Gender and Culture

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that culture plays an important part in defining gender and gender roles in society. In fact, even within the same culture there may be considerable differences that occur due to the cleavage between urban and rural settings. The writer discusses that generally speaking, a rural environment usually follows tradition rather than modernization which is equal to traditional gender roles. The traditional gender role in the case of women implies taking care of the household and offspring, which is eventually conducive to a certain degree of confinement and isolation primarily due to being unemployed. This paper looks at the situation as far as gender roles in two dramatically different cultures, i.e. American and African cultures, and consequently provides an assessment of the impact of these differences on society as a whole, and on the individual.

From the Paper:

"An immensely culturally rich society as the American one offers a very interesting model of gender roles. Moreover, one must also consider the economic character and opportunities that have contributed to shaping this particular gender role pattern. The biggest influence on gender roles can be found in the 1960s when the wave of student protests, civil rights movement, and sexual revolution was very strong generating an incredible shift in values which ultimately led to a change in mentalities. The advent of birth control, along with economic recession led to a decrease in birthrates and a considerable increase in the rate of women entering the labor force. Another important factor was that more and more jobs that had been traditionally reserved for men became available to women. In fact, there was a higher degree of openness between genders in the sense that more women were getting access to previously male-dominated fields while more and more men turned to traditionally 'women's professions' such as nursing and teaching."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Denmark, Florence L., and Karen A. Nielson. "31 United States of America." International Handbook on Gender Roles. Ed. Leonore Loeb Adler. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993. 452-465. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59441936>.
• "New gender roles and attitudes to reduce violence and HIV/AIDS in South Africa". Gender Equality Projects. 2007. SIDA: Swedish International Development Agency. >http://www.sida.se/sida/jsp/sida.jsp?d=1313&a=1420&language=en_US>
• Welch, Claude E. Protecting Human Rights in Africa: Roles and Strategies of Non-Governmental Organizations. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=30323520>.

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