https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hh4M4vipAo <--- this is an MST3K commentary on "A date with the family", which shows some interesting 1950's footage on how a family should interact. There may be some minor language and such, fyi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavuV6Rg61s <--- this is another MST3K commentary video on "Appreciating your parents", which shows the 1950's gender roles of a mother, father, and their child. I laughed pretty hard while watching this one.
I was pretty intrigued by chapter 5 in our textbook; gender roles, how they come to be, etc. How far we have come as a nation in this aspect, or how different we are in comparison to other countries and cultures. Studying these topics and issues, i came to the conclusion that there really is no RIGHT way to do things as far as guiding children in the way of their gender. Though there are BETTER ways. For example, we shouldn't be telling girls to act more like boys just because we want them to. If they are born with certain temperaments that incline them to act a certain way and therefore influence their surroundings and how that environment interacts with that child, then who is to say what can come of it? So far, we don't really know what will happen until it does. We only know what is MOST LIKELY to happen, and at what stage (as per Erikson).
As a little girl, i was inclined to act more masculine because my mother kept comparing me to my dead brother. "You look so much like him", "he used to make that same face", etc. So in time i grew to think i should be a boy. I dressed in all boy's clothes, i slouched, talked, and walked like one. All my friends were guys. When i got into high school my older sister, who is the epitome of femininity and all things pink, asked me why i acted so masculine and i told her. She responded with, "You know you don't have to do that if you don't want to, right?" To which i said, "...but mom likes it." My sister frowned, "don't let her decide who you are. You're Brynn, not our brother." So i ditched all my old stuff (except my Metallica and Led Zeppelin T-shirts) and replaced most of my pants with dresses. In my experience, i can see how children can undergo gender confusion due to influences from their environment.
Decades ago, there were specific roles, niches, the sexes were supposed to play. In my perspective, it seemed to work pretty well. Though I imagine there were some unhappy women who wished they could have done more, but weren't able to because it was seen as uncouth. Or maybe some men who wished to do something women typically did. No system is ever perfect or all-inclusive. But then everything changed and now the roles are blurred. I personally think this leads to a lot of confusion; if someone doesn't know what they're supposed to do, does that mean they won't do anything at all? A lot of people need direction. On the other hand, there are people who know exactly what or who they are, and what they want. A man who aspires to be a father and stay at home to raise his kids, or a woman who wants to go into underwater welding, might be going against the social grain, but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
...I was about to rant about feminists, but that may be a bad idea. Nothing against feminist ideals (because a lot of them have some good ideas), i just think they go about it the wrong way...
“I was pretty intrigued by chapter 5 in our textbook; gender roles, how they come to be, etc. How far we have come as a nation in this aspect, or how different we are in comparison to other countries and cultures.”
ReplyDeleteI think there is an overwhelming difference in some countries, which I believe is due to religion and tradition. It's funny how much we all probably underestimate how much our culture influences how we behave within our gender, even in the United States.
Think about Iran in the 1970's under the Shah, and then about Iran today after the Islamic Revolutions with the rise of the Ayatollah. If you look up pictures of Iran in the 1950's-1970's you would swear you were looking at a mirror image of a lot of the woman from the United States at that time. Women were in bikini's, sipping sodas at the beach with movie star sunglasses, laughing and being promiscuous and sexual-- the picturesque mirror of the Western World. Women worked as ministers, scientists and judges. They could vote, and had rights to divorce their husbands, and even could petition for custody of their children. (Yes, I'm talking about the middle east here.)
The fall of the Shah was deeply rooted for the cultures adversity to the westernization of the traditions of the Iranian people. They didn't want to be like the west. So the Islamic Revolutions happen, Ayatollah comes into power, and suddenly women had to be wearing chador the traditional dress you would recognize today. Only their eyes and hands could show. And if they refused to wear the chador they could be whipped and put into prison. Suddenly women couldn't drive, work, vote, divorce, and hell, in some cases they were stoned to death for being accused of adultery.
So what causes a culture to do this? You could argue that the United States is a pinnacle of modern thought and idealism, but Iran was there too. And they rejected it. Women were on the front lines during the fall of the Shah in the 1970's, did they not know what it meant for them to re-adhere themselves to these strict traditions?
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, you're right, there isn't a right or a wrong answer. But we are always a product of our cultural environment. The traditions we live by just happen to be different than that or Iran, or China, or Africa, or Russia; and we happen to live by our own rules. I believe that the roles women have even today are loosely based around religious traditions that we have adopted, even if we can't see it. The idea that women should feel ashamed of their sexuality, or feel the need to be married or have children or practice celibacy. These are all deeply instilled religious fundamentals that have been passed through countless generations, and I believe they play a large role on how we identify ourselves today, especially in gender and gender roles.
I don't really know how to post pictures on this site, but if you want to see Iranian women in the 1970's it's easy as typing “Iran in the 1970's” in the Google search bar and click on “images”. It's pretty insane to think about when you compare it to the image you think of today in Iran. Oh, and by the way, I love that you watch MST3K. I'm a Wisconsin boy, so I am proud that they come from my homeland. (Well, at least they were near it.)
Delete"No system is ever perfect or all-inclusive. But then everything changed and now the roles are blurred. I personally think this leads to a lot of confusion; if someone doesn't know what they're supposed to do, does that mean they won't do anything at all? A lot of people need direction."
ReplyDeleteSuch a good point. We have had gender roles in the past and it means literally that: the job each sex would perform. Now we are fighting for the equality and exception that it doesn't matter who does the job, as long as the job is done. The prblem with this is who is going to teach them how to do both jobs? And by jobs I just mean the "bringing home of the bacon" and "keeper of the house". Kids are taught now that they can do anything the want to, but in an effort to fight against the previous gender 'norms', are we creating a generation of kids that won't know how to do housework? To be responsible and to take care of their things, keep them clean, cook. Some people will inevitably be drawn to certain tasks or jobs, but if you had been brought up doing it, you might have had a different prespective. It shouldn't be a concern of WHOSE job it is to cook and clean and learn how to live like a decent human being, it should be everyone's job to learn how to be a responsible and active contributor.
Over the decades gender roles have changed pretty rapidly, but I think that has to do more with the culture we live in today. Back decades ago a Womens place was @ home with the children cooking and cleaning, and it was the mans job to go to work and bring home the bacon. The families traveled around with the whole family looking for work to make it through the winter just to survive, even the male children worked usually doing what their fathers did.
ReplyDeleteToday we live in a world of plenty more than what we really need, and I think that has driven our culture to change. We now eat large meals, and are not satisfied with meager bread , and wine. Everyone strives to have a good job, big house, cars, nice furniture, and expensive clothes. If we don't have these things, we long for the day when we will have them, and it drives the culture to take all of these luxurious things for granted. We have become greedy people who don't just want or need to survive anymore, we want way more. Gender role lines have become blurred, and we cross them to get what we want, not because we need them.