Gender concepts and contemporary issues

Gender

Over the course of history, social mores regarding genders and human sexuality have greatly changed. When one examines the progression of man's development through time, the evolution is undeniable though not always consistent. What is a woman? What is a man? Are these questions purely biological and answered by the presence of a chromosome, or are these questions of social decision? While biology rules the sexes, society structures the ever-changing definitions of gender, of male and female, man and woman. Changes in society as well as culture have brought about these transitory roles, furthered by the demands placed on individuals by the basic needs of their lives.

In hunter-gatherer societies, the subsistence level of existence preempted the modern discussion of egalitarian legal respect, and basic common sense intervened. In both monogamous and polygamous societies, the need for food had to be met; at the same time, the development of a greater society demanded a sexual reproduction that kept little children in the household, whatever its form. With adults who are biologically enabled to care for young children and others who lack mammary glands and might not be as demanded during early years of life, the segregation was natural: a woman could stay home while a man found food. While this need existed across the board of human development, it was handled differently in progression by different societies. Histories of the Amazons and Sumatra tell of matriarchal social rule, while Islamic society still supports a paternalistic society.

Similarly, change is evident in popular western culture regarding the socio-political approach to genders. Where polygamous societies existed long ago, monogamy stands in its stead today, firmly entrenched in the legal framework of society and balanced by its foundational religions. Just as a law once existed that forbade interracial marriages, previous assumptions of the deviant have been disregarded in favor of larger social movements. The ideology of the 1960s and culture of self-promotion, passion, and anti-establishment ideas were fodder for the revolutionary mind that promoted free sex for all, even at the expense of individual safety; ultimately, the movement carried such weight that, despite its detractors, it was realized. Same-sex marriages, civil unions, and the push for homosexual and transgendered equality is a modern-day example of this movement.

The largest difference between the modern-day approach to gender and that of the past is the specification of social roles previously denoted for males and females. Previously, the male served as the primary bread winner for the family, while females were forced to take care of household matters, constructing the domestic world that included everything from childcare to social construction. Their role was primarily to mold a child's character and introduce him or her to the larger world of society through hands-on lessons in family values. Today, women join the university ranks and workforce with the same degree as their male counterpart; the larger society, still struggling to catch up, has created a world of day-care and universal kindergartens to keep up.

With the growth of the technological nation and an infrastructure that allowed for women to leave the home, the growing demand for the realization of the democratic ideals for which America is famous extended to women, too. The brave few whose roles in the household, passing chores to their husbands; in shops, trading weighty, bustling skirts for the man's simple pantaloons; in the greater world, filling women's minds with words like "suffrage" and "equality" created an atmosphere both here in the United States and abroad that allowed for such great moments history as the Seneca Falls Convention.

Twentieth century agendas continue to challenge the status quo; Britain's Tony Blair took paternity leave after the birth of his child, leaving his post as PM briefly to show the world his role as semi-equal caregiver in the family. The rise of feminism granted women equal rights and job opportunities, changing the family setting, and demanding of men an equal share at home, providing great opportunities for the future of the idealistic family, and bringing many a new bright mind to the workforce. Without their guidance, the world be empty of the poetry of Maya Angelou, the courage of Clara Barton, the genius of Pearl S. Buck, the leadership of Rosalynn Carter, the great voice of Ella, and the practical inventions of Temple Grandin. Though not warmly received across the board at first, the movement changed history.

Society derives its gender roles from the religious doctrines it holds sacred; it is also important to note the anthropological perspectives which, frequently false, have also been factored into the social consciousness of a culture over time. Among these in the world of gender definitions are the ideas of Darwin, whose plebian social scope promoted an idea in which the best genes were transferred to males over females, programming men psychologically to be the better species. Fortunately, the age of social Darwinism that separated whites from their inferior racial peers has also brought the end to such a seemingly obvious theoretical choke.

While the intellectually stunting and recreationally infuriating chores of household and familial responsibility were deemed below men, women were forced into the natural demands of the day. As the "useless" sex, they were locked into their kitchens. Some religious doctrines, like that of Hassidic Judaism and most Protestant movements, recognize the role of the woman - even in her role as mother - as something more important than Darwin's culturally indentured servant. Despite its strict Sharia, Islam even recognized woman to be more worthy than Darwin's ideas purported by affirming the power of the home, even if not the power of women. Having the kitchen far more exalted, a certain respect befell the woman by proxy.

For most women, though, such social pittance remains not enough; the powerful forces of feminism continue to guide confused fathers and great males through the maze that is home-and-job life, and women continue to weigh the power of their educations, circadian clocks and urge for children, as well as the still-shut workplace in which they might find professional success with conviction. In a world where they were forced to tend to children and then to machinery as the World Wars took the men overseas, women have been exposed to greater movements than just feminism; they have been given the gift of great social exposure and the power to push feminism through the boundaries of equal vote and to real egalitarianism; universal childcare, paternity leave, and the destruction of the systematic ideas that still, in many ways, keep them tied to the kitchen while they excel outside of it as well.