my opinions story

In our society, gender roles sadly develop at a fairly young age. From the start, we are influenced to believe that the color blue is for boys and pink is for girls. Girls are given barbies to play with and boys recieve toy cars. However, who's to say that a male can't wear a dress and a female can't play football?

    According to Dr. Benjamin Spock, people are likely to appreciate a girls appearance and a boys physical performance. While the compliments aren't detrimental itself, it could cause children to believe that they're only valued for their looks or for being a "man." Many times, a boy who doesn't like to rough house is labeled as a "sissy" and the women that do are considered "tomboys." 

      Another major influence on gender roles is the media. Girls are the main advertising target for dolls and make-up. In addition, advertisers refer to boy toys as "action figures" rather than dolls. The majority of the boy commercials are jam packed with action and adventure, while the girl ads are seen as mothering and soft. 

    In addition, many of our peers tend to enforce traditional gender stereotypes. It typically comes in the form of teasing, both verbally and physically. It's quite common to hear someone calling a boy a "pussy" for simply expressing their emotions.

 Also, many find it unattractive and manly for a female to keep her armpits and legs unshaved. I find it absolutely ridiculous how a trait is considered normal for one gender and an abomination for the other.

However, in the past few decades, americans have made some strides in accepting new meanings of the gender. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women now account for 47% of the workplace.

Even though many women work now, it is still way more common for the man to be working and the women to clean at home. Researchers have found that women do 20 hours of housework each week while men only contribute 10 hours.

Overall, I believe as if even though gender roles have progressed postively over time, it is still a major issue that needs to be recognized and discussed. In reality, male and female isn't the only gender out there.

There's people out there who are genderqueer or trans as well! Our society needs to inculcucate the fact that we don't live in the 1800s anymore.

We must break the social norms. We must celebrate everyone, no matter how they define themselves.





    

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