Month: May 2009

  • What do you do when (you think) no one is looking?

    I practice my air guitar.

       

    I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

  • Gender Roles

    I really get tired of all the established gender roles in our society.  Now I know it is not all the direct result of religion, but it is linked.  I think a lot of our gender roles come from having patriarchal societies rising to prominence across the globe, patriarchal societies that design religions based on their patriarchal society.  Or maybe the religion came first and the patriarchal society was based on that.  Perhaps even some religious doctrines may have developed from already established gender roles.  So it is kind of a “chicken or the egg” comparison, not knowing which caused which (gender roles or religion), but they definitely are related.

    Just in case you don’t know what a “gender role” is, let me explain.  A gender role is an expectation for a person to act a certain way based entirely upon their gender.  Other circumstances and other traits of your personality don’t matter; everything is based on your sex.  Let me just list a few examples:

    Males:

    • Aren’t supposed to cry
    • Are supposed to be physically tough
    • Are supposed to be the breadwinner and head of the household
    • Are supposed to like sports
    • Are supposed to be leaders
    • Are supposed to be attracted to (and have sex with) females

    Females:

    • Are supposed to be submissive
    • Are supposed to stay at home and take care of the children
    • Are supposed to shave their legs and wear makeup
    • Are supposed to wear dresses/skirts
    • Aren’t supposed to be in positions of leadership
    • Are supposed to be attracted to (and have sex with) males

    These are just a few examples of the many that are out there.  I am sure that all of you have heard at least some of these in one form or another, and perhaps some of you even agree with some of them.  These are all actions and traits that are expected of people simply based on whether they have a penis or a vagina.  This isn’t even getting into the topic of transgendered people or hermaphrodites, both of which throw a huge wrench into established gender roles all by themselves.  All of these expectations are assumptions based on what someone looks like on the outside and nothing else.  There is a great amount of pressure to conform to these established “roles,” and if someone violates them they are often ridiculed, shamed, or judged.  For example, if a man does something that is considered “feminine,” he may be called a “sissy” or “pussy” (people insult him by calling him a girl).  A lot of it is somewhat mild, but certain circles can create considerable pressure to conform.  In some societies and religions, not conforming to established gender roles may even result in death.

    There is just an obvious comparison here that I can’t help but to make.  People are being judged simply based on what they look like on the outside, with no regard for what is underneath.  Based on what is expected of you for what you look like on the outside, people may mock you and/or treat you with contempt, and might even kill you.  How is this any different from how African Americans were treated for centuries until the Civil Rights Movement came along?  I’m not saying that all elements of racism have been eliminated, but we certainly have come a long way from where we were in 1850.  But still, even though we may have made progress in the realm of stopping discrimination and segregation based upon race, we still discriminate against people who don’t act the way we think they should based on their anatomy.

    This permeates so many areas of our society.  I have already mentioned the religious areas, where women are expected to be submissive and wear certain things and where men are expected to be leaders.  You see the fashion industry, where there is so much pressure on women to be as skinny as toothpicks.  You see Hollywood, where you watch movies and TV shows with macho men doing outrageous action scenes and getting the girls (though it isn’t as bad as it used to be – you do sometimes see women in action scenes now).  You watch sports on television which are still mostly dominated by males.  You look at politics, where there are many women who participate but we have yet to elect a female president.  It is even a major part of the debate on gay marriage, because parts of our established gender roles say that both genders are supposed to be straight.  And you also can’t tell me that a certain amount of established gender roles don’t play into the abortion debate, whether it be through improper sex education or how women with unwanted pregnancies are treated.

    Seriously people, when are we going to learn to stop judging people for what is on the outside and look at the inside?  When are we going to realize that every individual person is unique and has their own unique personality?  When are we going to realize that though people with certain physical organs may have a tendency to act a certain way it doesn’t mean that everybody with those organs will (or should be expected to) act that way?  Not everyone who has a penis will fit into the definition of “masculine” in all (or even any) categories.  Not everyone who has a vagina will fit into the definition of “feminine” in all (or even any) categories.

    So stop expecting people to behave a certain way because of what you see on the outside.  Most importantly, stop treating people a certain way because of what you see on the outside.  Yes, your holy book might tell you differently, but it doesn’t make it any less wrong, in my opinion.  Stereotypes are stereotypes, no matter what justification you use for them.

    EDIT:  No more timestamping, I promise.  I was kind of wanting some feedback on this post, and with all the site maintenance I don’t know how many people got to see it.  Plus, with my weird work hours I post things at weird times sometimes.