Gender Roles: Sexist or Cultural Norms?

Right off the bat let me say this, "Feminism is not about making women stronger. Women are already strong. Feminism is about changing the way the world views that strength" C.D Anderson said that. I am a feminist and yes males can be feminists too. What seems to be the problem is our society is the misconstrued idea that feminism is about female dominance and the hatred of men. That strong women are the advocates for inciting women power and female superiority. I believe that we should advocate for women's rights given how they were oppressed by their male counter-parts for many years. I wish to tell each one of my readers that women are just as capable, if not even more capable, of doing something that a man can.

I do however find fault with the fight for equality. No matter how much we progress with technology and modernity men and women will be different. Now I am not saying that one is better than the other but men and women are capable of doing certain things that their counter-parts are unable to. Let's take the example of pregnancy, a women has the capabilities a man does not. A women has the natural ability to release hormones during child-birth to allow her to handle the pain in a a way a man would not be able to. The way women are seen in a certain light might never change. Men are savage creatures, I am too, I apologise for that. We men view women sexually, it is what we are prone to do because that is the way we are hard-wired. It really is a flaw of nature.

That being said it is imperative that we understand gender roles for what they are: norms ascribed by society. "Boys will be boys" but not the same can be said for girls. A boy child is allowed to act like a hooligan and be rough. We play contact sports and drink strong beer whilst doing so. Women are by no means fragile or incapable of handling their alcohol in fact they can out-drink men but when it comes down to acting the part females are expected to act with class, vigour and decency to hold a certain standard, why is that?

Well I, for one, believe that it is part of natural balance. Women are our better halves, they complete us. Women balance us men out. Without a female presence anarchy would ensue. Take for example William Golding's Lord of the Flies for example, it goes to show how savage men really are. Women are nurturing, well for the most part anyway, and this nature of theirs balances out our ego-driven "my dick is bigger than yours" notion and fight for dominance. It is about the yin and the yang.

I do not know how gender roles and feminism all started but I can tell you what plays a part in defining some of it. We can see that gender roles are defined at an early age, toys for girls and toys for boys. Take a look around the next time you are in a toy store. Most of the girl's toys are pink and pretty and for princess and in my opinion downright boring. How long can a child mindlessly comb a Barbie doll's hair? Now take into consideration toys for boys. Fire trucks with sounds and lights, guns with actual bullets and costumes to make your child look and feel the part of a cowboy. The list is endless. Are toys teaching daughters to be princesses obsessed with beauty and the kitchen? Why can't boys play with a pretend make up kit?
Gender roles are killing our progress as a modern society. Never mind lobbying for rights, we have politicians making the rules, do not trust them to get anything right. Instead start in our own community by teaching kids to respect their gender opposites. Who knows we might have a society of mutual understanding instead of female "dictators" pretending to be feminists but only ended up killing chivalry.