Throughout society many differences in the ideas of gender roles in society can differ based on certain demographics. Whether it be age, race, religion, or any other category a person belongs too, it can have a direct impact on gender roles and gender identity. An paper entitled, “Women’s Gender Role Attitude: Association of Demographics Characteristics, Work Related Factors, And Life Satisfaction”, makes an excellent point when theorizing to prove that, “Many demographic characteristics have been linked to gender role attitudes.”(Lee, pg.2).
The demographics a person belong to can have a strong effect on what their view is of masculinity and femininity, one of the strongest factors is education levels and the exposure to new ideas. The article states, “Several studies have found that individuals with more formal education are more egalitarian in their views of traditional gender roles.” This is very true that exposure to education can have a huge factor, college students in particular are most often effected because most places of higher education are considered more liberal and more supportive of opposing outdated ideas of typical male and females roles. Colleges often push to empower women and urge them to be independent, while encouraging men to be more open minded and supportive of women as well. This can easily shape and change a person’s views and remove previous ideas of stereotypical gender roles. The article supports this stating it found, “that students' gender role attitudes became more liberal from freshmen to senior year in college. Contributing factors to this change included living on campus, leadership training, women's and ethnic studies courses, discussing politics, college GPA, and hours spent studying.”, going on to make a point that, “Perhaps it is not one's education alone, but a combination of factors, including a rewarding college experience, that leads to more liberal attitudes regarding gender roles. These findings lead to the hypothesis that education should explain some variance in gender role attitudes.”
Another important factor and influence in a persons view on gender roles is a person culture and ethnicity. Depending on your heritage and ethnic background a person can have a much different view of a man or women compared to someone with a different background. For example the article states that, “Among Hispanic, Black, and White women, Harris and Firestone (1998) report that Hispanics have the most traditional gender role attitudes, with blacks having the most egalitarian. The traditional nature of Hispanic gender roles may be partly a function of Latino socialization (Gowan & Treviño, 1998).”
One factor that may have been underestimated is the factor of marital status as well. Women who have been married and have children may change their view of what the roles should be in their relationship, verses what they thought when they were single. Perhaps a women may have believed it was her job to care for children before she had them, and would now change her mind because she does not enjoy it or wants more help from a man.
Lastly location can play a factor in your views on gender roles, the article states, “students living in the South clearly have more traditional/conservative attitudes toward women than students elsewhere. Southerners were more conservative than others about women working in general.” In conclusion it is very clear that different types of demographics have an influence on how people think, especially when talking about gender roles, and ideas of masculinity and femininity.
References:
Lee, A. (2014, May 1). Women’s Gender Role Attitude: Association of Demographics Characteristics, Work Related Factors, And Life Satisfaction. . Retrieved August 5, 2014, from http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3650/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf
Gowan, M. & Teviño M. (1998). An examination of gender differences in Mexican-American attitudes toward family and career goals. Sex Roles, 38, 1079-1093.
The demographics a person belong to can have a strong effect on what their view is of masculinity and femininity, one of the strongest factors is education levels and the exposure to new ideas. The article states, “Several studies have found that individuals with more formal education are more egalitarian in their views of traditional gender roles.” This is very true that exposure to education can have a huge factor, college students in particular are most often effected because most places of higher education are considered more liberal and more supportive of opposing outdated ideas of typical male and females roles. Colleges often push to empower women and urge them to be independent, while encouraging men to be more open minded and supportive of women as well. This can easily shape and change a person’s views and remove previous ideas of stereotypical gender roles. The article supports this stating it found, “that students' gender role attitudes became more liberal from freshmen to senior year in college. Contributing factors to this change included living on campus, leadership training, women's and ethnic studies courses, discussing politics, college GPA, and hours spent studying.”, going on to make a point that, “Perhaps it is not one's education alone, but a combination of factors, including a rewarding college experience, that leads to more liberal attitudes regarding gender roles. These findings lead to the hypothesis that education should explain some variance in gender role attitudes.”
Another important factor and influence in a persons view on gender roles is a person culture and ethnicity. Depending on your heritage and ethnic background a person can have a much different view of a man or women compared to someone with a different background. For example the article states that, “Among Hispanic, Black, and White women, Harris and Firestone (1998) report that Hispanics have the most traditional gender role attitudes, with blacks having the most egalitarian. The traditional nature of Hispanic gender roles may be partly a function of Latino socialization (Gowan & Treviño, 1998).”
One factor that may have been underestimated is the factor of marital status as well. Women who have been married and have children may change their view of what the roles should be in their relationship, verses what they thought when they were single. Perhaps a women may have believed it was her job to care for children before she had them, and would now change her mind because she does not enjoy it or wants more help from a man.
Lastly location can play a factor in your views on gender roles, the article states, “students living in the South clearly have more traditional/conservative attitudes toward women than students elsewhere. Southerners were more conservative than others about women working in general.” In conclusion it is very clear that different types of demographics have an influence on how people think, especially when talking about gender roles, and ideas of masculinity and femininity.
References:
Lee, A. (2014, May 1). Women’s Gender Role Attitude: Association of Demographics Characteristics, Work Related Factors, And Life Satisfaction. . Retrieved August 5, 2014, from http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3650/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf
Gowan, M. & Teviño M. (1998). An examination of gender differences in Mexican-American attitudes toward family and career goals. Sex Roles, 38, 1079-1093.