Womens Role in Society free essay sample

This paper discusses the evolution of gender roles in American society. This paper discusses how the role women play in American society has changed since the beginning of the twentieth century. The writer compares the behavior of men and women a gym environment in order to study whether or not certain stereotypes can be found while both sexes are working out. The author interviews two athletes, one male and one female about their opinions regarding how men and women exercise, what equipment they use and why. This is followed by the authors observation of how hard men and women workout while using the cardio equipment in the gym. The author observes both the level of intensity and the interaction between the sexes in order to reach the conclusions presented in the paper. `Melanctha, Gail Collins editorial, Lindseys book on gender roles, and my anthropological study at the gym all suggest that women, in actuality, havent done as much in breaking the barriers of gender roles that they perhaps promised to do in the early 20th century. We will write a custom essay sample on Womens Role in Society or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As further evidence for this, one can look at a study conducted by Michael A. Messner in which he extensively interviewed thirty male athletes over a period of two years. He claims that these athletes all claim that their earliest experiences in sports are stories of an exclusively male world (1999, p.101). He also claims that, even today, many girls tend to shy away from competitive sports because they define themselves primarily through connection with others, [and] experience highly competitive situations (whether in organized sports or in other hierarchical institutions) as threats to relationships, and thus to their identities (1999, p. 106). Thus, my idea that gender roles of women are so stringent that they must even follow them in the gym is not too far fetched. If both magazines and schools tell women that they need to be a certain way, its no wonder that there is so much uproar when a woman tries to get an education or tries to play of sports. Of course, there still are th e Lisa Gillises of the world, but these women are still marginal to modern American culture. Yes, they are becoming less so, but these women still have a lot of work to do if they ever want to create a gender equal society.`