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Albert Castanon

Professor Olivas

English 201

25 July, 2017

The Expectations of Society

Gender roles and expectations have been the basis for the way that human life has been

structured and viewed from the dawn of mankind to modern day life. These roles and

expectations have put unnecessary stress and conflicts into the lives of those that attempt to stray

from what most see as normal. Even though we progress towards brighter futures and more

accommodating lifestyles, these unfair social pressures are placed upon every human being.

These social pressures that force a person into a role based on their gender are not only unfair,

but can also be unnecessarily traumatizing and stressful. A role based on your gender is not

something that should be seen as normal in todays society, mainly due to the fact that a persons

gender no longer limits the accomplishments that they can achieve. There are several examples

of people that break the norm when it comes to gender roles and expectations, even in day-to-day

life. There are female police officers, male preschool teachers, old firefighters, and young

professors. There are several limitations in the world in regards to what a person can achieve, but

gender should never be one of them. When gender is brought into the equation, the only thing

that can be accomplished is a hindrance to the progression of society. Also, forcing a person into

a role based on their gender can only damage their mental health and in turn, their physical

health. Reverting to a stage where these roles were accepted and enforced by society would be a

massive step backwards as today we are in a more progressive era where almost anything is
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acceptable. In The Friday Everything Changed by Anne Hart, we are told the story of a young

girl that questioned the roles that were placed upon the students in her class. This girl eventually

challenged the roles and it allowed for a breakthrough that allowed further advancement for the

females in the classroom, leading them to be seen on equal footing as the males.

However, gender roles in many countries outside of the first world are extremely difficult

to break through due to the fact that these roles are the basis for many cultures. Some areas find

it very difficult to move forward while others will outright refuse. While most of this can be

blamed on the male aspect of society, it also lies in the hands of the women as well many

females have not only grown to accept these roles, but also believe that they are healthy for the

progression of their society. Moreover, societies characterized by more rigid male dominance

(where sex roles are also more rigid) are generally also more authoritarian (Eisler, Riane). There

are a lot of issues with some of these lower class countries; one of the main issues is the denial of

basic rights to many women. The denial of these rights leads them to believe that they will never

be able to break free of the roles that society has placed upon them generation after generation.

However, even though things as simple as education being denied to many women, there are

several examples of these people that break the norm. These people go on to make great

advancements in their respective fields and change the way they are perceived by people in the

society. These breakthroughs should be more commonplace and should allow for the betterment

of these societies, but the deep-seeded ideology that there are roles for every person from the

moment that their gender is revealed is difficult to change. The idea that a man will go on to

complete his education and find a job to provide for his family, while a woman will go on to

learn how to do household duties is a concept that should be eliminated. In some of these third

world countries the idea that a man can fulfill the role of a caretaker while the woman is the
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primary breadwinner is something that is completely unheard of. There is a negative stigma

behind a gender performing the duties that are expected of the opposite sex and this stigma only

hinders the progression of a society.

Having an expected role for a gender leads to discrepancies when it comes to the rights of

the more oppressed gender. Many of the gender roles stem from very early on in an areas

development where the division of labor is formed. All throughout history there have been roles

that needed to be fulfilled, and often times these roles were divided into two categories: male,

and female. There have always been roles for humans, even during the primitive era of hunter-

gatherers, where the men would head out in search for food and complete tasks revolving around

manual labor, and the women would take on a more nurturing role. These roles were present in a

time where people would sleep on the floors of caves and die of simple ailments such as

influenza, there is no reason that these ideologies should exist in a society that is advanced as

todays. People around the world say gender inequalities persist in their countries and that more

changes are needed to ensure women have the same rights as men (Horowitz, Juliana). Even

though these issues mainly plague the way that women are perceived by society, they are an

issue for men, too. In the story The Friday Everything Changed, even though it is not a

massive issue, the collection of water being limited to males shows that females are not seen as

equals and are in a separate category. It is necessary for both genders to be seen on equal

grounds in order for a healthy society to flourish, even in an environment as small as a

classroom. The impression that every human is equal is something that should be implanted into

a childs mind as early as possible, by doing so they are given the idea that the roles that are

placed upon them can be broken out of. Limiting what is expected of a child, male or female, can

only be toxic to that childs development. These limits are also things that should not be present
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during the growth of a child, like in The Friday Everything Changed, children should be

encouraged to stray from the expectations that society has placed upon them and their respective

genders.

In todays society, men and women are both breaking the roles that are expected of them

and taking on the expectations of the opposite gender. Entering a field of work that is dominated

by the opposite gender and breaking the stigma of that field is one example of how these norms

are being shattered. Men are becoming successful nurses, teachers, and caregivers; while women

are becoming successful engineers, laborers, and political figures. While these positions are

indeed available to people of both genders, the general idea is that men are more likely to receive

these positions than women. This also goes along with the idea that men have expectations set

upon them by society in which they are meant to be the primary breadwinners for a family. This

inhibition not only puts unnecessary stress on a man to fall into something that is expected of

him, but also sets a boundary for a woman which she then has to break through. Indeed, in half

the countries polled, most people believe that when jobs are scarce, men should have more of a

right to jobs than women (Horowitz, Juliana). One may believe that this idea comes from men

and their belief towards rights to work, however, this is also the general mindset for most women

in developing nations. While gender roles are generally more oppressive towards women than

they are towards men, society still places men under the pressure of providing for his family.

While it is common in most countries for a man to provide for his family, the general idea that is

being gravitated towards is that the male breadwinner does not have to be the norm. There are

some rare cases in developing nations in which the males are the primary caregivers for the

family and accomplish household duties while the woman is out providing for the family. While

that is one step towards breaking out of the expected roles in society, there is still much left to be
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desired. It is becoming increasingly more common to have both parents take on equal roles in

providing financial stability for a household, while also being the primary caregivers for their

homes.

There are many issues that arise when people fulfill their expected roles in society, some

are even more harmful than if they were to challenge the roles and set the bar for new

expectations. When there are children added into the equation, the entire process of defining a

role for a gender becomes much clearer. A mother is meant to take on a nurturing role and

accomplish household chores while the father is meant to find work and provide for his

household. This can be extremely damaging towards the offspring due to the fact that most stay

at home parents are in the lower income brackets of society. Seeing this model as they are being

raised only reinforces what society is already placing upon them and creates an environment in

which they may feel trapped to follow in the footsteps of their parents and accomplish their

expected roles. The highest proportion of stay at home moms is found among women married to

men in the bottom 25 percent of the countrys income distribution. Most of these women cannot

afford to work because of the high cost of child care, even though their partners and children

would benefit from the increased income (Coontz, Stephanie). This may not be as harmful to a

child during their infant years, but as the child develops they may not have access to everything

that they require due to the low income of the single working parent. Again, even though it

would benefit the entire household for both parents to take on a provider role, the roles placed on

the individual parents expect the father to go out and find work while the mother stays home and

nurtures the child. These roles that are placed on the parents can indeed be damaging to their

childs development and mental health. If the expectation of the role of the stay at home mother

were to be broken, then many lower class families will benefit due to the increased income and
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increased morale from the accomplishment. These expected roles can only damage the

progression of a society, even in regards to things such as income. In Scandinavian nations,

strong emphasis on sexual equality has gone along with both political and economic democracy,

as well as with social priority given to activities stereotypically associated with women. Such as

child care, health care, and environmental housekeeping (Eisler, Riane). There are several areas

in the world in which the lines between who should fulfill what role are defined specifically;

however, in other parts of the world these specifics do not exist. The areas in which there are no

roles or expectations placed on people are generally associated with good conditions, higher

economic stability, and a better overall standard of living.

As harmful as they may seem towards a society, there are areas in the world in which

gender roles do indeed have their place. These are effective at keeping the social structure

balanced and provide a positive effect for the society that is based on these roles. For example,

many third-world countries have expected roles and straying from them is generally not

considered, nor accepted by many. Straying from these roles only damages the balance in the

society and is seen as an extremely poor choice by many others. The roles that are required to be

fulfilled are at the point where if they are not met then the person is seen as an outcast and a

burden to society. One example of this revolves around the concept of arranged marriage

young men and women being paired with suitors several years older for the sake of business.

Most countries even have hard penalties for attempting to stray from the normality of their

expected roles, sometimes even as harsh as death. Even though some countries have roles that

work well and people understand what is expected of them in society, some others have roles

that are not so friendly. There are issues in some countries where these roles exist to allow a

divide between the two genders. This divide leads to inequalities where one gender is seen as
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superior, while the other gender merely falls into a lesser role. Rape, physical abuse,

kidnappings and gender discrimination are on the cards as Western forces leave. (Lamb,

Christina). This headline from a magazine outlines the conditions in northern Afghanistan and

the worries and troubles of women in the country. The gender roles present in this country are

barbaric; this is another example of when gender roles can only hinder the progression of a

society. Regressing back to such a primitive mindset where people are basically given away,

where there are no laws and, mostly anything goes is not good for any growing society. The

expectations of a woman in these countries are comparable to those of a slave in the era of

slavery. The small amounts of power that are presented to men in the roles that they are placed in

are abused to the point of women being dehumanized. Extremes such as rape, beatings, and

kidnappings are commonplace and are actually expected from these roles. The expectation for

women is to accept this fate and simply not question it, gender roles can indeed have a place in

the world, but it is very apparent that they should not exist in todays society.

It is not difficult to understand that the roles that are placed upon humans in society can

be damaging towards not only their individual lifestyles but also the way that the areas around

them operate. The economic difficulties that are involved with the expectations that a man

should have some type of job in order to provide for his family only hinder the progression of

man. Not every man or woman desires to work or nurture in order to provide, as odd as it may

seem, at times fulfilling an opposite role can be quite fulfilling for a person. Along with this

comes economic difficulty, however, and that is also a problem that is perpetuated by the

expected roles. The most urgent issue facing working Americans today is not the glass ceiling.

It is the sinking floor (Coontz, Stephanie). Lower and lower expectations are placed upon the

type of work that a man is expected to accept in order to provide for his family, due to the idea
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that the man should be the primary breadwinner. Many locations will offer low wages due to the

fact that people will still accept these wages in order to provide, although this is also something

that affects women, it is more apparent among men. Social and economic policies constructed

around the male breadwinner model have always disadvantaged women. But today they are

dragging down millions of men as well (Coontz, Stephanie). Placing a person into a role where

they are expected by society to provide for their entire family is often quite damaging to their

mental health. Not everyone wants to fulfill this role and be a primary provider; this places an

unnecessary mental tax on a person that only multiplies as time progresses. This can also be

physically taxing due to the fact that these people may feel trapped and under the obligation to

fulfill this role where they are the lifeline for several other people.

In order to break free of these social roles that are expected from most people, we need to

step back and analyze why it is that these things are seen as normal and help break away from

them. In the story The Friday Everything Changed, one of the main reasons that collecting the

bucket of water was left to the males of the classrooms is simply due to the fact that it was the

way it had always been. It is necessary to understand that a tradition is not a means to keep

something as oppressive and archaic as gender roles as the norm in society. The impression that

these expected roles leave on the youth of a society can be extremely damaging due to the ideas

that are placed upon them where it makes it difficult for them to flourish. Adults, as well as

youth are affected by these expected roles; it is not very often that someone challenges the

expectations of the roles that have been placed upon them. Being more tolerable towards

someone that is straying from the expected role is one way to help break free from roles that

people have placed upon genders. Having more equality among these ideas is one small step

towards being able to eliminate the idea of expectations and gender roles.
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Works Cited

Lamb, Christina. "Afghan Women Dread Departure of U.S. Forces." Newsweek, Mar, 2015, SIRS

Issues Researcher

Coontz, Stephanie. How can we help me? By helping women. New York Times, 12 Jun 2014,

PP. sr.6, SIRS Issues researcher

Horowitz, Juliana M., and Richard Wike.seeing the second sex. Harvard International, 2010,

PP.64, SIRS issues researcher.

Eisler, Riane. A Time for Partnership. UNESCO courier, Sep, 1995, PP. 5-11, SIRS Issues

Researcher

Hart, Anne. The Friday Everything Changed. N.P. N.D.