Gender Roles and the Perception of Women Essay

There was a time that having a daughter born to a family evoked more pity than extol ment from the community. Sons were valued more for they were viewed to bring practical help towards augmenting the family income through and through physiologic labor, as well as ensuring that the family name lives on with his progeny. (Feminism) Daughters were valued only for the potential honor they could bring the family with a good marriage. In olden days, a good marriage was not necessarily be by the couples happiness but rather was deemed as much(prenominal) if both families stand to benefit from the union.Usually benefits would be heedful in wealth, alliance or business. Marriages then were basically mergers. Women were not expect to accomplish anything other than the mastery of national duties and union with a adapted husband. After marriage, the only duties that a muliebrity is supposed to fulfill are to look after the needs of her husband and give birth to as many children as po ssible with preference to the birthing of sons. The 1920s and 30s saw a wave of feminism that sought to cut the traditional gender role assigned to women.They viewed patriarchy as tyrannic to women and advanced the thinking that women are complements of males and at that placefore should be treated as equals. The 1920s also saw a major victory for women in the United States with the passage of a law that allowed for womens suffrage. (Feminism) The here and now World War in the 1940s also provided women with the opportunity to arise their worth outside their duties as homemakers. They started signing up as soldiery nurses, members of womens corps and workers in factories that provided supplies and ammunition to the boys overseas. Even with this however, women motionlessness experienced discrimination at the hands of employers who believed that it was the mens role to solve money for their families. Those that were hired still had to face inequality in contend as their work w ere deemed easier compared to the mens. (Acker 46) It has continually been an uphill climb for women in the assertion of their rights and the fight for identity and equality. Despite the many progresses make by women since the olden days, some cultures still place more premium on males.Sandra Cisneros account (Kirszner, 96-99) of being and born and living in a traditional, aged society in the 1950s show that all the like with the many untried freedoms and rights accorded to women, their roles were still specify by marriage and domestic duties. What I didnt realize was that my father thought college was good for girls good for finding a husband. After cardinal age of college and two more in grad school, and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all that education. (Kirszner 97)The selection further goes on to relate the attempts made by Cisneros in getting her father to ac discernledge her achievements and herself as more than only a daughter. She wanted to BE his daughter in both sense of the word and enjoy the same pride her father has in her brothers achievements. I often witness the hunch posture, from women after dark on the warrenlike streets of Brooklyn where I live. They count to set their faces on neutral and, with their purse straps string across their chests bandolier style, they forge ahead as though saucy themselves a conglomeratest being tackled.(Kirszner 242) In Brent Staples observations in the Black Man gear up in altering a public space (Kirszner 240), he presents the throw of a woman who is determined to move forward yet trunk aware of the possible challenges to her progress. While in the story the context women is defined in is couched in terms of potential threat from street frenzy and crimes, one could almost picture the same description as relevant to the grim and set determination of the feminists who steadfastly battles for womens rights and progress.It has been many years since women ach ieved a major victory in suffrage and set astir(predicate) to establishing their identity in society. Yet in some cases, there seem to be some women who remain oblivious or at least, not benefited by the new stature and rights women have been able to claim through years of struggle with a male-dominated society. In Anna Deavere Smiths quaternary Ameri cigaret Characters monologue (2005) she shares a conversation she had with an elderly philosopher friend she had, Maxine Green. In the conversation, Smith asked Green What are two things that you dont know and still want to know? Green replies Personally I still feel that I have to curtsy when I see the chairperson of our University and I feel that I ought to get coffee for my male colleagues even though Ive outlived most of them. Smith follows this up with the characterization of medico convict Paulette Jenkins. Paulette Jenkins represents the women in abusive relationship who suffer in silence. She neer spoke out because she di dnt want people to know that there was something wrong with her family. She took her husbands abuse and allowed him to do the same to her childrenchildren that she had in the belief that it would soften her husband.What would make a man do such a thing? At the same time, what would make a woman stand by helplessly as her husband beats up her children and herself? Conflict in relationships between men and women are believed to stem from four main reasons mens jealousy, mens expectation of women and domestic work, mens sense of right to punish their women, and the importance to men of asserting and keeping their authority. Women on the other hand, are kept speechless due to feelings of shame and responsibility (Dobash, and Dobash 4). More often than not, the women feel that they be whatever the husband did to them.This acquiescence may be due to their pagan orientation of women as subservient wives. Upbringing and cultural orientation can do much to influence a persons fellow feel ing and acceptance of gender roles. (Dobash, and Dobash 4) However, there is always the freedom of choice and private introspection, which should allow individuals to reason out right and wrong and the applicability and rule of traditions for themselves. The case of Sandra Cisneros is the perfect illustration of this. Despite being brought up in a highly patriarchal household and culture, she chose to follow her own commit and achieve in her own right.In the end, she managed to earn her fathers respect and acknowledgment that she, as a woman, can accomplish and gain honor and pride for the family. Regardless of background, doctrine or culture, everyone, man and woman, has that same choice in choosing how their manhood or womanhood will be defined in their lives.Works Cited Acker, Joan. What Happened to the Womens Movement? -An Exchange. Monthly recapitulation Oct. 2001 46. Questia. 28 ethnic music. 2007 . Feminism. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004. Questia. 28 Sept. 20 07 . Dobash, R. Emerson, and Russell P. Dobash. Women, Violence, and Social Change. New York Routledge, 1992. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 . Kirszner, Laurie. Patterns for College Writing 10th ed. New York Bedford/St. Martins. 2006. Mcneill, William H. Violence & Submission in the kind-hearted Past. Daedalus 136. 1 (2007) 5+. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 . Smith, Anna Deveare. Four American Characters. 2005 TED. com. 27 Sept 2007 http//www. ted. com/index. php/talks/view/id/60