Gender Stratification Talk About Gender

Gender Stratification

Talk about gender roles in the United States; give examples of roles for men and women in our culture?

The ethos of the American society has been informed by two main influences: One the Puritan Christian values inherited from European immigrants primarily from England but also other places and two the harsh conditions the immigrants faced in the wilderness of a new land which necessitated a protected environment for what was deemed as the weaker sex. Christian society in its essence was a patriarchal society and the same traditional patriarchy was carried across the Atlantic by the early colonists. The primordial roles of the man as the hunter/gatherer (and by extrapolation merchant, soldier, ruler) and woman as the homemaker and mother of the man's children have been ossified to an extent that even in this advanced age, we are unable to break through it entirely.

The role of the housewife- epitomized by the useless chatter and banter of the Desperate Housewives- still remains the rule whereas the lawyer, the judge, the doctor or the pilot etc. are the exceptions. Even in the workplace till well into the 1990s the main role of women was that of a personal assistant or a secretary or a nurse but never something serious like a doctor or a lawyer. This of course has changed quite a bit but herein lies the rub i.e. women now have to juggle roles i.e. be a homemaker and a successful professional. Added to this is the issue of compensation which remains a sore point for women. Most women earn up to as much as 25% less than men for similar roles. Unlike Europe there is no equal status legislation to outlaw blatant differentials in pay based on gender. Therefore while women have charged forwards to share in traditional male roles, by and large the men in our society remain committed to their hunter gatherer role and have no role in what was and still continues to be a traditional female territory, almost out of condescending spite for women.

2. Discuss gay marriage and why people accept and resist this notion. What is currently being done to gain the right to marry for all couples?

The idea that two men or two women can be each other's companions sexually and indeed as part of a long-term relationship threatens the established gender roles that have been drummed into us since time immemorial. Perhaps more accurately it threatens the very basic economic structure of society i.e. property and inheritance. Marriage was an exclusivity contract to ensure the accurate determination of inheritance. After all somebody had to inherit the cave. A woman with multiple sexual partners meant paternity disputes. Gay marriage outflanks all of this and creates a brand new paradigm -- one could say it is the Copernican Revolution of our understanding of marriage. The resistance to gay marriage, often disguised as religious, when pierced shows that the real reason has to do more with the functional aspect of what marriage has traditionally been viewed as i.e. An institution to preserve order and discourage chaos. Modern marriage is no longer dependent on the original rationale for creating the institution in the first place. With DNA testing and test tube reproduction, the issues of paternity are no longer an issue. Marriage then becomes as smart legal fiction to ensure certain collective rights to a new imagined sub-unit i.e. A couple who may be heterosexual or homosexual. Time has come therefore to find a new rationale for marriage and the objections to gay marriage will fritter away. In others words, it is high time to reframe the issue in light of modern realities in this day and age.

While the issue has become a states' issue, the main objection to narrowly construing marriage as a union between a man and a woman (as the Defense of Marriage Act, 1996 does) is based on substantive due process available under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

. Therefore most of the efforts in this regard are aimed at re-establishing these parameters.

3. Talk about sexism in the workplace. Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your gender. (female)

As a woman I have had some nasty run-ins with sexism in my brief employment history. As a part time clerk in Blockbuster I was often ostracized by my male colleagues who would be in a world of their own cracking sexist jokes at my expense. I reported this to my manager but he told me to suck it up and he did so with such relish. Over the summer I worked briefly as a waitress at Hooters and it was as if I was a prostitute. After one too many nasty advances, I left the job never to return.

4. Talk about the status of women in our culture; how is it possible that women still make less for performing the same job as a man, how is this tied to our historical patterns of discrimination in this society?

As explained above, historically the American society has been informed by the Christian ethic which is patriarchal in essence combined with our own unique historical experience. Society has shaped women's roles in a manner that serves men, even when women claim more of the work place. Women are seen by the employers as a liability i.e. you have to give us maternity leaves and put up with our so called "PMS" tantrums. We are viewed as emotionally unstable, indecisive and incapable of performing at the highest levels, which is why we are yet to elect a woman president. Between a woman and a man placed at the same levels of hierarchy, the man is more likely to be promoted first. Most men find it an insult to their ego to report to a woman boss. Take law enforcement for example. How many police chiefs, lead detectives, district attorneys and judges are women? The percentage is miniscule. Male egos stand in the way.