GENDER ROLES: WHAT THEY ARE, HOW THEY ORIGINATE AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The term gender roles refers to a type of social role that determines the way in which men and women are expected to act in society. Gender roles are based on norms and standards agreed upon by society about what masculinity is and what femininity is.

The difference between the concept of gender and that of sex is that sex refers to the biological part, that is, to primary characteristics such as the reproductive system, and secondary characteristics such as height. In other words, biological sex could define that a person has breasts or facial hair.

However, it is society that determines that, for example, the masculine is associated with the color blue and the feminine with the color pink, through the norms associated with gender roles (social aspect).

Since these norms and expectations associated with gender depend on the society in which people are immersed, this will change according to the specific culture, and also according to other personal characteristics such as social class, race and ethnicity.

What are gender roles?

Gender roles are constructed from the notions that a given society has about masculinity and femininity.

It is about all the behaviors that both women and men are expected to carry out in the framework of a society.

Gender roles are not something static, but are constantly changing, responding to the evolution of a given society and the transformation of the concept associated with each of the genders.

How are gender roles acquired?

There are different theories about how gender roles are acquired in our society. On the one hand, there are more biological approaches that attempt to explain game preferences, toys, interests, and professions through sex-dependent characteristics that influence the way the human brain works.

As for the theories where the influence of society is greater, there are the theories of social learning that emphasize learning from models and the social reward or punishment of certain behaviors.

There are also more cognitive theories such as the gender schema, which explain that the way in which people label themselves as women or men influences the way they process information corresponding to gender.

Gender roles and socialization

Socialization is the way in which society instills in its members what are the functions and expectations associated with masculinity and femininity. In this way, the boys and girls learn what their "roles" (roles) are in the "work" of society.

Family socialization

Socialization occurs at many levels, but the most important is that which occurs in the family, since it is the environment in which children find themselves at birth and in which they will be exclusively until they begin to participate more in society at birth. go to school.

This process of socialization in terms of roles begins from the moment the boy or girl is born. The language used by the family is taken into account, as well as the attitudes taken by family members, which are observed by the child from an early age.

Another way that children learn how to behave is by observing how the adults around them react to their choices of clothing, toys, and other items.

For example, it has been found that fathers (more than mothers) mark their expectations of their sons more clearly than of their daughters.

These signs of approval or disapproval do not always occur explicitly, but can be observed in behaviors such as physical approach, verbal reinforcement or level of attention (looking, talking) when the child performs the behavior that is desired.

Examples of socialization

- When young children wear clothes that are different colors. In these cases, the choice of topics is not usually random, but rather is adjusted to what is considered masculine and feminine.

- In the case of boys, their physical characteristics related to strength and speed are usually highlighted, and in the case of girls, the characteristics related to fragility and affection are emphasized more.

- When children are asked to help with household chores, children are usually asked for help with tasks that require strength, such as taking out the garbage or mowing the garden; and girls are asked to help with tasks that require attention and care, such as folding clothes.

Gender roles: masculinity and femininity

The way in which sex is expressed as a biological aspect is practically invariable between different societies. That is, regardless of culture, the vast majority of women will menstruate and develop breasts.

However, the way in which gender is expressed will vary greatly between societies. For example, there are cultures in which dresses and skirts are considered men's clothing.

In Western culture, boys are expected to play with trucks, toy guns, superheroes, and action figures (games and toys related to aggressive or action themes) and girls are expected to play with dolls, clothes, and makeup (related games and toys with care and delicacy).

This has led to campaigns to give away non-sexist toys and to pressure toy stores to display unisex images on boxes and catalogs.

Gender roles in school and work life

Differences can also be seen in the educational system: from schools completely segregated by sex (female and male schools) to the separation that can be done during classes in terms of seats, subjects or competitive events.

At school there are also different expectations of how boys and girls should behave. And in adulthood there are also professions and trades in which men outnumber women in the presence, and vice versa.

Like other types of stereotypes, gender stereotypes can also influence what people expect of a person based solely on their gender (for example, that a woman is not a good driver or that a man must like sports).

This can affect job opportunities or participation in other fields for people who do not conform to the stereotypes of society.

Examples of gender stereotypes

- In school there is usually greater permissiveness in the rules of conduct for boys and expectations of obedience for girls.

- In the workplace, there are more men in the armed forces, engineering, police and politics; and more women in education, the health professions and in the social fields.

References

1. Bem, SL (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88 (4), 354-364.http: //dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354
2. Buchholz, ZD and Boyce, SK (2009). Masculinity: Gender Roles, Characteristics and Coping. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
3. Carter, M. (2014). Gender socialization and Identity Theory. Social Sciences, 3, 242–263. doi: 10.3390 / socsci3020242.
4. Lindsey, L. (2005). Gender roles: a sociological perspective. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
5. Little, W. (2016). Introduction to Sociology: 2nd Canadian Edition. Vancouver: BC Campus Open Source Textbook.
6. Messner, M. (2000). Barbie girls versus sea monsters: Children constructing gender. Gender and Society 14, 765–84.
7. World Health Organization (2015). Descriptive note "Gender". Taken from: who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs403/es/
8. Rocha, T. (2009). Development of gender identity from a psycho-socio-cultural perspective: a conceptual journey. Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 43 (2), 250-259.