Gender Roles for Women

When constructing any nation there must be different levels of participation in order to make that nation function. Without workers a society would fall apart. Each role is equally as important. There must be leaders and there must be followers. The question is what qualifies a person as a leader and what makes a person a follower? Some people would answer gender, social status, or race. Indeed, gender is a huge factor in deciding who does what task in a society. Women are excluded from certain roles in the nation’s military. They are also defined and almost condemned to certain roles in the public and private spheres of our society.

Women are often included in the nation in tasks that are not considered difficult. It is almost by default that women get to be in high places. This does not mean that women are not equally as qualified as they men that they are competing against. This phenomenon is brought up in Judith Lorber’s article. She quotes Mencher saying “Wherever a task is done by women it is considered easy, and where it is done by men it is considered difficult.” Lorber goes on to speak of tribal behavior. She writes, “A gathering and hunting society’s survival usually depends on the nuts, grubs, and small animals brought in by the women’s foraging trips, but when the men’s hunt is successful, it is the occasion for a celebration.” (Lorber, 23) Though he said this was a common