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Jazmin Coronado

Professor Olivas

English 101

30 May 2017

Destruction of Female Gender Roles

From the time when they are young to when they are all grown up, girls are constantly

told that they cannot do something, because of the mere fact that they are girls. I remember being

told by my mother that I should not be watching WWE Wrestling because only boys wrestle,

which was not true, but that is what she thought. It may not always be said, but sexism is implied

in other peoples actions and words. Girls have experienced sexism in one point of their lives or

another. It starts in school, where the faculty treat them differently than the boys. It continues

after she has a career, where the man who has the same exact qualifications and experience as

her will be making more money. This has been going on for many years, but by speaking out,

women now have more of the same opportunities that a man has. In The Friday Everything

Changed, Anne Hart shows that even at such a young age, girls experience sexism, but by

speaking up, they can make a difference and take steps toward being equal to a boy, just as

women have been doing for many years. Although women have made much progress in

becoming more equal to men, there is still more room for change.

Sexism in a society is most commonly applied against women and girls. It functions to

maintain patriarchy, or male domination, through ideological and material practices of

individuals, collectives, and institutions that oppress women and girls on the basis of sex or

gender (Masequesmay). Girls can experience sexism their whole lives and it all starts in school
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and may continue for years after. In The Friday Everything Changed, the boys are the only

ones who were chosen to go get the water from the railway station. By only choosing boys to do

this task, the teachers are implying that the boys are superior, stronger than the girls. The young

boys are being taught to be sexist. Boys tend to hang out with other boys and will not allow girls

to play with them. Another common example of sexism in the younger grades was exclusionary

behavior, such as not allowing a girl to play a game or even share a workspace (Ligocki). In the

story, the boys did not allow the girls to play softball with them. Today, it is more common to

see boys and girls playing with each other, as well as there are all girls sports teams, but girls are

still excluded in activities, sometimes.

When a young girl grows up and finds a career, she will experience sexism in many

different aspects, and it will be up to her whether she speak up about it or just deal with it. The

concept of sexism explains that prejudice and discrimination based on sex or gender, not

biological inferiority, are social barriers to womens and girls success in various

arenas(Masequesmay). The female stereotype brands women as caring, warm, deferential,

emotional, sensitive and so forth, which are all great qualities, but in the workforce, they are

often seen as weak qualities. A woman can be just as qualified as a man for a certain job

position, but it is more likely that a man will get the job they both applied for. Heres where the

male descriptive stereotypes come into play: competent, assertive, decisive, rational, objective.

When managers have little information about what an employee or candidate is actually like,

they fill in the knowledge gap with these descriptive stereotypes, often to the detriment of

women(Jaffe). Women can be more qualified for a job than a man is, but because of these

stereotypes that have been branded on women, managers see women as less qualified. Men have

a greater chance of moving up in the work place not just because he is qualified, but because of
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the standard male characteristics that would make a man more suitable for the job. Not all

women are as emotional and weak as men think they are and are able to move up in the work

place and have their voices heard. It is unfair because when a woman speaks up at work, she is

scolded for not staying in her lane or shes seen as a bitch, but when a man speaks up, it is not

even given a second thought, because it is what is expected of a man. Theyre out of line,

breaking the rules, violating the shoulds of gender stereotypes, says Hellman. The issue is

not: are they that way or not that way. The issue is: men and women are probably behaving

exactly the same way, but women are taking the hit for it (Jaffe). Lets say that a man and a

woman with the same qualifications and same experience start a job at the same time. You would

think that they would be paid the same salary, but that it not the case. Women are paid on

average, twenty percent less than what a man is paid. For every dollar, that is twenty cents less

that a woman will be getting. Twenty cents may seem like nothing, but with every paycheck, the

shortfall is increasing. That deficit adds up and results in women making thousands less than a

man per year. One way to help close the wage gap would be to conduct salary audits in order to

monitor the salaries that everyone is making and to adjust where needed in order for women to

be paid more equally to men. Back in the days, it was rare for a woman to have a job. Women

were known for being stay at home wives and mothers; that was normal. Now more women are

working to help or fully support their families, but it can be difficult when they are not being

paid what they should be.

Since the beginning of time, women have always been looked down upon and have been

treated unfairly, but due to some strong women speaking up for what they believed in, women

now have more of the same opportunities as a man then before. Hundreds of years ago, women

were considered property. Their husbands owned them and these women did not have much
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freedom to do what they wanted. Their job was to cook, clean and care for the family. Women

put up with bad treatment for a long time, until they got tired of it and spoke up. A noteworthy

event in history where women spoke up and made change was the suffrage movement. Women

fought for their right to vote. Through protests and campaigns, the woman voice was heard,

people listened and in 1920, women were granted the right to vote. Later on women were

allowed to have different jobs and have more freedom than they used to. This group of women

who fight for all women to one day be equal to a man are called feminists. Feminism is an

interdisciplinary approach to issues of equality based on gender, gender oppression, gender

identity, sex and sexuality as understood through social theories and political activism (What

Is Feminism?). If it were not for feminism, women would not be able to do a lot of things they

do today. Men are more accepting of women doing a mans job today, but that is not to say that

sexism is not still present. Starting from early childhood, the ideas of what a boy and girl are

supposed to act like, what activities they can do and all the other gender roles are embedded in

who we are and it is hard to break out of the notion because it is repeated over and over again. In

society today, women are breaking gender roles and becoming more independent, and it is an

amazing thing. Women are moving forward. There are women wrestlers, football players, CEOs

and more. Day by day these gender roles are being crushed. It may be easier said than done, but

all women must do is speak up and let people know that their biological makeup is not a defect

and that they are just as capable to anything that the opposite sex can do. In the story, Alma Niles

started a movement in her classroom. All she had to do was say the words Why cant girls go

for water, too? Just like all other women who have ever spoken up about anything, boys and

men are there to make fun or disregard what the girls have to say. The boys beat the girls down
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with words and threats, but it only makes the girls stronger, bringing them all together in support

of squashing gender roles and fighting for equality.

Men do experience sexism, but it is nowhere near as bad as what a woman has to go

through. Since the beginning of time, man has always been superior. Men were rulers,

presidents, soldiers, slave owners, business owners, etc. They have always been revered for

being so strong and brave. Men experience sexism in the sense that they have their masculinity

questioned when they do something that is more feminine and less manly. As said in the hit

song by The Cure, Boys Dont Cry. Guys have to constantly prove their masculinity and want

to always feel superior. You dreamed about it partly because carrying the water meant you were

one of the big guys (Hart). Even these young school boys want everyone to know that they are

strong and manly. It gives them a sense of pride. Boys and men get defensive when their

masculinity is questioned or threatened. Men with a fragile masculinity tend to be more

aggressive and loud because they feel like they have to live up to the male stereotype that has

been set up for them since they were young. Because all the boys knew, from the moment Miss

Ralston had spoken, that something of theirs was being threatened and that, as long as there was

the remotest chance that any girl might get to carry the water, they had to do everything in their

power to stop it (Hart). Men are also trying to break their own gender roles. Today, there are

many male makeup artists and men who wear makeup out in public. Although, it still a touchy

subject and there are still many people who are not accepting of males wearing makeup, more

men are comfortable with wearing makeup out in public. Eventually, it will be completely

acceptable. Change does take time though. One gender role that some men are sensitive about

and do not seem to be ready to change, is letting a woman pay for a meal or a date. Men want to

pay, because they want to women to be dependent of them, because that is how it had always
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been. Not to say that all men want to pay for that reason; some men are just gentlemen. But, it is

okay for a woman to pay. Although men experience sexism, they have always been looked up to

and have been able to prosper. They basically had their rights handed to them for the mere fact

that they are a man. The only men who experience sexism are the ones who have fragile

masculinity. One day, the gender norms will be nonexistent and it will be normal for boys to

cry and wear makeup as it will be normal for a woman to play football and make more money

than her husband.

Although women have come a long way in becoming more equal to men and have proved

to men that they can do things just as well as they can, sexism is still present in todays society,

but if all women can come together and speak up, their voices will be heard and they will all be

equals. We as a society have become more accepting of genders breaking boundaries and doing

whatever they want and we need to keep moving forward. It is sad that people spend a lot of time

worrying about what others are doing and they are criticizing others for doing things out of the

norm. Those wanting to preserve traditional roles frequently make the case that the roles exist

because they lead to a better, or more natural arrangement of society and institutions. Those

wanting to eliminate gender roles often believe that such roles are not only arbitrary but also

limiting and potentially damaging. (Introduction to Gender Roles). Because these rules have

been engraved in our minds that boys cant do this or girls cant do that, it is hard to break the

cycle of gender roles. It is easier said than done, but we must speak out for what we believe in

and one day, we will all be equals. All boys and girls will be able to do whatever they feel

comfortable doing, and everyone else will be ok with it. We have progressed a lot since the

beginning, but there is always room for improvement.

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Works Cited

Hart, Anne. The Friday Everything Changed.

"Introduction to Gender Roles: Opposing Viewpoints." Gender Roles, edited by Nol Merino,

Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints.

citruscollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010908101/

OVIC?u=glen55457&xid=82634709. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Jaffe, Eric. The New Subtle Sexism Toward Women in the Workplace. Fast Company, Fast

Company, 2 June 2014, www.fastcompany.com/3031101/the-new-subtle-sexism-toward-

women-in-the-workplace. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.

Ligocki, Danielle. How Does Sexism Operate in Schools and Wider Society? Academia.edu,

www.academia.edu/2471094/How_Does_Sexism_Operate_in_Schools_and_Wider_Soci

ety. Accessed 1 May 2017.

Masequesmay, Gina. Sexism. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, inc.,

www.britannica.com/topic/sexism. Accessed 1 May 2017.

What is Feminism? What Is Feminism? | Women & Gender Studies | Eastern Kentucky

University, wgs.eku.edu/what-feminism-0. Accessed 5 May 2017.