For centuries men and women have always been looked at as having different roles in society. That the man is to work and provide for his family. While the female is to stay at home to clean the house and take care of the children. It’s been forced upon us for centuries that it is the only way. Forced upon us from the people who raised us and what society tells us.
Since the beginning of the first war it’s been expected that men are to enlist in the military and serve their country. That it is a man duty and not a woman. Society tells men that they need to be the only successful one in the family therefore, the males is to “bring home the bacon”. Women have been told that they need to find a man and settle down at an early age. That having a job is not their role.
Gender equality has been a constant issue not just in American but all around the world. Whether it’s: access to education, economic opportunities, political leadership, etc. For year’s now women have found out that their males counterpart makes more money than them even when they have the same amount of education or even more. That women tend to get over look in the workplace or things that a man would do is unacceptable of a woman not just in business life but in personal life. In the song “If I Were a Boy” written by BC Jean and Toby Gad performed by Beyoncé it talks about the double standards between men and women and how it would be if roles were reversed.
It touches on the personal side of gender roles. In the first line of the song she sings “If I were a boy even just for a day I’d roll outta bed in the morning and throw on what I wanted and go” basically saying that women are expected to look a certain way when they live the house such has doing their hair and makeup. While a man doesn’t have to worry about all of that. In another line from the song “If I were a boy I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl I swear I’d be a better man” saying that a man doesn’t know how women feel when being love and how impactful it is to be treated right. All women want is to be treated fairly and equally. Women are living in a time where a man whose has been accused of sexual assault is the sitting president of the United States.
For his paper I was what forms of social action might you envision to help address this issue? Women already taking social action by speaking out against being treated unfairly, the women’s march in not just D.C. but all around the U.S. this year. Talking about it on social media and not being afraid of the backlash from it. The main point is having something you believe in and sticking up for.
