"Men and women have different roles to play in modern society." Discuss
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Introduction
"Men and women have different roles to play in modern society." Discuss In the past, men and women generally had their own roles to fulfill. These traditional gender roles were the norm back then and, to a certain extent, are still observed today. Men were seen as the breadwinners of the family, from whom the family's main source of income was obtained. Women were in charge of the households. This meant household expenses, a child's upbringing and housekeeping were left to them. Now, however, these gender roles are increasingly being challenged. The basis of the argument against fixed gender roles is that it is a product of past ideas which cannot apply to modern life. Men and women are created equal, save some physical differences, and hence specific roles for men and women apply. To suggest that men and women having different roles to play in modern society would seem to be challenging this notion of sexual equality. This, I fear, is open to argument. True, the sexual equality revolution that has taken place has dramatically changed the workplace. ...read more.
Middle
The female workforce is becoming more and more vital to the small island-state that has people as its only resource. This increased demand will coax women into the workforce through wages and fringe benefits. At home the same gender role reversal can be seen. Live-in dads can take the place of the working mother and take the responsibility of caring for a child. Household chores are no longer seen as the sole responsibility of the wife, they are more likely to be shared between both genders. In countries like the United States, this role reversal has been taking place for quite some time now. It has even found a way into mainstream entertainment. Adam, a cartoon strip, features a live-in dad as the title character. He is the "mother" of two kids and a baby. His wife is the main breadwinner of the family. Yet, these role-reversals have not been as widespread as they should have been. Even today, men are still the primary breadwinners of most families and women generally take charge of the household. ...read more.
Conclusion
Cases of wayward teens due to both parents being more occupied with work are all too commonly heard. In this case, neither mom nor dad fulfil the "mothering" role to the child, which may lead him to find bad peers as replacements. Having no proper upbringing suggests he has little moral values and a life of crime would more likely result than in the case of a child with a more proper family unit. The same goes for single parenthood where the single parent is burdened with fulfilling both gender roles. With survival and income being a priority, mothers often take a back seat. Hence, men and women do have different roles to play in modern society-either as a working parent or a nurturer. However, the roles are not always specified by gender, i.e. the nurturer can be either male or female and vice versa. The point is that, in a family each parent has to take a different role or the family cannot function normally. Outside the family sphere, both men and women are equal and both genders can fulfill all the roles equally well. ...read more.
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