Gender Roles Of Gender, Race, And Culture

Gender, race, and culture are social constructs, biased ideologies shaped by society. A society of those who share common perceptions, of an individual, group, or idea. Social constructs are ideas that are deemed to be natural; however, these ideas are not realistic in the world today. Gender roles, a set of concepts centered on masculinity and femininity of expectation of men and women. Although socials constructs have established rules for who we are expected to be, ultimately it is a box that restricted who we wanted to become. Cultural assumptions of gender and sex have been used interchangeably, however these terms are distinctly different. Gender is the identity one identifies themselves as, being male or female. While sex are the biological …show more content…
Allan Johnson mentions, “Masculinity and femininity are cultural ideas about who men and women are and who they are supposed to be...” (Johnson 61). Johnson explains that these ideas fueled the expectations of men and women. For example, men being aggressive, strong independent, controlling, and many other characteristics. While women are on the hand are, supposed be trophy wives, submissive, indecisive, or nurturing. However, men and women possess one or more of each of these characteristics, but they do not define who we are as people nor do they determine their future. Johnson adds to his argument,” All people share a common biological, spiritual, and psychological core, and that qualities such as heroism, caring,... are no more about maleness than they are about femaleness.” (Johnson 60). Johnson explained that using masculinity and femininity to describe people put people into a straightjacket that denied the inherent complexity of what we and our experiences were all …show more content…
For example, Johnson discusses that gays and lesbians challenge the patriarchal assumptions and arrangements of a heterosexual couple. The common stereotype of the patriarchal heterosexual couple of the dominant female as “butch” and the other female “femme”. In addition, patriarchy values of men and women are viewed differently. For instance, if a women were to wear a tuxedo is it seemed as dress up which is acceptable, whereas if a man were to wear a dress it would not be acceptable, because he is a male and males are supposed to be dominant. Furthermore, the elements of the patriarchal culture, masculinity and femininity are part of a way of thinking that makes gender oppression seem acceptable in everyday