Monday, September 9, 2013
Post #2: Gender Roles
I want to talk about gender roles in relation to the article that was assigned to us for Tuesday's class and in relation to the experiences that I have had throughout my life that reinforce gender roles. First, I enjoyed reading this article because it was interesting to see how early in a child's life gender roles are constructed. Messner talks about his son and his son's soccer league and how the similarities of young boys and girls are vast but they are not illustrated as much as the differences between young boys and girls. I agree with this point because after some thought, I realized that parents want their children to grow up embracing the ideas of "normalcy" and socially constructed gender roles. Parents will love their children no matter how they grow up but I believe they feel it is easier to teach boys how to be boys and girls how to be girls as opposed to embracing socially unaccepted gender roles. I have never played in any coed leagues nor have I had any experience competing against girls in any capacity so I am definitely guilty of conforming to socially constructed gender roles. I have been taught all my life that boys are supposed to play sports and be tough and that girls can play sports but are more suited for support roles like cheerleaders and "team moms". I don't necessarily agree with these gender roles but it is how I have been brought up and participating in a class like this will definitely force me out of my comfort zone when thinking about how men and women interact in society. The main question I have after reading the article is: is it possible to tear down these socially constructed gender roles or is society too deep into the ideas we have built up?
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To comment on your last question I would have to say that as a society we are in too deep with our ideas we have built up. Socially constructed gender roles have been around for centuries. In my opinion the ideas will never change. Advertising also plays a large part in this. If you ever watch Children’s television programs you will see commercials that are marketed to a specific gender. Barbie commercials will typically be colorful, feature fashion accessories, and show a feminine looking doll. Hot Wheels commercials will feature rock music, boys playing with the toy cars, and even stuff breaking. The gender specific roles that society has built for us are good and bad depending on how you look at it. They may limit your potential in some sports if you are born into a gender that usually doesn’t that sport. However, if a young boy already loves playing with toy cars and playing football why stop him from having fun?
ReplyDeleteCorey Krupa
I am a believer in the fact that nearly all change can happen. We as a society create norms for ourselves, yet they are just that; man-made. That previous statement also speaks volumes about why men are viewed as “superior” or the dominant gender. We say things such as “man-made” without even thinking about it. We have created a separation of gender, but I believe it could be changed. This change must start at a young age, however. It is okay for children to understand that there are many differences between men and women, but that these differences do not define a person or their overall abilities to perform in different aspects of life. Media must market to children as a whole, not boys and girls. Sports must remain co-ed, or at least be offered as co-ed, longer than just through elementary school. These changes are large and would take a serious movement, but it is something that I could certainly see happening in the near future.
ReplyDeleteShaun Higgins
I think that it is possible to break the socially constructed gender roles based on history and what has already been changed from past gender roles. Historically, woman were not allowed to work or own land. They eventually overcame that to start fighting for their right to vote. Women have continuously been fighting against the constructed gender roles in society and will continue to do so. That being said, I think that the drastic change in gender roles for basic things like color schemes for baby rooms, toys for kids growing up and sports will not happen in our lifetime. I think that those roles are so strongly engrained in society’s mindset that it will take a larger percentage than ever needed before to start the change.
ReplyDeleteI think that part of the reason why I don’t necessarily conform to the gender roles in sports is because I was involved in many coed sports growing up. For the first few years that I played soccer, our league was coed because we were all so young. Then even after we were split into male and female leagues, it was still a common thing to share practice times with the opposite gender’s teams. I also played in many tournaments up until high school for both outdoor and indoor soccer that involved coed teams, so I had the experience of playing against boys through 9th grade. This made me overall a better athlete and also helped to change my opinions towards male versus female athletes.
Nicole Zawislan