Woman have come such a long way, from not being able to vote, to not being able to own property, and even not being able to have a job outside of the home. Notice I said outside of the home, because in the home woman who had families had a full time job. Fortunately things are changing, the change is not as rapid as most woman would like it to be, but it is changing. Woman are climbing the ladder in various fields such as government, the corporate world, military, media and a number of other things. Woman must continue to fight for equal rights, if we stop, we'll get pushed back 100 years. We must also teach our daughters, that the sky is the limit, and not take a back seat to men.
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