Gender Roles 2
Until recently, the words sex roles and gender roles were used interchangeably to describe female and male characteristics, attitudes and inclinations. Now, at least in an academic environment, a distinction has been drawn between these terms. Sex roles can be defined as the biological differences between the sexes, such as the ability to become pregnant or nurse a child. Gender roles, on the other hand, refer to culturally-derived, socially-created assumptions about what it means to be masculine or feminine. The unfortunate braiding together of these two roles has been termed the Sex-Gender System. Author Jean Lipman-Blumen argues that this system sets up an unevenly-sided power struggle between the sexes, and that this relationship has become the blueprint for all other power relationships. The inability to control or foresee the future causes a great feeling of helplessness and insecurity in both women and men. We struggle to gain some measure of control over our lives, and it is within these methods of maintaining the illusion of control that the Sex-Gender System comes into play. The Sex-Gender System combines biological sex roles and socially-created gender roles to form a set of rules or guidelines for human behavi
The perceived differences set in place by with the Sex-Gender system results in a power relationship between the sexes; a relationship that, according to author Jean Lipman-Blumen, has become a "blueprint" for all other power relationships. The struggle for control between women and men is the original power struggle. Relationships divided by race, religion and political issues are all derived from this blueprint. Lipman-Blumen argues that gender roles are guarded because these other power roles depend upon their existence. What is unique to the male-female power struggle is that it is the only situation where one would fall in love and live with one's oppressor. But why is this struggle for power so important? These methods of relieving anxiety about our future are more often than not used in tandem with one another. Rarely does one turn to religion or family exclusively for security. These methods are intertwined and, within each of them, are rules regarding sex and gender roles. Within our refuge we are bombarded with the fallout of the Sex-Gender System, in which women are made to feel of lesser importance than men. And, as Lipman-Blumen argues, these roles will always be fiercely protected as the blueprint for all power relationships. For many of us, submitting our lives to others is simply not enough security, and we seek to ease our anxiety by wielding control over other people. This is characteristically a male strategy. The protector convinces himself (along with his protectors) that he is in control. He is given the incredible power to define and label, and to rank order and behavior. Women are often coerced into supporting their controlled status. They are convinced by the male authority that he is filled only with good intentions. But even if the dominant male truly has his spouse's best interests are heart, he may not know what those best interests are. or. Over time, this makes determining the differences between sex and gender roles much more difficult. Gender begins to exaggerate our biological differences, so that eventually
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Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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