Week 9 Reflection J

Week 9 Reflection J

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Week 9 Reflection J

The general perception of men and women is that they are entirely different from each other in terms of roles, behaviors, attitudes, and expectations. However, it is much needed to realize that both genders are equal and similar. It has been observed that there are more variations within the gender itself as compared to differences between men and women. Culturally and historically, we have assumed that gender is determined by the biological differences in the sex. It can be established from the social perspective that women are expected to be beautiful, sensual, and subservient and have a motherly nature. While men are pressured to prove their masculinity at home and work. The gender role expectations are constructed as per the cultural, religious and social institutions and change over time and place (Witt, 2011). However, women's lives have changed fundamentally in the past half-century. They have made gender visible; there has been a massive transformation in the labor force, their perception about marinating balance between work and family has changed. The sexual revolution has also changed the concept of sexuality for women. On the other hand, the work environment did change for women, but the fundamental ideology of masculinity remained the same. Men do not consider gender discussion as important as women do, and it has political implications as well. Men have the privilege which is invisible to them as they get additional advantages because of a chromosome ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YG3n0bD4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kimmel, 2008)","plainCitation":"(Kimmel, 2008)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":755,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OnfrXiA2/items/ANRIGZUD"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/OnfrXiA2/items/ANRIGZUD"],"itemData":{"id":755,"type":"song","title":"Michael Kimmel lecture pt. 1-6","publisher":"Spectrumlens","source":"YouTube","abstract":"Discussion about women and men being from the planet Earth and not the often used assumptions of Mars and Venus.","URL":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLPCHxxrsk&list=PLR_DRtZQnORdQENMjE8iiv3G-Uk2lowB-&index=6","author":[{"family":"Kimmel","given":"Michael"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008",8]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,28]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Kimmel, 2008). Though women have been struggling for years to achieve gender equality, there remains disparities and inequalities in the workplace, households, politics, wages, and much more. Sexual and domestic violence is another issue that continues to prevail and is a global phenomenon. The institutional sexism has forced men to demonstrate masculinity. The heterosexism is a systematic corroboration of sexuality and relationships among men and women (Witt, 2011). They both have common interests and expectations from each other as well as from society. The concept of sexuality has also changed over the past years, as women also feel entitled to pleasure just as men do. The sexual identity has also diversified and we as a society have started acknowledging the continuum. Gender and sexual identities have become much more intricate matter than it is considered to be.

The gender inequality and sexuality have long been debated and there remains a gap in the subject. It is time that society accepts the idea that men and women have similar desires, and it is not that the time or ideas of a specific gender have changed, but there has been a long-overdue awakening. Such as people had forsaken the importance of gender identity and sexuality and subdued to the heteronormativity and gender roles. Most of the men do not talk about gender as they are privileged enough to realize the differences. However, men and women should share responsibilities for happier and healthier lives, as their interests are the same. Similarly, women are as much liberalized as men are to define their sexualities, but there are huge differences in the perception of certain practices. Gender studies were not even a subject, and even now, upon its introduction, men do not get involved in the conversation. It is much needed that men understand and present their thoughts on the subject. Women are unable to explain or even identify their sexual agency as society has been telling them to watch themselves in order to reduce sexual assaults. However, it is imperative to understand that these assaults and violence depend on the choices that men make for their bodies. They need to watch themselves and support women to create an environment where gender equality and freedom of sexuality can prevail.

References

Witt, J. (2011). SOC 2011. Chapter 12 - Gender and Sexuality. (Course Book)

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Kimmel, M. (2008). Michael Kimmel lecture pt. 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLPCHxxrsk&list=PLR_DRtZQnORdQENMjE8iiv3G-Uk2lowB-&index=6