Introduction: Gender Roles and Their Importance
The correlation between the biological gender and the corresponding gender roles has been toned down significantly in contemporary society. However, at the earliest stages of human development, the link between the two concepts was very strong and was based primarily on the physiological properties of men and women. Since each gender was assigned a particular role in the past due to the differences in the biological makeup between a man and a woman in the prehistoric era, the modern process of communication between the representatives of the opposite genders incorporates certain stereotypes despite the recent tendency for gender roles to be interchangeable in a range of scenarios.
The Early Society: Factors Shaping Gender Roles
Introspect into the history of human evolution will show that the connection between gender roles and physiology was practically unavoidable at the earliest stages of development. One must also mention the magnitude of Darwin’s discovery concerning the selection mechanisms and the idea that only the strongest survive in the environment that they are exposed to. The above idea contradicts the concept of adaptation as the primary property of complex biological systems and animals. The same reasoning can be applied to the development of human society. At the earliest stages of humankind’s evolution, producing numerous descendants was physically impossible. Therefore, the survival of humankind depended largely on successful childbirth. Hence, the importance of maternal functions grew exponentially among the members of the earliest society, creating premises for women with strong maternal instincts to take the identified niche, whereas the ones that we were inclined to try different gender roles were ousted from the societal hierarchy.
The Slow Transition: Modern Interpretation
Needless to say, the modern concept of masculine and feminine gender roles is significantly different from the prehistoric one, primarily due to the fact that the emphasis on female reproductive functions has dropped greatly and the age of sexual maturity increased greatly. In the context of contemporary society, with the technology allowing for control over the reproductive functions, men and women gained an opportunity to try the roles that were unavailable to them previously. As a result, the concept of masculinity and femininity has been blurred greatly in modern society. It is more natural for the members of the contemporary environment to consider the concepts of sex and gender not as strongly related as they used to be viewed previously. The process of altering the traditional behavior patterns, however, is rather slow due to the rigid boundaries set. Restricted by the societal norms that have been supported and reinforced for millions of years, the process of gender roles swap is truly surprising, yet the current prejudices are clearly holding it back. Therefore, it is necessary that it should be supported with a change in the societal norms so that the shift toward gender equality should not be inhibited.
Stereotypes and Prejudice in the Contemporary Society
Despite the progress mentioned above and the opportunities that opened for men and women in terms of trying the roles that they could not play in the society previously, the power of gender stereotypes is still very strong. Prejudices against gender role swapping affect both men and women to a considerable extent: “It is not necessarily natural to think of women and men as opposites” (“Lecture 1” 3). Basically, stereotyping forces people to accept clichéd behavioral patterns that no longer have any reason to exist. As a result, premises for enhancing gender inequality are sustained in modern society.
In addition, the general perception of men and women in the global environment also affects the distribution of the corresponding roles and responsibilities among the target population: “Many cultures, including our own, have a long history of a hierarchical relationship between men and women. Men have held more social power than women; men have been dominant and women subordinate” (“Lecture 1” 4). Therefore, it will be reasonable to assume that the very language as the primary tool for communicating essential societal norms is imperfect as the question concerning the existing gender prejudice “comes with a built-in assumption that each adjective may be classified as more typical of either women or men” (“Lecture 1” 11). Therefore, when attempting to influence the current gender issue and resolve the problem surrounding the concept of stereotyping, one must acknowledge the need to change the mind frame of people.
Conclusion: Gender Roles and Evolution
Although it has been quite a long since the emergence of Homo erectus as species, the modern environment is still swarming with the gender-related stereotypes defined by the prehistoric lack of progress. Eradicating the above prejudice from society will require redesigning the very fabric of people’s perception of gender and the means of addressing it in their communication. Once people realize that the existing characteristics used in modern language do not necessarily pertain to biological gender, a possibility to get rid of the related stereotypes and prejudices will appear.
Works Cited
“Lecture 1.” Retrieved from Study Blue Web.