For centuries now, men and woman have been stereotyped, cast into roles and expected to act a certain way to be ‘normal’ in society. Thankfully, it seems to have gotten easier and easier on both genders with the passing years, but there are still stereotypes and ‘rules’ that genders have to follow.
Today, I’m going to say the movie we watched in class was made in the seventies. Just because not much has changed from the 1990s to now. Since the seventies, I don’t think much has really changed in the dominance factor for men and women. Sure, now a days woman can be much more independent and treated equally in the workplace and in schooling, but most people still see woman as the stay at home mothers or the men as the one who make all the decisions and go off to make the money. If a man stayed at home and took care of the kids, most men would call him a wimp, or that he doesn’t wear the pants in the relationship. If a woman goes out to become a dominate person, she could be seen as a jerk, or too demanding.
Even though we have blurred the lines, the line is still there. It takes years for a society to accept changes. There are still expectations for men and woman. Lets take dating for example. Most of the time, it is expected of a male to ask the girl out, to make the decision, to instigate the first kiss and to propose. It is expected the men be dominant in the relationship. Now, I know many woman ask men out, and start the first kiss, even propose. But because society sees it as a male thing, a female who may ask a male out might be seen as a slut, or too dominant.
This dominance issue is still going on today, and I see it everywhere. My mother mostly makes the decisions in my house, and because of it my dad gets made fun of by his friends., even though theres no reason for the teasing. Men are more dominant in movies and tv shows, as the movie explained, while woman are still seen as the brides.
The only thing society has changed from the time the movie was made until now is the technical terms. Men and woman get treated equally in voting, work, school, government, etc. Woman and men are allowed to go out and get the same job and get the same pay. In work and school there is no gender dominance, because women have proved they could do just as much as men. But socially, the ‘rule’ still shows that people expect men to be more dominant, the bread winners, the decision makers. As I have said before, it takes years for a society to accept equality as a social norm. I still see racial discrimination socially, even though everyone of every race is completely equal and has equal rights. So there is still gender discrimination socially, meaning we still have the gender standards of men being dominant and woman submissive.
I think you are completely right about the idea that our society still having lines. These stereotypical gender ideas have not changed over the years by much, just the way they are presented has. The lines have been "blurred" as you called it. This is true of everything that places the roles in the same category as they always have been. Just like in class we discussed how a woman is probably shown in a very independent, strong, and decisive role, her body is objectified to be seen in the viewpoint of a male. Or as it was called the male gaze point of view. We have evolved slowly but not in any way that makes the gender roles for men and women different, just in ways that make them seem like they are open for anyone. Of course, they have changed slightly because I saw a commercial just the other day about some new video game that is out and it had women playing certain roles and being involved as well. But in reality all of the images and ways we see men and women are just different variations of what people in the 70's saw them as too.
ReplyDelete“If a man stayed at home and took care of the kids, most men would call him a wimp, or that he doesn’t wear the pants in the relationship. If a woman goes out to become a dominate person, she could be seen as a jerk, or too demanding.” It’s true that genders are perceived like this. Just based off of personal experience, men are subject to being called names when they should be doing what they are doing (helping clean, make food, or take care of kids if they have any) but yet till today if a man plays any of these roles that a female “should” play then it would be demeaning males all over the world. Most women who actually try to take control of their life, and their men, would seem to be bossy or “trying to keep their man in check” when really all their trying to do is to go out and do what men do and so much more. But of course, doing all of that is hard work and would need help. That is where the husband comes in to help, but of course doing so is too “wimpy” like you said.
ReplyDeleteWe have evolved in the sense that we now know how to keep our mouth shut about gender roles even when these social constructions are viewed every single day. However I do indeed agree with you that the lines are still ever present, they have simply been blurred over time. I recently shared the same thoughts that in all technical terms and fixes women are equal to men, they must get the same wage, share the ability to vote, have equal rights to study the same field as men and vice versa but that all just law. Not everyone will follow every single law that is written in the books. Men are to be masculine and women are to be feminine is what so society dictates. If a man lets his female partner lead the relationship then he is considered a punk and a girly-man. The female is thought of as a bully and as an intimidating force when it comes to dating and her relationship other people. Even the manner in how a man dresses is taken under strict social restrictions; head still turn in wonder when some men wear pink. People still label women that dress in less revealing clothes as a tomboy or even think of her a gay because she doesn’t look like she’s trying to seduce a man. Both men and women have it hard trying to be themselves while living in a society that antagonistic to real people.
ReplyDeleteI am embarrassed to admit that my initial reaction/thought to the mother making the decisions in typical households was to side with the father's friends with the teasing. However, I realize that this notion is a lot more prevalent today. In fact, at least for the Filipino families that I have been around, a common nickname for the mother of the household is "commander" or "manager" (sometimes playfully punned as "MONEYger.") Since virtually every husband can relate to the situation, there isn't any teasing going around but sort of brings them closer together and they joke about other things. I don't think that these men are necessarily submitting to the domination but they understand and appreciate equality in the relationship and the decision making.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the woman that "steps up" and initiates, I find that to be a very attractive trait. To me, that speaks volumes about that individual's confidence and knowing what they want and are willing to go out and get it. Those actions demonstrate that they understand what it means to be an equal and don't necessarily need to rely on another person for anything.