GENDER ROLES

Gender Roles



Gender Roles

Introduction

A gender role is a set of rules of behavior associated with males and females, respectively, in a given group or social system. The genre is a component of the system of equality, referred to the series of coordination through which a society transforms sexuality biological products of human activity and in which these transformed needs are satisfied. Every known society has a system of the sexes / genders, although the components and workings of this system vary widely from company to company. The degree to which a specific behavior of a specific individual is an unimportant event and even banal, the completion of a gender role oppressive that deserves criticism is itself subject to debate (Butler 1990, 18).

The sociological concept of doing gender implies that people express their innermost convictions through performing anomalous behavior. These could include girls playing house, women wearing dresses and high heels, or wives accepting responsibility for housework. Males do gender by playing contact sports with other males, pretending to be tough, developing an interest in cars and speed, or performing outdoor housework such as cooking on the barbecue but resisting indoor housework. These performances are sometimes played only for audiences and could change in unusual circumstances. For example, men may acquire various technical skills and regularly fix the car but still ask their wives how to operate the washing machine. Many cultures polarize gender roles through the ways that children are raised and educated and through etiquette rules, labor force segregation, the division of labor in families, and cultural rituals. This polarization helps shape gender identity but could also reinforce sexual identity and compulsory heterosexuality.

Empirical studies of gender differences in creative ability have yielded decidedly inconsistent findings, except for a consensus regarding the disproportionately great male presence among widely recognized figures that are distinguished by their eminent creative accomplishments. Direct comparisons of the performance of men and women on a wide array of creativity measures have resulted in every conceivable outcome. In several studies, no discernible gender differences have been found. In other studies, women have surpassed men in creative ability, whereas, in other comparisons, men outperform women. Similarly, in studies of creative men and women's personalities, some researchers have found similarities, while others have found personality differences. Men's self-descriptions contain significantly higher levels of self-perceived openness and creativity than did the self-descriptions of women. Additionally, openness and creativity were significantly correlated with high levels of interest in relational priorities (such as maintaining harmony with others) in men, but not in women, suggesting that resourceful men may possess at least some characteristics that are traditional of traditionally feminine gender roles (Butler 1990, 18).

The way gender role facilitates or inhibits creativity depends on the gender of the individual. Androgyny is more facilitative in women than in men. In addition, both male and female participants who identify with the opposite gender role characteristics display relatively high levels of creativity. In men, cross-gender identification seems particularly influential in facilitating ...