We Need Women&Men to make the World Go Round: Literally.

In class today we had an almost civilized chat about defining ourselves through the help of our gender. Our society views women as sensitive, submissive, caring, and beautiful.  We view men as strong, dominant, intelligent, and handsome. “Boys fix things” and “Girls need things fixed”. Yes, there is a dividing line...

But do all boys solely value women for their quiet approach on life, or do most enjoy the women who take the issues in life by the horn, who enjoy a good hearty laugh, and who have a clear- cut view on their own success in the world? Do all ladies need a man in their life to live? Or do they value men for their pleasant company alone?  I think society focuses on the negative connotations of men and women’s needs. I’m sure a perfectly educated man could learn to cook and clean for himself and a women could learn to pay the bills and rent. When people get so tied up in these ideas, they lose sight of the idea that we are all human beings of one species with mostly the same anatomy.

The large gender gap was created in the beginning of time, when men ruled and women were considered property. Look how far we’ve come! However, issues are still apparent. Women may have been able to vote for Obama this past election, but they still can’t earn equal pay while working at Wal-Mart. Something with this picture is wrong. Wal-Mart discriminates against women doing the exact same work as their male counterparts. They deprive them of proper pay and therefore, equality. This may be one the largest class-action employment lawsuit in U.S. history. And it is all revolved around gender discrimiation.. Here is an article concerning this issue. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-26/justice/walmart.suit_1_wal-mart-stores-appeals-court-class-action?_s=PM:CRIME. So even though feminists may seem like they are fighting for nothing, they most definitely are fighting for something. They’re NOT fighting against men, they are fighting for themselves, daughters, and grandaughters.

In the honors article, the author speaks of how society influences the way people view others and themselves by putting them in stereotypical boxes. She writes, “Durkheim observed that human beings experience society’s influence as a force outside of themselves that constrains their behavior, and this observation has become a pervasive assumption in sociological theorizing.” So society constrains human behavior. Can society put constraints on the scope of woman success, intellectualism, and ability to hold powerful positions? Yes. And society does just what the article explains. Women view themselves as sensitive and weak because society further illustrates these messages through the media and everyday interactions. Women are a great example of the “Looking-Glass Self” hypothesis formulazined by a man, Charles Horton Cooley.

Oh, the irony in the world.