What Dreams May Come

A detailed Summary of What Dreams May Come

Gender Stereotypes, An Epidemic For Most Americans?

Gender stereotyping is a problem even today in the twenty-first century. For example, there are still disputes on women's rights dating back to the late eighteen hundreds, though many accomplishments have been achieved in this ongoing battle. Since then, women have been able to vote, own property, and operate businesses (some women are even CEO's of fortune five-hundred companies such as e-bay and Kraft foods). Despite all of these things, there are still more battles ahead in the future. Women are still getting paid less than men, even though they are doing the same job as fellow male coworkers. Women still cannot be drafted into the United States armed forces in times of need, either. (Which would be valuable these days.) Some employers may prefer one gender to the next and unconsciously use that to consider a prospective employee's future. Fortunately, we are fighting these stereotypes; there is an increased number of stay-at-home dads and the necessity of a two-income family has changed they way most people feel toward housewives. Most of society has come to accept and realize that women are just as intelligent as men. I believe that stereotypes are limiting and co

nstricting, despite the fact that we use them often to define ourselves. I have seen their effects in the media, in society and life and in our very own homes.

There can be some counter-arguments made in favor of gender stereotypes. They can create a challenge to some people who are driven enough to try to overcome their given stereotypes. Women like Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart are examples of those who can take their raw talent and turn it into very lucrative careers. The fact that they are women is exactly what has helped them. They have used what they were taught when they were younger, such as being a conversationalist in Ms. Winfrey's case and home care in Ms. Stewart's. Some men such as Kevin Aucoin have bypassed stereotypes all together too. In his case, he became a make-up artist to many of Hollywood's leading ladies, despite drawback's and forbiddances of family, friends, and society. Other people are just comfortable in general with the roles they were placed in. Some women are happy to cook and clean around the house while men are happy to work a job every day, both sides relieved that a career path was shown to them at an early age. I personally, want to be a nurse and find that many people are more than accepting of my career choice as compared to guys I know who have a hard time explaining their career to friends and family. In a way, stereotypes turned into something positive and advantageous.

These days, it's still aggravating to see women who are forced to toil in daily chores such as cooking or cleaning. These women take care of the children with little or no appreciation from males in society. My best friend during high school grew up in what is a frightening example of a gender stereotypical household. By the age of 10 she was expected to feed her baby brother when he woke up at night and to baby-sit him, even if it meant staying home from school. She was the only girl out of four children, so all housework was done by either her mother or herself. Every day, laundry would have to be done and dinner cooked before her father got home from his job as a truck driver. Her three brothers would sit around and watch TV or play videogames while she maintained the household. She told me once that when attempting to question the family policy, she got an earth-shattering response, "Girls cook, clean and take care of the household. Boys work". The first time I went over to her house, it blew my mind how horrible both she and her mother were treated. They seemed to be brainwash

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Cup Finals, Americans Gender, Kevin Aucoin, Martha Stewart, gender stereotypes, male sports, Ms Winfrey's, cook clean, care children, viewers male sports, cook clean care, life own homes, limiting constricting, society life own, society stereotypes, careers women, clean care, maintain household, media society life, media society,

Approximate Word count = 1708
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Foreign