Gender roles

Gender roles refer to the social constructs, by which men are assigned to some traditional duties, and women to others. While cultures worldwide have had disparate conceptions of gender roles, in the Christian tradition, the roles are those of men as breadwinners and women as homemakers.

Feminist double-talk

Pioneering feminist Simone de Beauvoir sought to stop women from being housewives, whether they wanted to or not. She wrote:

[W]oman's work within the home [is] not directly useful to society, produces nothing. [The housewife] is subordinate, secondary, parasitic. It is for their common welfare that the situation must be altered by prohibiting marriage as a 'career' for woman." - The Second Sex, 1949. [1]

Choice as a Factor of Modern Gender Roles

Modern feminists fight the idea that gender roles should be forced on women, either by those who seek to force women to be homemakers, or by those who seek to force women to choose careers. Therefore, modern feminists embrace the precept of choice, that women should be able to choose whether to be a homemaker, or a career professional.

This accommodates the view of some feminists, who view homemaking as a restrictive waste of time, and also upholds the beliefs of other women, who believe that homemaking is in truth one of the most challenging and rewarding pursuits, and many women are happier caring for their homes and children than pursuing a career, contrary to feminist positions. Thus, the major point of the modern feminist approach to gender roles is that the woman be able to choose her role with freedom, and without pressure from friend or institution.

Fundamentalist Christian Perspective

It is important to note that God created men and women equal but different. People are chosen by God to fulfill his purposes according to their talents.

God declared in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good for the man to be alone." God created men and women to work together to accomplish what neither could do on their own.

Sociology Perspective

According to some writers,^{[Who says?]} gender may be understood more as a cultural concept and a complex set of learned behaviors that is contingent not only on culture, but also on history. Gender roles and expectations are always in flux and vary from one society to another and one time to another. Thus, the qualities and behaviors expected of women by a particular society at a particular historical time is called femininity; masculinity is what is expected of men in a particular cultural and historical setting.

See Also

• Feminism
• Gender