Unrealistic Roles

This class, thus far, has opened my eyes to so many different perspectives on so many different topics. We have learned about the importance of resources for women, we have learned about the “gender roles” that society has created for us, we have learned about how our culture differs from that of many other cultures around the world, etc. The most intriguing topic to me so far, however, has come from an activity we did in class the other day. We wrote down all of qualities of men and of women that we are “expected” to posses in our society today. I found it very interesting because most of the qualities we came up with for women contradicted one another. Women are supposed to be good, caring mothers, and at the same time we are expected to be walking around looking like sex kittens all the time. We are expected to keep everything organized and together and yet we have to be ultra caring and emotional and understanding. I’ve recognized all of these dichotomies before, but to see them laid out in such a simple way really helped me to understand how our society really works. There are also a lot of contradictions with the way men are supposed to act and portray themselves. The most interesting aspect of the male ideal I found is the difference between how men want other men to act, and how women want men to act. Men want men to be strong, dominant, and without weakness all the time, while most women would prefer that men be a little more sensitive, caring, and supportive. To be fair however, there can be contradictions in the way women want men to act as well. Some women want their man to act strong and dominant and demanding and at the same time still maintain a glimmer of compassion and sensitivity. This “ideal” male and female persona can be very confusing and hard to comprehend because there are very few males and females that actually possess all these qualities, and why should it be any different? They are completely unrealistic. The good news is I believe we are moving away from these more traditional outlooks, however slow the process might be, and we are moving towards a more accepting society. Women aren’t afraid to work hard and be the top dogs of their communities or companies and at the same time men are adjusting and ridding themselves of their built up stoic layers that society has forced upon them. Overall, I think this gradual change can be very beneficial to both sexes as well as to our society.

-Erin O.

KIN 338I S6