Do You Think Male Gender Roles Are Encouraged By Males Or Females?

Honestly? I think it’s a little or both.

Whether we like them or not, gender roles have a purpose. That’s why every society has them. They help us to understand what is expected of us. This could be in terms of how we act, what we wear, and what jobs we do.

When we’re young we want to have these expectations. It helps us to understand our roles in the larger society.

As we get older we may be decide that some of the prescribed roles don’t work for us, and that’s when we start defining things for ourselves.

The good news is that gender roles do change over time. Look at the gender breakdown in higher education. 50 years ago, men outnumbered women in colleges/universities  with the split being 60/40. Today it’s still 60/40, but now its flipped so that it’s more women than men (which has had a fascinating impact on recruitment and standards – but that’s for another post).

The bad news is that they gender roles change universally. Having lived in different areas of the country  over the last few years I can tell you that there are definitely areas where men and women both subscribe to what I refer to as more traditional gender roles. And then there are areas of the country where people are much more accepting of those roles being flexible.

The other bad news is that they may not change as fast we want. If we’re male and want to take on more “female” jobs, we may face a lot of hazing  and discrimination. Look at nursing. While it’s still a female dominated position, the number of men choosing that as a career has definitely been increasing. And yet I still hear from my male students who are thinking about becoming nurses that it can be challenging because they are men.  

Outside of gender roles telling us what is expected of us, it also tells us what we can expect from others who are the same gender If I’m a man than I will probably expect other men to follow the same rules about how to act.

Gender roles also tell us what to expect from others who are not the same gender as us. This can come up a lot in both work and romantic relationships. If I’m a woman than I’m going to expect men to do the things I was taught that men *should* do.

So really, we all play a role in reinforcing male gender roles. The good news is that we all can play a role in helping to change them.

Until next time, be safe and have fun!

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