Gender Studies

Gender Roles in American Society

Some wonder what men and women's roles in society truly are. Are they equal in opportunity and ability? Should they be considered equal or do they have outlined roles they should follow? In this era, people like to be what is known as "politically correct" by attempting to make both sexes equal. Many people feel that it is unfair to say that men can do certain things better than women and women can do other things better than men, but is it actually unfair, or has God actually made men and women differently and given them different roles in life and our society or society in general?

As previously mentioned, many people like to consider males and females equal in ability and in what their roles generally should be in today's society, but I personally don't think that is actually the case. Certainly God has created men and women differently. He has made them to fit certain roles He has defined. The Bible explains a lot about God's roles for men and women. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, talks about Creation and how sin (disobedience to God) entered the world. When God created everything, it was perfect and good. Right after Adam and Eve (the first man and woman) disobeyed God, God kicked them out of the perfect place he had made for them called the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:16-19 says:

"To the woman God said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.' Then to Adam God said, Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread."

This is the first example of God's giving roles to men and women. He stated that women would give birth to children (and, obviously, raise them), while men will take care of the land and work it for food. Many people today believe that since the Bible was written quite a long time ago that it doesn't apply to the world now and that the roles God has given men and women are changing, but that's not true. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's irrelevant to the world today. Take, for example, the ancient Greek system of government. Back a couple thousand years ago, Greeks came up with the first democracy, an idea that is still used today in our government here in the United States.

Although there is so much evidence proving the Bible true (books have been written proving it), most people still don't believe it and don't think it applies to today. For this reason, many people believe that the roles God has given men and women don't apply to today. Then, whenever they feel men and women aren't being treated equally, they get upset, when there's actually no reason for them to be upset. "Men and women are very different, so why should they be treated equally? Two different people can't be treated equally"(Borgida, Rudman, & Manteufel). One example of an instance in which some people feel men and women are being treated unequally is in raising kids. I believe that, although the husband should also help out a great deal in raising the kids, the wife should be there even more so. The man of the house should be responsible for supporting the family financially. I believe he should be the head of the household and lead the family in decisions, although his wife and children should be a part of decisions also. In reality we know that this simple concept isn't so simple. "In America the divorce rate is more than twice that of the rate in 1960"(Rotheisler, Tim). Some people tend to believe that it's okay for the husband to raise the kids and the wife to earn money, but, according to the Bible, these are not the roles God has given men and women. I feel that God has given women the ability to do so by making them kinder and more suited for raising kids. In a discussion mentioned in a scholarly journal, "a female in the class mentioned that she can relate to both boys and girls when she is babysitting, while a male in the class mentioned that he can't really relate to girls well but can relate to guys really well when babysitting". I feel the same way when I'm working with little kids I know how to relate to the guys, but not the girls, while I've seen females relate to both sexes very well. I think this is because God has made females to fit the role He has given them because He wants them to fit that role"(Stange, Mary).

As I stated previously, God commands the husband to be head of the household. I believe the same goes for dating. The man should be the leader in the relationship. Should women be responsible for asking men out? As ridiculous as it sounds it happens. I personally don't think they should. As I've said many times now, that the man should be the head of the relationship, marriage, household, or government, etc.

A question debated talks about whether more men than women have the qualities to be president. I think this goes back to what I said before. I believe that the husband should be the head of the household, but that doesn't mean we won't see a future woman president. Is it possible for a woman to lead this country? Some people in this discussion, stated that many women have leadership qualities and would be good presidents which I believe is very true. Someday soon we may see many barriers broken.