Gender Inequality (Chapter 12)

            Many people today believe that the battle against gender inequality has been won. However, those people are greatly mistaken, because in today’s society gender is still being socially structured in the everyday lives of women and men. This post is going to demonstrate how social institutions, statuses, roles, cultural beliefs, and institutional norms are adding predictability to American women’s lives and creating a designated path that society says women are meant to follow.

            My first example regards the institutional norms of children’s play toys. Beginning as a child I was taught to play with baby dolls, kitchenettes, make up, and imagining and acting out my future wedding plans. Even as children, girls are stereotyped to be the “woman of a house”. We grow up learning the role of how to take care of children, cook, and play dress up and put make up on to look appealing to the opposite sex. We’re taught young as children to follow and aspire to be able to hold out these values and obtain these roles that are given to us at a young age by society. Socially constructed roles for women, are even shown in sly comments and practical jokes made by men in our society. How many times have you heard “make me a sandwich”, or “stay in the kitchen, where you belong” jokes? Growing up, many institutions continue to drill these socially constructed roles into our everyday lives. In my high school, and I suspect that it was the same in many other American high schools, football was the main event. However, women aren’t often “fit” to play. One girl in my high school tried out for the freshman team, made it, played the first year, and then quit because it was too hard. In high school, men play the main event, while woman aspire to be the cheerleaders or the dancers on the side lines. Even in high school, society gives us a role to cheer on men. Now, I know not every girl in high school aspires to be on the side lines, but in some cases, and most definitely in the media this is shown.

            Everyday social life comes with reminders of gender imbalances, especially when these reminders come from the media. Television remains rather traditional and stereotypical when it comes to the many sides of women. On one side, there is the traditional house maker, and on the other is the objectified view of women that is portrayed is music videos and reality TV shows. Television also objectifies women by claiming the impossible idea of a “perfect woman”. It makes teenagers, adults and even children believe that they need to be thinner, or more attractive. The book shows that 42% of first to third graders want to be thinner. At the age of ten 81% of them is afraid of being fat. These media messages and image that attempt to put a role and status on women, because of their attractiveness can be very damaging to women in America mentally and physically. We attempt to be perfection not for ourselves, but to be appealing to men. This objectifying view of woman is not only emphasized in the media, but we see it in society as well. Men continue to hold higher level positions, and obtain higher wages than women in the work place.

            After reading chapter 12, I have definitely realized that the battle for gender equality is far from over. It exists not only in the United States, but globally all over the world. Some shocking facts that the book discussed of tragedies that happen because of gender inequality include. In Columbia a man who rapes a woman can be absolved of all charges if he offers to marry her. In Senegal, single women who are rape victims may be killed by their families because as nonvirgins they can no longer command a high dowry; a married woman who’s been raped may be killed by her “dishonored” husband. In Afghanistan women are forbidden by law to refuse to have sex with their husband.  As woman, we are often taught our roles and status in society and it consistently shows as unequal’s amongst men.