The Limitations of Gender Roles

Everyone acknowledges that there are significant differences between males and females, even if they are only physical. Others see not only the physical but also the social, emotional and intellectual differences between male and female. Gender roles by definition are the social norms that dictate what is socially appropriate male and female behavior. In early American culture it was common for a women's job to be a submissive homemaker in clear contrast to the males aggressive breadwinner role. The seventies marked the beginning of the Woman's Movement and the end of the ideals we held on what it is to be a "man" and what it is to be a "woman". Women were no longer like the stereotypical homemaker, always offering a hot meal for her family, but were instead out burning bras and protesting inequality. No one disputes that the Women's Movement began but there is a disagreement on whether or not it should come to an end.