Sociology

I think that some gender roles are inborn and some are learned.
 Women tend to be soft, emotional and weak compared to their male counterparts. They also seem to be attracted to men with lower voices. Men  on the other hand are strongly built, less emotional and seem to be attracted to women with higher voices. When a child is still young,  it could be both inborn and learned because a female child seems to or she tends to believe that a girl should play with a doll and a boy should play with a ball. They prefer a doll compared to a male child but on the other hand the environment could be the cause of these preferences. Our parents buy us the toys and we grow up believing that certain things are meant for girls whereas some are meant for boys. Examples of gender roles that are learned are our walking style, dressing style and our general behavior. When growing up, girls learn how to dress in a certain way depending on what they see their elders doing. They also learn to sit in a certain way, walk appropriately and how to behave around men whereas men learn how to behave like a man.

Gender identity refers ones identification with regards to being male or female. There are people who undergo gender role conflicts. For example in the African community, men are the breadwinners hence they should provide for the entire family. Failure to do so leads to resentment by members of the society which may lead to psychological problems on the part of the man or low self-esteem. Women on the hand are expected to reproduce and if they are not able to do so members of the society look down upon them which also leads to problems. There are some jobs which are male oriented while some are female oriented. Men who are found working in female oriented jobs are treated unfairly by members of the society and vice-versa.

Puberty is a stage in life and each one of us has to go through it. When I reached puberty I realized some changes in my body. My hips widened, my bust grew bigger, I experienced my first period and many other signs. Because some people reach puberty earlier than others, it always has a negative impact on the ones who go through this early. Most girls tend to hide their growing breasts from others or they hide the fact that they are having their periods. One seems to be isolating from others because she is embarrassed. Teenagers at this time also seem to be having mood swings which may lead to problems with the people around them and mostly it is the parents who have problems with them because the teenagers do things opposite from what is expected of them. During this period the boys and girls start to develop romantic feelings for each other. They do not play together like they used to when they were younger. They fear each other in a way because of the changes happening in their bodies.

Gender stereo typing is a situation whereby all the top positions are assumed to belong to the men. Even though women are working extra hard to succeed, men are still occupying the best positions be it in a company or the Government. There are women who are ministers, professors or even prime ministers but the number is still low. In a classroom situation, you will find that boys pick the science subjects because it is believed that only boys excel in these subjects. There are some women who excel in Mathematics and sciences but nobody seems to be recognizing them due to the fact that boys do better than girls. I have never experienced this directly but I have heard about it and so I would not say I am a victim of gender stereo typing.

I would say I am a feminist because I always want the women to be seen as important members of the society. In many circumstances women are treated as the weaker sex and so we are only seen as mothers and our office should be in the kitchen. Our opinions are not taken seriously so that no matter what we say it does not matter. I work hard as a woman so that I become an important member of the society but it seems that no matter what I do the men will still look down upon me. I think going through the pain of giving birth and taking care of the children should earn the women respect. It is high time men realized that without women there would be no men.

I think the mens movement is a very good idea because it brings the men together to see how they can improve their livelihood and how to defend themselves in case of anything. They come up with projects to improve their finances. There are situations in the Judicial system which tends to favor the women because people seem to believe that men are the ones who always commit crimes. With this movement, men are able to come up with ways to defend themselves. Men can also teach themselves on how to be good husbands and fathers. For me this movement is more positive than negative.