Gender Roles

What are gender roles?

Gender roles are jobs or expectations created for a specific gender through social norms. For women, there are many gender roles that focus on them being a nurturer and caretakers for children. These all tend to be very sensitive and caring jobs that a woman can take on. On the other hand, a man is often given roles such as provider and protector. However, these stereotypical roles have created tension for some people. 

How are these stereotypical roles creating tension?

Gender roles can be a sensitive topic for some people. However, they can play a big part for some people. Most countries outside of the United States have set gender roles and follow them very diligently. So why is it such a sensitive topic in the United States of America? Throughout the history of the United States of America, many women have fought to be able to get away from those gender roles. This is what is causing that tension for women. They have been fighting to get away from them but can still be stereotyped into them. 

Are specific gender roles helpful in families?

In some families, gender roles can help create stability and security. However, most roles should be shared by parents. As parents share the roles, they are able to work together. Sharing is also a way to help parents not feel like they are stuck doing one job for the rest of their lives. For example, in my family, we are all on laundry duty, not just my mom. My mom was the only one who did laundry for a while, and it was hard for her. My dad also was the only one that mowed the lawn or other roles outside for a long time. However, when we saw that all these separate roles were causing tension, we decided to share and work together on the jobs. As we changed and started working together, we saw the whole dynamic change. We became happier and were able to do a lot more together. Just because this worked for my family does not mean that it will work for all of them, but there is always something that can help families work together and love each other more.  

There are many factors that go into how roles play a part in a family. Every family is different, and the way they view roles is different too. Some families have a mom who has taken on the provider role, and the father has taken on the nurturer role. Sometimes a mom takes on the protective role as well as a dad. It all depends on what is happening to the family. 

What about single-parent families?

Single parents have to take on all the roles or share them with family members that are close and willing to help. I have an aunt who is going through a hard time with her family situation. She has had to take on both sets of roles for her children. This has caused the rest of our extended family to help as much as we can. My family is further away, so we cant do as much, but we can be there to support her. I have an aunt and uncle that live much closer to my aunt that is in this bad situation. They have been able to do a lot for her and her kids. One thing they did was have her over for Christmas and Thanksgiving because she was struggling. However, some single parents do not get help from family or friends around them. Gender roles, in this case, would not be gender specific. A parent in this situation would have all the responsibilities on them. This often leads to some of them being forgotten about.