essay question about gender and society

113 Gender Roles Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for gender roles essay topics? This field is hot, controversial, and really worth exploring!

• 🔝 Top 10 Gender Topics
• 📝 Gender Essay: Writing Tips
• 🏆 Gender Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

✍️ Gender Argumentative Essay Topics

❓ research questions about gender roles.

In your gender role essay, you might want to focus on the issues of gender equality in the workplace. Another exciting option is to write about gender stereotypes in education. Finally, you can elaborate on how traditional gender roles are changing.

In this article, you’ll find a list of gender argumentative essay topics, ideas for papers on gender and society, as well as top gender roles essay examples.

🔝 Top 10 Gender Roles Topics

• Gender stereotypes and the way they affect people
• Fighting gender stereotypes and sexism
• Gender equality in the workplace
• Gender stereotypes in education
• Gender schema theory
• Is gender socially constructed?
• Social learning theory and gender
• Gender roles and sexual orientation
• Body image and gender
• Social gender construction in the media

📝 Gender Roles Essay: Writing Tips

Essays on gender roles present students’ understanding of the similarities, differences, and aspects of gender roles in society.

Writing gender roles essays helps learners to understand the significance of topics related to gender roles and the changes in societal norms. Students should be highly aware of the problems associated with traditional gender roles. For example, there are many periods in world history, in which people did not have equal rights.

Moreover, some aspects of gender roles may be associated with discrimination. To make an essay on this problem outstanding, you should discuss the problem in detail and present your points clearly. A useful tip is to develop a good structure for your paper.

Before starting to work on the paper, you should select the problem that is most interesting or relevant to you.

Gender roles essay topics and titles may include:

• The history of gender roles and their shifts throughout the time
• Male and female roles in society
• Gender roles in literature and media
• How a man and a woman is perceived in current society
• The causes and outcomes of gender discrimination
• The problem of ‘glass ceiling’
• The problem of social stratification and its outcomes
• The revolution in the concept of gender

After selecting the issue for discussion, you can start working on the essay’s structure. Here are some useful tips on how to structure your paper:

• Select the topic you want to discuss (you can choose one from the list above). Remember to pay attention to the type of essay you should write. If it is an argumentative essay, reflect on what problem you would want to analyze from opposing perspectives.
• Gender roles essay titles are important because they can help you to get the reader’s attention. Think of something simple but self-explanatory.
• An introductory paragraph is necessary, as it will present the questions you want to discuss in the paper. Remember to state the thesis of your essay in this section.
• Think of your gender roles essay prompts. Which aspects of the selected problem do you want to focus on? Dedicate a separate section for each of the problems.
• Remember to include a refutation section if you are writing an argumentative essay. In this section, you should discuss an alternative perspective on the topic in 1-2 paragraphs. Do not forget to outline why your opinion is more credible than the alternative one.
• Avoid making the paragraphs and sentences too long. You can stick to a 190 words maximum limit for one paragraph. At the same time, make sure that the paragraphs are longer than 65 words. Try to make all sections of the body paragraphs of similar length.
• Check out examples online to see how you can structure your paper and organize the information. Pay attention to the number of paragraphs other students include.
• Remember to include a gender roles essay conclusion. In this paragraph, you will discuss the most important claims of your paper.
• Do not forget to add a reference page in which you will include the sources used in the paper. Ask your professor in advance about the types of literature you can utilize for the essay.

Do not forget that there are free samples on our website that can help you to get the best ideas for your essay!

🏆 Gender Roles Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

• Gender Roles in Antigone Essay This will be seen through an analysis of the other characters in the play and the values of ancient Greeks. Indeed this central character appears to be at odds with the inclinations of the other […]
• Gender Roles Set in Stone: Prehistoric and Ancient Work of Arts In the prehistoric and ancient works of art, the representation of women and men reveals a massive imbalance in gender equity that favors men over women.
• Gender Roles in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams In the play The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams has written the story of the Wingfield family that lived in St Louis during the 1940s.
• Conflict of Gender Roles in Munro’s “Boys and Girls” Munro’s “Boys and Girls” is a story about a puzzled girl who struggles to find the balance between the battles of her inner female-housewife side, like her mother, and a boyish character who likes to […]
• Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper & Trifles The two texts; the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins and the play ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell strategically illustrate this claim since they both aim at attracting the reader’s attention to the poor […]
• Gender Roles: Changes From the Late 1800’s to Today The definition of who is a male or a female depends on the types of gender roles one was exposed to during the early ages. In today’s society, we have a greater number of women […]
• Gender Roles in “Bridge to Terabithia” by Paterson The theme of gender roles is consistently present in the novel, starting with character origins and becoming the central concept as they mature to defy archetypal perceptions of feminine and masculine expectations in order to […]
• Gender Roles in Society One might think that a child is born with the idea of how to behave in relation to gender while in the real sense; it is the cultivation of the society that moulds people to […]
• Gender Roles and Family Systems in Hispanic Culture In the Hispanic culture, amarianismo’ and amachismo’ are the terms used to determine the various behavioral expectations among the family members.
• Athena and Gender Roles in Greek Mythology According to Eicher and Roach-Higgins, the elements of her dress were important because they immediately communicated specific ideas about her character that was as contradictory as the physical gender of the birthing parent.”In appropriating the […]
• Gender Roles in Brady’s “Why I Want a Wife” and Sacks’ “Stay-at-Home Dads” Yet, there are some distinctions Judy Brady believes that women are often viewed as unpaid house servants who have to take care of husbands’ needs, whereas Glenn Sacks argues that gender roles begin to transform […]
• Gender Roles in the 19th Century Society: Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper However, the narrator’s developing madness can also act as the symbolical depiction of the effects of the men’s dominance on women and the female suppression in the 19th-century society.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was first published in […]
• Gender Roles Inversion: The Madonna Phenomenon At the same time partial narrowing of the gender gap in the context of economic participation did not lead to the equality of men and women in the field of their occupations.
• Gender Roles and Stereotyping in Education Teachers should be trained to give clear and useful instruction to students on the issue of gender roles in modern society.
• Gender roles in the Wind in the Willows For instance, in the case where both the mole and the rat make comments to the toad that are full of women critics.
• Gender Roles and Body Image in Disney Movies In this research, attention will be paid to gender roles and body images of Disney princesses to understand the popularity of the franchise and its impact on child development.
• Changing Gender Roles in Families Over Time The division of labor and traditional gender roles in the family usually consists of men doing the work while women take care of the children, other relatives, and housekeeping.
• China’s Gender Roles in Mo Yan’s and Shen Fu’s Works Six Records of a Floating Life is a multi-faceted chronicle which helps to comprehend the difficulties and the features of Shen Fu’s life and the romance between him and his beloved Chen Yun.
• Gender Roles by Margaret Mead Once the a rift defining men and women develops this way, it goes further and defines the positions, which men and women occupy in the society, basing on these physical and biological differences, which form […]
• Gender Roles in South Korean Laws and Society At the same time, all custody is traditionally granted to husbands and fathers in a case of a divorce” though the anxiety about the high divorce rate and the nasty endings of relationships is more […]
• Cohabitation and Division of Gender Roles in a Couple Cohabitation is perceived in the society as the form of relationships which is an effective alternative to the traditional marriage because of focusing on the principles of flexibility, freedom, and equality, but few couples can […]
• The Concepts of Gender Roles and Sexuality by John Money and Judith Butler These categories of feminists are united in the belief of existence of many children and little sex. This paper explains the concepts and ideologies relating to gender roles and sexuality.as advocated by John Money and […]
• Gender Roles: From Prehistoric Era to Modern Society Since each gender was assigned a particular role in the past due to the differences in the biological makeup between a man and a woman in the prehistoric era, the modern process of communication between […]
• Gender Roles in Brady’s and Theroux’s Works In the satire “Being a Man” by Paul Theroux, the author demonstrates to readers the essence of how a particular manifestation of masculinity is extolled in American society.
• Evaluating Gender Roles in Nursing The purpose of this study was to explore perspectives on the experience and gender roles of male and female students, as well as how they think about their future professional roles.
• Women’s Gender Roles in American Literature The stories written by Constance Woolson Fenimore, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and Jaqueline Bishop highlight the harmful gender roles and discrimination that still remains a major topic for disputes and illustrate the fate of oppressed women.
• Aspects of Gender Roles and Identity The breadth of her practice in transgender issues suggests that every choice Bowers makes is ethical, requiring her to be respectful and highly responsible.
• Gender Roles, Expectations, and Discrimination Despite Isaac being the calmest boy in the school, he had a crush on Grace, a beautiful girl in the school who was from a wealthy family.
• Gender Roles in Social Constructionism The reality, in the view of sociologists, is a social attitude in connection with which a personality is formed that adapts to the requirements of the world.
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Straightlaced Film One might conclude that gender neutrality and abstraction in offices are only a cover to maintain the basis of gender injustice.
• Gender Roles and Body Images The media has one of the most widespread and significant effects on how we perceive men and women. It is incorrectly assumed that men are the cultural norm, while women stay invisible and underrepresented by […]
• Biology and Gender Roles in Society Thus, it may be more convenient for society to justify the imposition of certain gender roles on men and women using biology-related arguments, which, in reality, are more related to culture and social development.
• Children’s Views of Gender Roles Today, both parents and teachers see the positive impact of the attempts to integrate anti-biased gender-related education on young children as they get more freedom to express themselves and grow up less aggressive.
• The Construction of Gender Roles However, it is wrong to consider women exposed to the domestic work powerless, as they have the opportunity to informally or implicitly influence men and the decisions they make.
• Sociology of the Family: Gender Roles Thus, the societal predisposition and notion that women are lesser in the community should be abandoned, and greater emphasis should be placed on the critical functions they perform in the household. These assertions, equivocations, and […]
• Femininity and Masculinity: Understanding Gender Roles The understanding of how gender roles are portrayed in the media and the general perception of the expected behavior for men and women communicated non-verbally in the society is the basis on which children build […]
• Injustice Within Strict Gender Roles There is still no clear answer to how a person can find his or her destiny and place in the world, and understand the opportunities and prospects, considering the opinion of the dominant number of […]
• Gender Roles and How People Perceive Them However, all of the survey participants indicated that their families would be inclined to differentiate between the toys for a child based on the latter’s sex and the corresponding perceived gender role.
• Gender Roles in TV Commercials and Values in the Society Each of them will watch, code, and analyze the TV commercials separately; at the end of the procedure, their results will be compared in order to ensure the inter-observer reliability of the chosen research method.
• Toxic Masculinity and Gender Roles: New Aspects in Discussions Between Men and Women It is believed that men have to be silent and invincible warriors who exercise power due to their status of a man.
• Gender Roles in Contemporary Society The conditions of life are tough and it is presumed that only men are able to carry out such hardships and limitations of a soldier life.
• Gender Roles in ‘Mr. Green’ by Robert Olen Butler Green Butler uses the character of the grandfather to develop the theme of gender roles within the culture. The character of the grandfather is extremely sound for the cultural beliefs the author conveyed through all […]
• Culture and History: Gender Roles Over the Past 50 or So Years It is not that there were no women in the workforce; it was just that she had to choose one over the other, juggling the two was quite rare and unheard of.
• Gender Roles and Sexuality in Media: Cosmopolitan & Maxim The woman portrayed in these sites is supposed to look ‘hot’ and sexy in order to be attractive to a man.
• The Problem of Gender Roles in Society Based on Plays by Glaspell and Ibsen The men in the play are constantly showing their self-importance, they are trying to act like real detectives, and they do not even realize that Mrs. But, all of a sudden, the moment of repaying […]
• Social Element in Gender Roles I learned of the origins of gay and lesbian studies, as well that of the confining of such studies in earlier times to specific institutions.
• Equality: The Use of TV to Develop Our Gender Roles In this sense, when it is the men who predominantly work outside of the home, they will usually see the home as a place of leisure and so use the TV as a source of […]
• Family Unit and Gender Roles in Society and Market The role of molding the infant into an adult belonged to the family in the ancient society. In the past, the father was expected to be the breadwinner of the family.
• Gender Roles and Social Classes in Wartime The message is as simple as “The women of Britain say ‘Go.’” It points to the role of both men and women in wartime.
• The Necessity for Gender Roles The potential change from the elimination of the differences in gender may affect every perceived part of one’s life. Such factors as one’s occupation, status, and appearance may also contribute to the creation of stereotypes.
• Changing Gender Roles Between Boys and Girls In the twenty-first Century, girls have greatly stepped up and assumed some of the roles that were considered to be boy’s while boys have done the same leading to an interchange of roles.
• Nomadic Society’s Gender Roles and Warrior Culture On the one hand, it was clear that the 1100s and the 1200s included the period of male power. It was wrong to assume that all women were similar and treat them in the same […]
• “Beside Oneself” by Judith Butler: Gender Roles Following the views of the author, who states that choice in the formation of gender and sexuality is not transparent, and a key role is still played by others in the form of expectations and […]
• Gender Roles in Couples and Sex Stereotypes Altogether, the last reconsiderations of the nature of relations promoted the appearance of numerous debates related to the role of partners and their right to be the leader.
• Understanding the Social Element in Gender Roles When saying that gender is a binary construction, one implies that there are two genders, namely, the masculine and the feminine one, and two corresponding types of social behaviour, which are predetermined by the existing […]
• Gender Roles in Tango: Cultural Aspects However, one should not assume that the role of women in tango is inferior because they create the most aesthetic aspects of this dance.
• Gender Roles in Toy Stores According to Fisher-Thompson et al, two of the major differentiating factors in toys for girls and boys are color and nature.
• Discussing Gender Roles in the Interaction Perspective It is the purpose of this issue to discuss the concept of gender roles using the sociological perspective of symbolic interaction.
• Women in Hip-Hop Music: A Provocative and Objectified Gender Roles It is one thing that men want women to be in music videos and play a particular role, but women are willing to participate in the videos.
• Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media In the critical analysis of the article, the point of disagreement is that of under-representation of women in the media. How do the media subordinate and relegate roles of women in society?
• Effects of Media Messages about Gender Roles Media articles, such as the Maxim Magazine and the Cosmopolitan Magazine, socialize individuals to believe that women are very different from men as regards to dressing, behaving, and eating.
• The Change of Gender Roles This similarity is one of the most important to focus on the structure of the narrative. In both plays, the main actions of the characters are not directly described by the authors.
• Gender Equality: Male Dominance The simple reason is that gender inequality exists in affluent societies wherein women are free to do what they want, have access to education, and have the capacity to create wealth.
• “The Odd Women” and “Women in Love”: Evolving Views of Gender Roles An effort is also made to track the changes of the roles of women in the social fabric in the Victorian era by considering The Odd Women by George Gissing written in 1893.
• Gender Roles: Constructing Gender Identity In the course of the twentieth century and at the threshold of the twenty-first century, the images and roles of gender have constantly been changing.
• Analysis of the Peculiarities of Gender Roles Within Education, Families and Student Communities Peculiarities of gender aspect within the education system and labour market Attitude for marriage of men and women as one of the major aspects within the analysis of gender roles Family relations as a significant […]
• Ideology of Gender Roles In the world of literature, ideology has played a vital role in depicting the condition of the society. In this scenario, Kingston reveals that the men out-live their roles in the society, and they are […]
• Concepts of Gender Roles As a result of these, the war on gender inequality and sexism has failed, because of the failure of these agents of change to promote gender equality and eliminate discriminative notions held by the society.
• Gender Roles in the United States Over the Last Century The men’s perception towards this idea was negative, and this consequently resulted to a conflict with the men claiming that the roles of the women were in the kitchen.
• Fashions, gender roles and social views of the 1950s and 1960s Fashion was highly valued and this can be seen in the way the clothes worn by the wives of the presidential candidates in America hit the headlines. In the 1950s, the role of housekeeping and […]
• Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze The author’s main thesis is, “Yet was this, in fact, how the game was played on the croquet lawns of the nineteenth century?” Whereas authors of croquet manuals and magazines emphasize so much on the […]
• Gender Roles in Cartoons Though the males are portrayed to be logical, but it is shown that the females are more successful because of simple blunders or miscalculations which males fail to understand, females are able to beat males […]
• The Industrial Revolution Impact on the Gender Roles The population growth combined with the increased productivity of small parts of the country and the migration of the now landless people in search of work opportunities led to the phenomena of urbanization.
• How Does Aristophanes Represent Gender Roles in Lysistrata?
• Are Gender Roles and Relationships More Equal in Modern Family Life?
• How Do Children Develop Gender Roles?
• Does Men’s Fashion Reflect Changes in Male Gender Roles?
• How Did Colonialism Resonate With Gender Roles and Oppression?
• Are Gender Roles Damaging Society?
• How Did Revolutions Affect Gender Roles?
• Are Gender Roles Defined by Society or by Genetics?
• How Have Family Structure and Gender Roles Changed?
• Are Gender Roles Fluid When Dealing With Death and Tragedy?
• How Do Gender Roles Affect Communication?
• Are Gender Roles Natural?
• How Do Gender Roles Affect Immigrants?
• Are Gender Stereotyped Roles Correct?
• How Do Gender Roles Affect the Physical and Emotional Health?
• Have Gender Roles Played a Big Part in the History?
• How Do Gender Roles and Extroversion Effects How Much People Talk?
• What Are Gender Roles? How Are They Defined?
• How Are Gender Roles Predetermined by the Environment?
• What Drives the Gender Wage Gap?
• How Has Gender Roles Changed Over the Last Centuries?
• What Factors Influence Gender Roles?
• How Have Gender Roles in Japanese Theatre Influenced and Affected Societal View on Homosexuality and Masculinity?
• What Society Norms for Gender Roles Should Be Conceived?
• How Have Traditional Gender Roles Been Stressful?
• What Was Distinctive About Gender Roles in the Nineteenth Century?
• How Has Hegemonic Masculinity Set Ideas of Gender Roles?
• How Do Media and Politics Influence Gender Roles?
• Where Does the Truth on Gender Roles Lie in Nahua and Mayan Civilizations?
• How Radical Are the Changes to the Gender Roles in Carter’s “The Company of Wolves”?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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136 Research Questions about Gender Roles

In this gender roles topics list, we delve into the complex societal constructs that shape perceptions of masculinity and femininity. Look through the research questions about gender roles to examine their historical evolution, impact on individuals and relationships, and the ongoing efforts to challenge traditional stereotypes.

⚠️ TOP 7 Research Questions about Gender Roles

🏆 creative title for gender roles essay, 🎓 interesting gender roles research questions, ✍️ gender roles essay topics for college, 💡 simple gender and society essay topics, ❓ more research questions about gender roles.

• The Social Construction of Gender Roles
• Gender Roles Effects on Children Development
• “Lanval”: Summary & Analysis of Gender Roles and Courtly Love
• Changing Gender Roles in Families
• Gender Roles in “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Atwood
• Gender Roles in Modern Society: Structural-Functional vs. Conflict Perspectives
• Gender Roles in Medea – Stereotypes & Resistance
• Social Restrictions on Gender Roles in “A Doll’s House” by Ibsen Many literary works assess various aspects of life, and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House explores important social matters.
• Aspects of Parenting and Gender Roles For children to develop a healthy understanding of gender roles, it is essential that parents choose the right approach to their formation.
• Gender Roles and Inequalities in Advertisement The perfume for men, Dior Sauvage, was released in 2019, and an advertising campaign supported it with Johnny Depp.
• Gender Roles and Culture in Different Ages Until recently, gender differences were consistent around the globe. Women were supposed to be homemakers, and men were expected to support their families.
• Japanese vs. American Male Gender Roles American males perceived their women as weak and powerless creatures requiring protection, whereas the Japanese male stereotypes envisioned their women as being subordinate to men.
• How Society Influences the Gender Roles Society should reconsider some of the gender roles to close the gap and give people equal opportunities to thrive and explore.
• Gender Roles in Married at First Sight and Other Media Sources Every society and culture have different gender role expectations. This paper focuses on the comparison of the media sources’ assumptions about genders.
• Gender Roles in the Buddhist Culture In the Buddhist culture, women are considered weak beings and require men to provide them with protection. Furthermore, men are considered to be the strong and family breadwinners.
• Division of Labor and Traditional Gender Roles Labor within the family was traditionally divided along gender lines, with the male and female genders being assigned specific responsibilities.
• Gender Roles and Psychological Health The emergence of traditional gender roles and the images of masculinity and femininity can be regarded as an attempt to organize society and create stable social structures.
• Gender Roles in “The Simpsons” While young male spectators are offered different role models with different behavior, female ones receive as role models mostly physically attractive characters.
• Gender Roles Within Greek Society Gender roles in Greek society were determined by social and cultural traditions, position of women in society and their significance as citizens.
• Gender Roles in the Boys Don’t Cry Movie Boys Don’t Cry is a famous movie directed by Kimberly Peirce. It explores the influence of rigid gender-based behavioral expectations on a person’s well-being and safety.
• “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied”: The Generation Z and Gender Roles The documentary “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied” by Debra Chasnoff explores the lives of teens through the lens of gender roles.
• The Movie”Smurfs”: The Problem of Gender Roles The gender roles in the Smurfs are polarized and fixed between male and female stereotypes, which is a mentality of the past.
• Gender Roles in Glaspell’s “Trifles” Play This paper discusses the gender roles and the oppression of women in Glaspell’s “Trifles”. Characters’ interactions reveal how society viewed spousal abuse.
• Male Gender Roles and Women
• Alternative Gender Roles Among Various Cultures
• Sex Discrimination and Gender Roles
• Blaming the Victim Phenomenon and Its Relation to Gender Roles
• Class and Gender Roles in Raising Arizona
• Gender Roles and Attitudes Towards Family Life and Paid Work in Romania
• Emotions, Morality, Gender Roles, and Aggression From the Japanese Perspective
• Male Gender Roles and Sexuality: Implications for Women’s Aids Risk and Prevention
• Gender Roles and Its Effect on Women‘s Standards
• The Correlation Between Gender Roles and the Salem Witch Trials
• Gender Roles and Identity in Children
• Family Structure and Gender Roles
• Gender Roles and Early Childhood
• Attraction, Gender Roles, and Homosexuality Assignment
• Gender Roles Affect Male and Female
• Modern Times Trends and Gender Roles
• Incan Society and Gender Roles
• Sexism and Reversed Gender Roles in Literature
• Education, Gender Roles, and Humanism
• Gender Roles and Psychology in Human Behaviors
• Fashion Based Upon Gender Roles and Culture
• Sexuality and Gender Roles in TV Sitcoms
• Gender Roles and Popular Religions
• Gender Roles and Issues Regarding Feminisms and Masculinity
• Japanese-American Families Gender Roles
• Gender and Gender Roles Are Shaping Our Perspective of Humans
• Femininity and Gender Roles
• Gender Roles and Socialisation of Hyper Masculinity
• Gender Roles and Its Impact on Individual‘s Self Esteem, Self
• The Gender Binary and Gender Roles and Expectations
• Understanding Different Gender Roles and the Impact on Marketing There are traditional and nontraditional gender roles that determine how male and female models are used in commercials.
• Absurd of Predetermined Gender Roles in Literature This essay aims to analyze “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Blood Relations,” and “Essay” to argue for the absurdity of predetermined gender roles in society.
• Gender Roles in Hung Liu’s Paintings The purpose of this article is to show how Hung Liu conveys the social and gender issues of her time in her paintings.
• Gender Roles in a Modern Society Throughout the history of humanity, a woman has been assigned the role of being dependent on a man and, to some extent, subordinate to him.
• “I Love Lucy”: Retrospect, Supporting and Subverting Gender Roles Despite its humorous and light-hearted nature, as well as significantly aged jokes, the sitcom “I Love Lucy” can disclose a lot of information about the epoch that it depicted.
• Gender Roles in Society: Hinduism and Buddhism Both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs have a strained relationship with the concept of gender, while in the two cases, men and women are supposed to be equal, it is not really true.
• Stereotypes of Gender Roles The paper details the scientific justification, impacts, development, prevention strategies, and how gender role stereotypes can be addressed.
• Gender Roles Depiction in “Antigone” by Sophocles The notion of gender has always been a subject for a continuous discussion, formerly claiming a distinct line between the roles of each gender.
• Forum: Gender and Gender Roles Gender refers to the different characteristics concerning femininity and masculinity that influence a person’s identity.
• Discussion of Gender Roles in Modern World During human history, gender stereotypes have been widespread, and the community has defined the person’s role based on gender.
• Advertising and Gender Roles Mass media, especially television imposes certain stereotypes on our consciousness and the most interesting thing is that we take these stereotypes as examples.
• Society’s Conception of Gender Roles in Media This article aims to explore some examples of how media depict gender roles and how this impacts our understanding of gender as part of an individual’s identity and expression.
• Gender Roles in Advertisements Gender roles were a vital tenet, more so in the conformity era of the 1950s. For men, their roles as breadwinners dictated their responsibility.
• Disney Princesses: How Movies Impact Gender Roles Gender roles stand for an ever-changing concept that is going to be exploited by Disney in accordance with the exceptional values characteristic of the target audience.
• Culture as a Key Point to the Gender Issue Gender is based on social and cultural expectations rather than on physical traits. Thus, culture is the key point to the gender issue.
• Gender Roles From Sociological, Medical, and Religious Perspectives Essay discusses the Sociological, Medical, and Religious views on gender roles, and the author’s experience and reflections on the topic.
• Gender Roles and Behaviors: Different Perspectives Blum’s paper on the topic is far more convincing than similar works by Gay and Devor due to its exquisite use of rhetorical devices and relevant supporting statistics.
• Gender Roles and Sexually Explicit Materials The paper is about the reflection on the male and female gender roles and the insights into sexually explicit materials.
• Gender Roles and Social Groups Males who share the traditional vision of gender roles are more likely to commit sexual harassment. Persons who belong to the ethnic minorities less discriminates different social groups.
• Gender Stereotypes in Families: Parents’ Gender Roles and Children’s Aspirations Psychologists have paid significant attention to gender stereotypes, and many important trends have been identified and evaluated. Researchers use various methodologies.
• Parents’ Gender Roles and Children’s Aspirations Croft et al. state that parents inflict their implicit and explicit beliefs concerning gender roles in their children. The social role theory is used as a theoretical framework.
• Women’s Stereotypes of Gender Roles Distribution The study will attempt to unveil the reasons for the persistence of females’ gender stereotypes concerning the distribution of gender roles in society.
• Gender Roles in Cartoons Most people believe that children can use the portrayals of gender in cartoons arrangement to establish their roles of their gender and to understand their roles in their culture.
• Social Construction Theory and Gender Roles
• Stereotypes and Gender Roles of Men
• Gender Roles and Social Construction of Gender
• Privacy, Time Orientation, and Gender Roles
• Indian Societies: Gender Roles in the Ramayana
• Cultural Transmission and the Evolution of Gender Roles
• Racism, Colonialism, Gender Roles and Education in the Life of Marcus Garvey
• Gender Roles Affect Women’s, Social Standing
• The Rigidity and Inflexibility of Gender Roles
• Changing Gender Roles Among Men and Women
• Ancient Greek Marital and Gender Roles
• Opinions About Gender Roles in Cultural Context
• Gender Roles and Inequality During the 21st Century
• Sexism and Gender Roles Throughout America
• Husband and Wife: The Semiotics of Gender Roles in Latin America
• Modern Femininity and Gender Roles
• Feminism and Gender Roles in Old Literature
• Gender Roles and Expectations of Men and Women
• The Customs and Gender Roles of Human Society
• Hegemonic Gender Roles Are Based on Heterosexual
• Social Media and Society Negatively Influence Gender Roles
• Gender Roles and Change During the 1950s
• Traditional Gender Roles Since the 1800s and 1900s
• The Classification and Characteristics of the Gender Roles in the Society
• Gender Roles and Its Impact on the Family Structure
• Barbados Culture Gender Roles and Working Life
• The Gender Roles Have Been Distinguished Throughout Our History
• Patriarchy and Gender Roles in Genesis
• Islamic Women and the Gender Roles in Muslim Culture
• Gender Roles Affect the Lives of Every Human Being
• Are Gender Roles Damaging Society?
• Why Is It Important to Discuss Gender Roles?
• What Are the Main Gender Roles?
• How Does Gender Roles Affect Society?
• Why Is It Important to Learn About Gender Roles Stereotypes?
• Why Is It Important to Study Gender Roles and Society?
• What Are the Factors That Influence Gender Roles?
• Why Do Gender Roles Change Over Time?
• What Are Some Challenges With the Change in Gender Roles?
• How Do You Teach Students About Gender Roles?
• How Do Gender Roles Affect Work?
• What Is the Role of Gender Roles in Workplace Collaboration?
• How Are the Gender Roles Represented in Australian Short Stories?
• What Are Gender Roles Determined By?
• What Are Some Important Facts About Gender Roles?
• Why Are Homosexuals Not Bound by Typical Male/Female Gender Roles?
• How Does Culture Influence Gender Roles?
• How Are Gender Roles Divided?
• How Do Gender Roles and Stereotypes Affect Children?
• How Caryl Churchill Achieves Coherence Through Fragmentation and Inversion of Gender Roles in Cloud Nine?
• How Does Shakespeare Use Gender Roles in Macbeth?
• Is There a Difference in the Effects of Gender Roles in Males and Females?
• What Is the Difference Between Gender Roles and Gender Stereotypes?
• How Important and How Harmful Gender Roles Are?
• How Society and Biological Drives and Instincts Shape the Gender Roles?
• How Does the Family Affect Gender Roles?
• How Does Aristophanes Represent Gender Roles in Lysistrata?
• Why Are Gender Roles Important in Literature?
• What Are the Four Gender Roles Theories?
• How Children Develop Gender Roles?

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These essay examples and topics on Gender Roles were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

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TOP 100 Gender Equality Essay Topics

Table of Contents

Need ideas for argumentative essay on gender inequality? We’ve got a bunch!

… But let’s start off with a brief intro.

What is gender equality?

Equality between the sexes is a huge part of basic human rights. It means that men and women have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential in all spheres of life.

Today, we still face inequality issues as there is a persistent gap in access to opportunities for men and women.

Women have less access to decision-making and higher education. They constantly face obstacles at the workplace and have greater safety risks. Maintaining equal rights for both sexes is critical for meeting a wide range of goals in global development.

Inequality between the sexes is an interesting area to study so high school, college, and university students are often assigned to write essays on gender topics.

In this article, we are going to discuss the key peculiarities of gender equality essay. Besides, we have created a list of the best essay topic ideas.

What is the specifics of gender equality essay?

Equality and inequality between the sexes are important historical and current social issues which impact the way students and their families live. They are common topics for college papers in psychology, sociology, gender studies.

When writing an essay on equality between the sexes, you need to argue for a strong point of view and support your argument with relevant evidence gathered from multiple sources.

But first, you’d need to choose a good topic which is neither too broad nor too narrow to research.

Research is crucial for the success of your essay because you should develop a strong argument based on an in-depth study of various scholarly sources.

Equality between sexes is a complex problem. You have to consider different aspects and controversial points of view on specific issues, show your ability to think critically, develop a strong thesis statement, and build a logical argument, which can make a great impression on your audience.

If you are looking for interesting gender equality essay topics, here you will find a great list of 100 topic ideas for writing essays and research papers on gender issues in contemporary society.

Should you find that some topics are too broad, feel free to narrow them down.

Powerful gender equality essay topics

Here are the top 25 hottest topics for your argumentative opinion paper on gender issues.

Whether you are searching for original creative ideas for gender equality in sports essay or need inspiration for gender equality in education essay, we’ve got you covered.

Use imagination and creativity to demonstrate your approach.

• Analyze gender-based violence in different countries
• Compare wage gap between the sexes in different countries
• Explain the purpose of gender mainstreaming
• Implications of sex differences in the human brain
• How can we teach boys and girls that they have equal rights?
• Discuss gender-neutral management practices
• Promotion of equal opportunities for men and women in sports
• What does it mean to be transgender?
• Discuss the empowerment of women
• Why is gender-blindness a problem for women?
• Why are girls at greater risk of sexual violence and exploitation?
• Women as victims of human trafficking
• Analyze the glass ceiling in management
• Impact of ideology in determining relations between sexes
• Obstacles that prevent girls from getting quality education in African countries
• Why are so few women in STEM?
• Major challenges women face at the workplace
• How do women in sport fight for equality?
• Women, sports, and media institutions
• Contribution of women in the development of the world economy
• Role of gender diversity in innovation and scientific discovery
• What can be done to make cities safer for women and girls?
• International trends in women’s empowerment
• Role of schools in teaching children behaviours considered appropriate for their sex
• Feminism on social relations uniting women and men as groups

Gender roles essay topics

We can measure the equality of men and women by looking at how both sexes are represented in a range of different roles. You don’t have to do extensive and tiresome research to come up with gender roles essay topics, as we have already done it for you.

Have a look at this short list of top-notch topic ideas .

• Are paternity and maternity leaves equally important for babies?
• Imagine women-dominated society and describe it
• Sex roles in contemporary western societies
• Compare theories of gender development
• Adoption of sex-role stereotyped behaviours
• What steps should be taken to achieve gender-parity in parenting?
• What is gender identity?
• Emotional differences between men and women
• Issues modern feminism faces
• Sexual orientation and gender identity
• Benefits of investing in girls’ education
• Patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes in family relationships
• Toys and games of girls and boys
• Roles of men and women in politics
• Compare career opportunities for both sexes in the military
• Women in the US military
• Academic careers and sex equity
• Should men play larger roles in childcare?
• Impact of an ageing population on women’s economic welfare
• Historical determinants of contemporary differences in sex roles
• Gender-related issues in gaming
• Culture and sex-role stereotypes in advertisements
• What are feminine traits?
• Sex role theory in sociology
• Causes of sex differences and similarities in behaviour

Gender inequality research paper topics

Examples of inequality can be found in the everyday life of different women in many countries across the globe. Our gender inequality research paper topics are devoted to different issues that display discrimination of women throughout the world.

Choose any topic you like, research it, brainstorm ideas, and create a detailed gender inequality essay outline before you start working on your first draft.

Start off with making a debatable thesis, then write an engaging introduction, convincing main body, and strong conclusion for gender inequality essay .

• Aspects of sex discrimination
• Main indications of inequality between the sexes
• Causes of sex discrimination
• Inferior role of women in the relationships
• Sex differences in education
• Can education solve issues of inequality between the sexes?
• Impact of discrimination on early childhood development
• Why do women have limited professional opportunities in sports?
• Gender discrimination in sports
• Lack of women having leadership roles
• Inequality between the sexes in work-family balance
• Top factors that impact inequality at a workplace
• What can governments do to close the gender gap at work?
• Sex discrimination in human resource processes and practices
• Gender inequality in work organizations
• Factors causing inequality between men and women in developing countries
• Work-home conflict as a symptom of inequality between men and women
• Why are mothers less wealthy than women without children?
• Forms of sex discrimination in a contemporary society
• Sex discrimination in the classroom
• Justification of inequality in American history
• Origins of sex discrimination
• Motherhood and segregation in labour markets
• Sex discrimination in marriage
• Can technology reduce sex discrimination?

Most controversial gender topics

Need a good controversial topic for gender stereotypes essay? Here are some popular debatable topics concerning various gender problems people face nowadays.

They are discussed in scientific studies, newspaper articles, and social media posts. If you choose any of them, you will need to perform in-depth research to prepare an impressive piece of writing.

• How do gender misconceptions impact behaviour?
• Most common outdated sex-role stereotypes
• How does gay marriage influence straight marriage?
• Explain the role of sexuality in sex-role stereotyping
• Role of media in breaking sex-role stereotypes
• Discuss the dual approach to equality between men and women
• Are women better than men or are they equal?
• Sex-role stereotypes at a workplace
• Racial variations in gender-related attitudes
• Role of feminism in creating the alternative culture for women
• Feminism and transgender theory
• Gender stereotypes in science and education
• Are sex roles important for society?
• Future of gender norms
• How can we make a better world for women?
• Are men the weaker sex?
• Beauty pageants and women’s empowerment
• Are women better communicators?
• What are the origins of sexual orientation?
• Should prostitution be legal?
• Pros and cons of being a feminist
• Advantages and disadvantages of being a woman
• Can movies defy gender stereotypes?
• Sexuality and politics

Feel free to use these powerful topic ideas for writing a good college-level gender equality essay or as a starting point for your study.

No time to do decent research and write your top-notch paper? No big deal! Choose any topic from our list and let a pro write the essay for you!

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5 Powerful Essays Advocating for Gender Equality

Gender equality – which becomes reality when all genders are treated fairly and allowed equal opportunities –  is a complicated human rights issue for every country in the world. Recent statistics are sobering. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take 108 years to achieve gender parity . The biggest gaps are found in political empowerment and economics. Also, there are currently just six countries that give women and men equal legal work rights. Generally, women are only given ¾ of the rights given to men. To learn more about how gender equality is measured, how it affects both women and men, and what can be done, here are five essays making a fair point.

Take a free course on Gender Equality offered by top universities!

“Countries With Less Gender Equity Have More Women In STEM — Huh?” – Adam Mastroianni and Dakota McCoy

This essay from two Harvard PhD candidates (Mastroianni in psychology and McCoy in biology) takes a closer look at a recent study that showed that in countries with lower gender equity, more women are in STEM. The study’s researchers suggested that this is because women are actually especially interested in STEM fields, and because they are given more choice in Western countries, they go with different careers. Mastroianni and McCoy disagree.

They argue the research actually shows that cultural attitudes and discrimination are impacting women’s interests, and that bias and discrimination is present even in countries with better gender equality. The problem may lie in the Gender Gap Index (GGI), which tracks factors like wage disparity and government representation. To learn why there’s more women in STEM from countries with less gender equality, a more nuanced and complex approach is needed.

“Men’s health is better, too, in countries with more gender equality” – Liz Plank

When it comes to discussions about gender equality, it isn’t uncommon for someone in the room to say, “What about the men?” Achieving gender equality has been difficult because of the underlying belief that giving women more rights and freedom somehow takes rights away from men. The reality, however, is that gender equality is good for everyone. In Liz Plank’s essay, which is an adaption from her book For the Love of Men: A Vision for Mindful Masculinity, she explores how in Iceland, the #1 ranked country for gender equality, men live longer. Plank lays out the research for why this is, revealing that men who hold “traditional” ideas about masculinity are more likely to die by suicide and suffer worse health. Anxiety about being the only financial provider plays a big role in this, so in countries where women are allowed education and equal earning power, men don’t shoulder the burden alone.

Liz Plank is an author and award-winning journalist with Vox, where she works as a senior producer and political correspondent. In 2015, Forbes named her one of their “30 Under 30” in the Media category. She’s focused on feminist issues throughout her career.

“China’s #MeToo Moment” –  Jiayang Fan

Some of the most visible examples of gender inequality and discrimination comes from “Me Too” stories. Women are coming forward in huge numbers relating how they’ve been harassed and abused by men who have power over them. Most of the time, established systems protect these men from accountability. In this article from Jiayang Fan, a New Yorker staff writer, we get a look at what’s happening in China.

The essay opens with a story from a PhD student inspired by the United States’ Me Too movement to open up about her experience with an academic adviser. Her story led to more accusations against the adviser, and he was eventually dismissed. This is a rare victory, because as Fan says, China employs a more rigid system of patriarchy and hierarchy. There aren’t clear definitions or laws surrounding sexual harassment. Activists are charting unfamiliar territory, which this essay explores.

“Men built this system. No wonder gender equality remains as far off as ever.” – Ellie Mae O’Hagan

Freelance journalist Ellie Mae O’Hagan (whose book The New Normal is scheduled for a May 2020 release) is discouraged that gender equality is so many years away. She argues that it’s because the global system of power at its core is broken.  Even when women are in power, which is proportionally rare on a global scale, they deal with a system built by the patriarchy. O’Hagan’s essay lays out ideas for how to fix what’s fundamentally flawed, so gender equality can become a reality.

Ideas include investing in welfare; reducing gender-based violence (which is mostly men committing violence against women); and strengthening trade unions and improving work conditions. With a system that’s not designed to put women down, the world can finally achieve gender equality.

“Invisibility of Race in Gender Pay Gap Discussions” – Bonnie Chu

The gender pay gap has been a pressing issue for many years in the United States, but most discussions miss the factor of race. In this concise essay, Senior Contributor Bonnie Chu examines the reality, writing that within the gender pay gap, there’s other gaps when it comes to black, Native American, and Latina women. Asian-American women, on the other hand, are paid 85 cents for every dollar. This data is extremely important and should be present in discussions about the gender pay gap. It reminds us that when it comes to gender equality, there’s other factors at play, like racism.

Bonnie Chu is a gender equality advocate and a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur. She’s the founder and CEO of Lensational, which empowers women through photography, and the Managing Director of The Social Investment Consultancy.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

What does gender equality look like today?

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Progress towards gender equality is looking bleak. But it doesn’t need to.

A new global analysis of progress on gender equality and women’s rights shows women and girls remain disproportionately affected by the socioeconomic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling with disproportionately high job and livelihood losses, education disruptions and increased burdens of unpaid care work. Women’s health services, poorly funded even before the pandemic, faced major disruptions, undermining women’s sexual and reproductive health. And despite women’s central role in responding to COVID-19, including as front-line health workers, they are still largely bypassed for leadership positions they deserve.

UN Women’s latest report, together with UN DESA, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2021 presents the latest data on gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlights the progress made since 2015 but also the continued alarm over the COVID-19 pandemic, its immediate effect on women’s well-being and the threat it poses to future generations.

We’re breaking down some of the findings from the report, and calling for the action needed to accelerate progress.

The pandemic is making matters worse

One and a half years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the toll on the poorest and most vulnerable people remains devastating and disproportionate. The combined impact of conflict, extreme weather events and COVID-19 has deprived women and girls of even basic needs such as food security. Without urgent action to stem rising poverty, hunger and inequality, especially in countries affected by conflict and other acute forms of crisis, millions will continue to suffer.

A global goal by global goal reality check:

Goal 1. Poverty

In 2021, extreme poverty is on the rise and progress towards its elimination has reversed. An estimated 435 million women and girls globally are living in extreme poverty.

And yet we can change this .

Over 150 million women and girls could emerge from poverty by 2030 if governments implement a comprehensive strategy to improve access to education and family planning, achieve equal wages and extend social transfers.

Goal 2. Zero hunger

The global gender gap in food security has risen dramatically during the pandemic, with more women and girls going hungry. Women’s food insecurity levels were 10 per cent higher than men’s in 2020, compared with 6 per cent higher in 2019.

This trend can be reversed , including by supporting women small-scale producers, who typically earn far less than men, through increased funding, training and land rights reforms.

Goal 3. Good health and well-being

Disruptions in essential health services due to COVID-19 are taking a tragic toll on women and girls. In the first year of the pandemic, there were an estimated 1.4 million additional unintended pregnancies in lower and middle-income countries.

We need to do better .

Response to the pandemic must include prioritizing sexual and reproductive health services, ensuring they continue to operate safely now and after the pandemic is long over. In addition, more support is needed to ensure life-saving personal protection equipment, tests, oxygen and especially vaccines are available in rich and poor countries alike as well as to vulnerable population within countries.

Goal 4. Quality education

A year and a half into the pandemic, schools remain partially or fully closed in 42 per cent of the world’s countries and territories. School closures spell lost opportunities for girls and an increased risk of violence, exploitation and early marriage .

Governments can do more to protect girls education .

Measures focused specifically on supporting girls returning to school are urgently needed, including measures focused on girls from marginalized communities who are most at risk.

Goal 5. Gender equality

The pandemic has tested and even reversed progress in expanding women’s rights and opportunities. Reports of violence against women and girls, a “shadow” pandemic to COVID-19, are increasing in many parts of the world. COVID-19 is also intensifying women’s workload at home, forcing many to leave the labour force altogether.

Building forward differently and better will hinge on placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

Goal 6. Clean water and sanitation

In 2018, nearly 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed countries. Without safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities, women and girls find it harder to lead safe, productive and healthy lives.

Change is possible .

Involve those most impacted in water management processes, including women. Women’s voices are often missing in water management processes. 

Goal 7. Affordable and clean energy

Increased demand for clean energy and low-carbon solutions is driving an unprecedented transformation of the energy sector. But women are being left out. Women hold only 32 per cent of renewable energy jobs.

We can do better .

Expose girls early on to STEM education, provide training and support to women entering the energy field, close the pay gap and increase women’s leadership in the energy sector.

Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth

The number of employed women declined by 54 million in 2020 and 45 million women left the labour market altogether. Women have suffered steeper job losses than men, along with increased unpaid care burdens at home.

We must do more to support women in the workforce .

Guarantee decent work for all, introduce labour laws/reforms, removing legal barriers for married women entering the workforce, support access to affordable/quality childcare.

Goal 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred striking achievements in medical research and innovation. Women’s contribution has been profound. But still only a little over a third of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field are female.

We can take action today.

 Quotas mandating that a proportion of research grants are awarded to women-led teams or teams that include women is one concrete way to support women researchers. 

Goal 10. Reduced inequalities

Limited progress for women is being eroded by the pandemic. Women facing multiple forms of discrimination, including women and girls with disabilities, migrant women, women discriminated against because of their race/ethnicity are especially affected.

Commit to end racism and discrimination in all its forms, invest in inclusive, universal, gender responsive social protection systems that support all women. 

Goal 11. Sustainable cities and communities

Globally, more than 1 billion people live in informal settlements and slums. Women and girls, often overrepresented in these densely populated areas, suffer from lack of access to basic water and sanitation, health care and transportation.

The needs of urban poor women must be prioritized .

Increase the provision of durable and adequate housing and equitable access to land; included women in urban planning and development processes.

Goal 12. Sustainable consumption and production; Goal 13. Climate action; Goal 14. Life below water; and Goal 15. Life on land

Women activists, scientists and researchers are working hard to solve the climate crisis but often without the same platforms as men to share their knowledge and skills. Only 29 per cent of featured speakers at international ocean science conferences are women.

 And yet we can change this .

Ensure women activists, scientists and researchers have equal voice, representation and access to forums where these issues are being discussed and debated. 

Goal 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

The lack of women in decision-making limits the reach and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergency recovery efforts. In conflict-affected countries, 18.9 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women, much lower than the global average of 25.6 per cent.

This is unacceptable .

It's time for women to have an equal share of power and decision-making at all levels.

Goal 17. Global partnerships for the goals

There are just 9 years left to achieve the Global Goals by 2030, and gender equality cuts across all 17 of them. With COVID-19 slowing progress on women's rights, the time to act is now.

Looking ahead

As it stands today, only one indicator under the global goal for gender equality (SDG5) is ‘close to target’: proportion of seats held by women in local government. In other areas critical to women’s empowerment, equality in time spent on unpaid care and domestic work and decision making regarding sexual and reproductive health the world is far from target. Without a bold commitment to accelerate progress, the global community will fail to achieve gender equality. Building forward differently and better will require placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

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Frequently asked questions about gender equality

Resource date: 2005

Author: UNFPA

What is meant by gender?

The term gender refers to the economic, social and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female. In most societies, being a man or a woman is not simply a matter of different biological and physical characteristics. Men and women face different expectations about how they should dress, behave or work. Relations between men and women, whether in the family, the workplace or the public sphere, also reflect understandings of the talents, characteristics and behaviour appropriate to women and to men. Gender thus differs from sex in that it is social and cultural in nature rather than biological. Gender attributes and characteristics, encompassing, inter alia, the roles that men and women play and the expectations placed upon them, vary widely among societies and change over time. But the fact that gender attributes are socially constructed means that they are also amenable to change in ways that can make a society more just and equitable.

What is the difference between gender equity, gender equality and women’s empowerment?

Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures must often be available to compensate for women’s historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality. Gender equality requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. Where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who are excluded or disadvantaged in relation to decision-making and access to economic and social resources. Therefore a critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women more autonomy to manage their own lives. Gender equality does not mean that men and women become the same; only that access to opportunities and life changes is neither dependent on, nor constrained by, their sex. Achieving gender equality requires women’s empowerment to ensure that decision-making at private and public levels, and access to resources are no longer weighted in men’s favour, so that both women and men can fully participate as equal partners in productive and reproductive life.

Why is it important to take gender concerns into account in programme design and implementation?

Taking gender concerns into account when designing and implementing population and development programmes therefore is important for two reasons. First, there are differences between the roles of men and women, differences that demand different approaches. Second, there is systemic inequality between men and women. Universally, there are clear patterns of women’s inferior access to resources and opportunities. Moreover, women are systematically under-represented in decision-making processes that shape their societies and their own lives. This pattern of inequality is a constraint to the progress of any society because it limits the opportunities of one-half of its population. When women are constrained from reaching their full potential, that potential is lost to society as a whole. Programme design and implementation should endeavour to address either or both of these factors.

What is gender mainstreaming?

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for integrating gender concerns in the analysis, formulation and monitoring of policies, programmes and projects. It is therefore a means to an end, not an end in itself; a process, not a goal. The purpose of gender mainstreaming is to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in population and development activities. This requires addressing both the condition, as well as the position, of women and men in society. Gender mainstreaming therefore aims to strengthen the legitimacy of gender equality values by addressing known gender disparities and gaps in such areas as the division of labour between men and women; access to and control over resources; access to services, information and opportunities; and distribution of power and decision-making. UNFPA has adopted the mainstreaming of gender concerns into all population and development activities as the primary means of achieving the commitments on gender equality, equity and empowerment of women stemming from the International Conference on Population and Development.

Gender mainstreaming, as a strategy, does not preclude interventions that focus only on women or only on men. In some instances, the gender analysis that precedes programme design and development reveals severe inequalities that call for an initial strategy of sex-specific interventions. However, such sex-specific interventions should still aim to reduce identified gender disparities by focusing on equality or inequity as the objective rather than on men or women as a target group. In such a context, sex-specific interventions are still important aspects of a gender mainstreaming strategy. When implemented correctly, they should not contribute to a marginalization of men in such a critical area as access to reproductive and sexual health services. Nor should they contribute to the evaporation of gains or advances already secured by women. Rather, they should consolidate such gains that are central building blocks towards gender equality.

Why is gender equality important?

Gender equality is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and is vital to the realization of human rights for all. The overall objective of gender equality is a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all spheres of life. Equality between men and women exists when both sexes are able to share equally in the distribution of power and influence; have equal opportunities for financial independence through work or through setting up businesses; enjoy equal access to education and the opportunity to develop personal ambitions, interests and talents; share responsibility for the home and children and are completely free from coercion, intimidation and gender-based violence both at work and at home.

Within the context of population and development programmes, gender equality is critical because it will enable women and men to make decisions that impact more positively on their own sexual and reproductive health as well as that of their spouses and families. Decision-making with regard to such issues as age at marriage, timing of births, use of contraception, and recourse to harmful practices (such as female genital cutting) stands to be improved with the achievement of gender equality.

However it is important to acknowledge that where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who are excluded or disadvantaged in relation to decision-making and access to economic and social resources. Therefore a critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women more autonomy to manage their own lives. This would enable them to make decisions and take actions to achieve and maintain their own reproductive and sexual health. Gender equality and women’s empowerment do not mean that men and women become the same; only that access to opportunities and life changes is neither dependent on, nor constrained by, their sex.

Is gender equality a concern for men?

The achievement of gender equality implies changes for both men and women. More equitable relationships will need to be based on a redefinition of the rights and responsibilities of women and men in all spheres of life, including the family, the workplace and the society at large. It is therefore crucial not to overlook gender as an aspect of men’s social identity. This fact is, indeed, often overlooked, because the tendency is to consider male characteristics and attributes as the norm, and those of women as a variation of the norm.

But the lives of men are just as strongly influenced by gender as those of women. Societal norms and conceptions of masculinity and expectations of men as leaders, husbands or sons create demands on men and shape their behaviour. Men are too often expected to concentrate on the material needs of their families, rather than on the nurturing and caring roles assigned to women. Socialization in the family and later in schools promotes risk-taking behaviour among young men, and this is often reinforced through peer pressure and media stereotypes. So the lifestyles that men’s roles demand often result in their being more exposed to greater risks of morbidity and mortality than women. These risks include ones relating to accidents, violence and alcohol consumption.

Men also have the right to assume a more nurturing role, and opportunities for them to do so should be promoted. Equally, however, men have responsibilities in regard to child health and to their own and their partners’ sexual and reproductive health. Addressing these rights and responsibilities entails recognizing men’s specific health problems, as well as their needs and the conditions that shape them. The adoption of a gender perspective is an important first step; it reveals that there are disadvantages and costs to men accruing from patterns of gender difference. It also underscores that gender equality is concerned not only with the roles, responsibilities and needs of women and men, but also with the interrelationships between them.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Sex, Gender and Sexuality — Gender and Sexuality

Gender and Sexuality

• Categories: Sex, Gender and Sexuality

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Words: 463 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 463 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Definitions and concepts, historical perspective on gender and sexuality, intersections of gender and sexuality, impact on individuals and society, current debates and challenges.

• Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
• hooks, b. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. South End Press.
• Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum.

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Course info.

• Prof. Heather Paxson

Departments

• Anthropology
• Women's and Gender Studies

As Taught In

• Cultural Anthropology
• Social Anthropology
• Gender Studies
• Women's Studies

Learning Resource Types

Gender, sexuality, and society, assignments.

This section features descriptions for the three major papers of the course.

First Paper

The aim of this paper is to develop a thesis and to argue for it with reference to theoretical and case study materials from our readings.

You are required to meet with the writing tutor about your paper before completing it. Please make an appointment to meet with her next week or the following by emailing her at least 48 hours before you wish to meet. In addition, feel free to see me to discuss your ideas!

7-8 double-spaced pages, regular font (this is 12 pt Times) (roughly 2,000 words). Do not exceed 8 pages. These are argumentative papers - develop your own thesis and argue it by marshalling evidence from our readings and class discussions. Be sure to engage the arguments of and quote at least three of our authors.

Due in Lec #9

Choose one of the following topics:

• Gender and Nature: Write an essay about gender and nature, keeping in mind that just as our ideas about gender are culturally shaped and varied, so too are our ideas about nature (you can discuss scientific and religious theories about human nature and the natural world more generally). Organize your essay around a discussion of how particular gender ideologies have been naturalized - explained and legitimated through appeals to a biological and/or divine nature - and with what effects (see especially Hubbard, Fausto-Sterling, Kapsalis, Ehrenreich and English, the 2 readings on infant care, Eugenides).
• Gender Acquisition: Individuals learn gender - to identify as a girl or boy/ woman or man, and to be able to act in gender appropriate ways. But children (and adults) do not always conform to these lessons completely, or consistently. Drawing from our readings (Hubbard, Eugenides, Collier, etc.), although one example may come from your own observations of a society, discuss four (4) examples that illustrate different modes of gender acquisition - through socialization (emulating adult or media examples; elicitation, or being treated in gendered ways; education) and ritual (e.g., rites of passage). Evaluate each particular example in terms of how it’s supposed to work (and what it’s meant to convey about gender), and how it seems actually to work (or not) in practice. What means of gender acquisition seems to you to be most powerful? Why?
• Gender and Labor: Write an essay discussing how gender relations are, in part, formed, reproduced, and contested in labor relations. Possible theses to develop could begin with - but are not restricted to - the following foci: a contrast between how gender and labor are organized in agrarian versus wage labor societies; a discussion of gaps between ideologies and social realities (lived experiences) of gender and labor in either agrarian or wage labor societies; how gender and labor relations have also been informed by - and reproduced - ideologies about race historically. Your arguments should engage the arguments and data of at least three authors (e.g., Collier Ehrenreich and English, Rapp, Nakano Glenn, Romero, Freeman, Weston, McDowell).

Second Paper

Sample Student Paper ( PDF ) (Courtesy of Aayesha Siddiqui. Used with permission.)

The aim of this second paper is critically to engage an issue of current social concern and controversy in the U.S. With reference to both theoretical and ethnographic case study materials from our readings, drawing from US and other cultural settings.

First Draft Due in Lec #17

Please consider meeting with the writing tutor about your paper at the rough draft stage - once you’ve completed much of this draft! - and/or when planning your revisions after receiving my comments on your draft.

Papers are to be 7-8 double-spaced pages (roughly 2,000 words). Do not exceed 8 pages. These are argumentative papers - develop your own thesis and argue it by marshalling evidence from our readings, films, class discussions, media articles. Be sure to engage the arguments of at least three of our authors. All papers should speak to intersections of gender, sex, sexuality.

Choose an area of contemporary cultural, legal, political and/or ethical concern or debate:

• Sex assignment surgery on infants with ambiguous genitalia or other medical/social. Issue concerning gender and intersexuality or hermaphrodism. See Eugenides, Chase, Nanda, Fausto-Sterling.
• Origin stories/explanatory theories of same-sex sexual desire/practice. Critically discuss the search for “universal” causes (both essentialist and constructivist) and/or the significance of personal origin stories for the “sexual lifeways” of individuals. e.g., you could compare vestidas and mayates in working class urban Mexico (Prieur) with gays, lesbians, bisexuals within a segment of US society (see Stein, Katz, Bérubé, Rich), or focus on one cultural setting.
• Understanding transgender/transsexualism (see Heyes, etc.) does this challenge or reinforce sex/gender dualisms? you might want to consider this comparatively, alongside intersex (Chase, Fausto-Sterling, Eugenides) or androgyny.
• Gay marriage and/or parenting. See Katz, Rich, Stein, Lewin, Yanagisako, Collier and Rosaldo, etc.
• Gender and the body - body work and gender performance; the body as resource for gender - is this a predominantly feminine preoccupation? does it work similarly or differently for femininity and masculinity? why? see Counihan, Gremillion, Prieur, Heyes, etc.

Write a paper identifying specific concerns related to one of these topics, analyzing the cultural, historical, and political-economic elements that make this a social issue (its “problematization,” to use Foucault’s term; see Prieur pp. 126-27). To do so, draw on recent news stories, popular magazine articles, op-ed pieces, legal decisions as well as case studies presented in our readings. You will want to describe briefly the key arguments or positions on the issue, but the majority of your paper will be devoted to your interpretation and analysis of it. This means you will want to address the following sorts of questions: WHY this has become an issue of social concern now, at this historical moment, and why are the particular terms of debate as they are? What is at stake here symbolically, materially, and institutionally in these debates or negotiations about gender and sexuality; that is, what are the real and/or perceived repercussions for individuals and for a society? Conclude your essay with a brief discussion of what your analysis leads you to advocate - this could be a specific legal or political action, a line of scholarly inquiry, an education policy, etc.

Third Paper

For this paper, I encourage you to write a paper concerning the subjective, personal experience of having a gendered sense of self, identity, embodiment. This doesn’t have to be your personal experience, per se, but I’d like you to explore how and why people respond in their everyday lives to the kinds of cultural scripts we’ve been tracing. The specific topic is open. Write a paper that you want to write.

You could write about sexual violence, birth control (as private matter and/or subject of state interest), sex ed, pregnancy and ultrasound, the abortion debate and ethics of abortion in the US as compared with Greece, ideologies and realities of “the family” - any of the topics we’ve recently addressed. Or you could propose a topic we haven’t touched on directly: an anthropological analysis of contemporary dating, for instance. In the past, students have interviewed their own mothers or peers about their experiences (e.g., teenage motherhood, parenting a child with disabilities, sex ed, etc.).

Paper Proposal Due in Lec #22

Submit a topic, thesis statement (what you plan to argue) and outline of what you plan to cover. If possible, an introductory paragraph would be nice to get. Also list the articles you plan to use. You must make use of class materials, quoting and engaging the arguments of at least Three authors we’ve read. Authors addressing ’experience’ include Abu-Lughod, Counihan, Stein, Heyes, di Leonardo, Landsman, Layne, Petchesky, etc. Proposals can be emailed to me or submitted in hard copy.

Please consider meeting with the writing tutor. And do come talk with me, before or after class, or by appointment.

Papers are to be 7-8 double-spaced pages (roughly 2,000 words). Do not exceed 8 pages.

If you’re stuck coming up with a topic and approach, please see or email me! I can also suggest relevant outside readings.

Final Paper Due in Lec #25 - our last class. This is a fixed due date (late papers will be docked).

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• Posted in in ESL Conversation Questions

40 discussion questions about gender and gender roles

• Posted by by Learn English Every Day
• January 30, 2023
• Updated April 17, 2023

Practice your English speaking skills and engage in lively conversations with these discussion questions about gender and gender roles .

When actress Emma Watson addressed the UN , she famously said “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideas.” It will be fascinating to see how you and your speaking partners feel about this important topic.

40 discussion questions about gender

• What are some differences between men and women?
• What are some similarities between men and women?
• Do you identify as one gender?
• What are your pronouns?
• Do you believe that gender is a construct? Why or why not?
• What are some gender stereotypes that men deal with?
• What are some gender stereotypes that women deal with?
• Do you think that single-sex or co-ed schools are better for students?
• What obligations does a father have to his family, if any?
• What obligations does a mother have to her family, if any?
• Can a mother fulfill a father’s obligations?
• Can father fulfill a mother’s obligations?
• Were gender roles traditional in your childhood home?
• Are women better than men at certain things?
• Are men better than women at certain things?
• Would you prefer to have a female boss, or a male boss? Why?
• Do you prefer to have female or male colleagues? Why?
• List as many male-dominated industries as you can.
• List as many female-dominated industries as you can.
• Do you agree with women fighting in the military? Why or why not?
• Do you think that women should be able to 
• Do you relate to male or female friends more easily? Why?
• Are all genders treated equally or differently in your country?
• Do you think men or women make better leaders?
• Does a leader’s gender make a difference?
• Has your country ever had a female leader?
• Does your country have a “macho” culture?
• Does your country have different laws based on gender?
• Is it legal for people to change their gender in your country?
• Do you think gender roles are changing in your country?
• Is it okay for clubs and societies to exclude people based on their gender?
• What barriers do men and women face in the workplace?
• What challenges do men and women face in society?
• What challenges do non-binary persons face in society?
• What challenges do transgender persons face in society?
• Should parents raise children differently, based on each child’s gender?
• Do you think society treats boys and girls differently?
• Is it okay for a girl to be a tomboy ?
• Is it okay for a boy to play with dolls?
• How are you expected to behave because of your gender?
• Have you ever seen or experienced sexism? What happened?
• Have you ever seen or experienced chauvinism? What happened?
• Why does humanity typically depict gods and deities as men?

What other ESL conversation questions and ESL discussion topics would you like us to write about next?

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• Posted in in Quizzes

5 fun quizzes to test your English vocabulary

40 conversation questions about colors

A Level Philosophy & Religious Studies

Gender and society

OCR Christianity

Introduction

  Gender roles refer to the psychological traits, place in society, and place in home life that a culture associates with male and female. Being a man or a woman comes with expectations attached to it about how a person ought to behave and the kind of life they ought to aspire to living.

The traditional view of gender roles are that men should be active in the world while women should be submissive to male authority and dedicated to homemaking and bringing up children.

These gender roles were seen as natural and therefore good either because God designed human nature to flourish when following them, or evolution designed males and females to be suited to different types of roles.

Feminists argue that gender roles are to some degree socially constructed, though they disagree amongst themselves about that degree. That being the case, it is wrong for society to push gender expectations on people. People should be free to do what they want with their life, so long as they aren’t hurting others. Gender roles being present everywhere in society manipulates people into thinking that they are natural which makes people accept them, go along with them and even believe them.

The result has been a cultural battle between feminists and traditionalists over their opposing views of gender and the opposing views on men and women’s places in society and family that follow.

Traditionalists see feminists as irrationally attempting to deny the reality of their own nature regarding what would make them happy.

Feminists see traditionalism as a man-made ideology which manipulates women into accepting the social role that it serves the interests of men for them to have.

Liberal feminism is the view that men and women should be equal in their rights and opportunities in society.

Radical feminism is the view that equal rights is not enough to guarantee equality because that does nothing to address or undo the cultural impact of thousands of years of oppression caused by gender roles. For equality to be achieved our culture needs to be challenged and changed.

Gender Traditionalism is the view that traditional gender roles are natural and that human life is best when following them.

Traditional Christian gender roles

In Genesis, Adam is created first and Eve is created from a part of Adam. It also says Eve was created to be Adam’s ‘helper’.

Augustine interprets this as meaning that a man by himself contains the imagio dei , but a woman does not. Only when combined with husband as his helper can a woman be in the image of God.

Eve’s was the first to fall into sin. Her punishment was pain in childbirth and that her husband will “rule over you” (Genesis 3:16)

St Paul says that because of this, women should not have authority over a man and can be saved through becoming mothers:

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one who was deceived, it was the woman … But women will be saved through childbearing”. (1 Timothy 2:12).

St Paul is also clear about this authority point within the family unit, stating that wives must ‘submit’ to their husbands:

“Wives, submit to your own husbands as you do the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the world” (Ephesians 5:22-33).

Aquinas said that this submission of wives to husbands is actually for their “own benefit and good” and required for “good order” in the family, since men are wiser and more rational than women.

Feminist biblical criticism

Feminist biblical criticism is the feminist approach to the Bible. It typically takes the liberal view of biblical inspiration.

Biblical Patriarchy is a key concept in feminist biblical criticism. It is the idea that the Bible is man-made for the purpose of subjugating women. If a man tells a woman to submit to a certain gender role, that’s not persuasive, but if that man tells the woman that the creator of the universe wants her to, that is quite persuasive, especially if both the man and woman actually believe in that God.

The consequence is that the Bible, or at least the sexist parts of it, are not the perfect word of God but written by men to further the interests of men. The idea is not that patriarchy is some secret conspiracy. Men, like all humans, have a tendency for self-interest. As Hume points out, reason is a slave of the passions. Men will therefore be subconsciously drawn to ideology that serves their interests. The view that men’s rightful place is being active in the world while women support them by being passive in the home, appeals to the self-interest of men. They therefore tend to support it, just as any group of humans would tend to support something which benefits them. When the Bible came to be written, it felt only natural to its authors to include verses that reflected their subscription to a patriarchal ideology.

Traditional Christians might respond that that the Bible is God’s inspired word. If God wants men and women to be different, then that’s what God wants. Of course, it can look like a conspiracy when you consider that all of the people in charge of Christianity throughout history have been men, but that’s how it would look even if it were truly God’s wish!

They might argue that women who reject these bible passages are essentially acting like Eve did when she disobeyed God. All humans are called to a high standard by God, but many prefer to disobey and disbelieve rather than submit to it.

Liberal feminist theology

would respond that the Bible is not the perfect word of God. It is full of errors and therefore requires re-interpretation

The liberal approach to the Bible views it as a product of the human mind, not the perfect word of God. It began during the enlightenment period where scientific, historical and literary critique began of the Bible. The Bible was shown to contain scientific and historical errors as well as literary evidence of the human author’s influence on the text.

This suggests that the scriptures were written by witnesses of God’s divine events in history like the incarnation, or times when God communicated or revealed himself. What came to be written down as a result however was merely what those people took away from such events, or from hearing about such events from the testimony of those who witnessed them. The words of the Bible are therefore just human interpretations of what the authors felt and understood of God’s revelation. The Bible is a human record of divine events.

The bible thus reflects the cultural and historical context of its human authors and requires interpretation and continual re-interpretation to ensure its relevance. It is not the perfect word of God. Liberal Christians will point out that Jesus himself seemed to be progressive in that in the sermon on the mount he modified some of the old testament laws. Christians should follow this example and continually update and improve Christian theology and ethics.

Ruether’s feminist theology  

Ruether would respond that the Bible contains patriarchal verses, but also verses that are in favour of equality. The Bible is therefore inconsistent on this issue and cannot itself coherently support the traditional patriarchal view of gender roles.

Golden thread argument

Post-Christian feminist theologians

Post-Christian feminist theologians (E.g. Daly & Hampson) however would regard the patriarchy in the Bible as evidence that the Christian God doesn’t exist because it’s man-made, which you can tell by the fact that the Bible gives men what is in their view a superior position to women. God did not make man, men made God.

Mulieris Dignitatum

  In 1988 Pope John Paul II wrote an open letter called ‘Mulieris Dignitatum’ – on the dignity of women – to defend Christianity against the accusation of sexism. He argued that men and women have different but complimentary qualities and abilities due to the nature God designed them with. So, while men and women are different, they are both equally valuable and in fact need each other. This is a defence of Gender Traditionalism and a divinely designed biological essentialism. This suggests that Christianity and the Church is not sexist and that a male savior can save women.

JP II made two different arguments:

Mulieris Dignitatum argument 1: Motherhood is a woman’s telos; natural purpose. J P II argued that women are ‘naturally disposed to motherhood’. Both physically in that they have a womb and also psychologically in that motherhood creates a ‘special openness’ in a mother to their child such that mothers develop their self-giving abilities and compassion. So, the fulfilment and purpose of the female personality, especially that of compassion, comes from virginity and motherhood. This argument is based on Natural law reasoning about telos.

Feminists typically respond that the attempt to embed gender roles in telos is no different to biblical patriarchy. Just as the sexist parts of the Bible were either consciously or unconsciously invented by men for the perpetuation of male dominance, so too is the idea that God designed the telos of males and females to have different goals/inclinations. Feminists. As evidence, feminists point to anthropological study of different human civilisations, where it is found that there is a large degree of variation regarding gender roles between different cultures. If we had a telos that gave us a natural inclination to behave along particular gender roles, we should not expect to find the diversity of approaches to and views on gender that we do.

They conclude that the Christian attempt to insist that God created women with a telos for motherhood is just a cultural invention by men in order to encourage women to adopt the passive social role of childrearing in the home so men can be active in the world and thus perpetuate their overrepresentation in important roles of power in our society (e.g. politics, business, etc).

Simone de Beauvoir also rejects the idea that motherhood is a woman’s telos. De Beauvoir was a radical feminist who was an existentialist like Sartre. Existentialists rejected telos. Sartre argued that there was no objective purpose/telos because “existence precedes essence” meaning humans exist before they have a defined purpose and so have to subjectively define their purpose for themselves. Sartre’s argument was a psychological one, that people cling to fabricated notions of objective purpose like telos because they are afraid of the intensity of the freedom involved in having to create their own purpose, which Sartre thought led to feelings of abandonment (by God/objective reality), anguish (over the weight of being completely responsible for your actions) and despair (over our inability to act exactly as we’d like due to the constraints of the world). It’s much easier to believe in objective purpose than face that existential angst.

Mulieris Dignitatum argument 2: There are important and valued women in Christian history/theology. John Paul II also pointed out that there are many female European saints and that Jesus coming to earth was only possible because of a woman, Mary, which he suggests shows the important place of women in Christian theology. The claim is that Christianity can’t be sexist since there are women it holds in high regard.

Simone de Beauvoir argues that the Christian valuing of Mary shows that it is only through being a man’s “docile servant that she will be also a blessed saint” in Christianity.

Mary Daly makes a similar point to Beauvoir but drives it further. Daly argues Mary is portrayed as a passive empty ‘void waiting to be made by the male’. She argues that Mary is a ‘rape victim’ because ‘physical rape is not necessary when the mind/will/spirit has already been invaded’. The idea that God raped Mary might seem like a startling claim, however consider that there was no consent asked for, and even if there was consent consider the power difference between God and Mary, which would make God difficult to refuse and devalue any given consent. God is the ultimate Harvey Weinstein. So, Jesus’ mother Mary is indeed put on a pedestal by Christianity, but only to encourage women to become passive, submissive and obedient so that women would all the better become the sexual property of men.

Illustration of Daly’s point: when the catholic church say they like and respect Mary – that’s just like a slave owner saying they like and respect the subservient obedient slaves.

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir is a radical feminist. She makes a Marxist style argument that religion is merely a tool of the male oppressor group which keeps women under control in their oppressed place with false promises that they will go to heaven if they obey and claiming that women are associated with sin and temptation for men due to the story of The Fall.

De Beauvoir claims that “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.” This means she thinks that gender roles and differences are the result of socialisation, not biology. The gender divide started for biological reasons but its perpetuation is cultural. Men are physically stronger than women who are hindered by pregnancy, but men turned that biological superiority into socio-cultural superiority by using their power to instil gender norms. She argued that girls and boys are the same until a certain age, but boys are then socially pressured and encouraged to avoid affection and emotion and girls are socially pressured to think the meaning of their life is marriage. Men are thought of as adults when they get their first job, women are thought of as adults when they become married. Girls spend their youth “consumed” by waiting for marriage, whereas no boy considers marriage his “fundamental project”.

De Beauvoir argues that men behave as if only women who stay at home are “clean” while the others are “easy marks”. She thinks most mothers are thereby ‘intimidated’ into becoming mothers, so not making a real choice for themselves. She argued that motherhood forces women to sacrifice their own desires and selves for the sake of child-rearing. Liberal feminism seeks to give women the same rights and choices as men, but de Beauvoir criticised this for being insufficient, because it did not address the entire history of cultural oppression which denied women a chance to participate in history to become people. It’s not enough to give women choices when it’s their personalities and by extension ability to make choices which has been stunted by oppression.

De Beauvoir argued that there is no female biological nature because all women are different.

Many feminists argue that capitalism is the cause of patriarchy and recommend socialism but de Beauvoir thought it was a deeper cultural issue than that. She argued that to truly combat patriarchy requires people to “destroy the concept of motherhood”. There is no maternal instinct; how a mother feels about her child depends on the social context. As evidence for this de Beauvoir pointed out that many mothers dislike or resent their child in certain contexts. She attributes this to women being socially pressured into motherhood.

Radical Feminists are too negative towards motherhood. Some radical feminists seem to think that any woman who chooses to be a mother is suffering from ‘internalised misogyny’, meaning that woman has not made a free choice but has been brainwashed by patriarchal society. Liberal feminists argue instead that women should be free to choose what they like, whether that is motherhood or not. Mary O’Brien is a naturalistic feminist who argued that motherhood can be a positive thing if women are in control of their choice to become a mother. O’Brien thought de Beauvoir devalued motherhood.

Radical feminists have a point however that women are brought up in an environment which makes them less likely to think of themselves as scientists or business people and more likely to think of themselves as mothers and housewives. Beauvoir states that if motherhood is genuinely chosen, it can be positive. The problem is that a genuine choice for motherhood is so difficult to cultivate due to the oppressive culture that existed in the 1940s.

Steven Pinker

Pinker is an atheist and scientist who argues for biological essentialism. He is in favour of liberal feminism, arguing that there should be political and social equality, freedom of choice for women and that we should eliminate violence and discrimination against women. However, Pinker is critical of radical feminism which he thinks believes in ‘ tabula rasa’ meaning ‘blank slate’ – the view that the mind is blank from birth containing no human nature, so there is no brain sexual dimorphism. The result of that would be zero innate cognitive differences between men and women. Pinker accuses radical feminism of holding this view for ideological reasons rather than a rational appreciation of the evidence of e.g. prenatal testosterone, so he claims it is against science. Pinker therefore expects a society freed from all sexism to still nonetheless lack a 50-50 split of men and women in all professions and social positions. This is because men and women, on average, have different temperaments, interests and goals.

Criticism of Pinker: There has been a long history of scientists being extremely unscientific in the pursuit of discrimination against women.

Pinker isn’t unscientific, however.  

Culture could explain Pinker’s data rather than biology: Temperament, interests and goals are indeed statistically different for men and women, but that does not prove they are innate. Society might condition men and women differently in those traits.

Trait difference by gender is discovered cross-culturally however.

But, so is oppression of women and therefore the social conditioning that follows from oppression could be the cause of the universality of gender roles.

“The gender paradox” is the name given to the statistically observed phenomenon that as gender equality increases in a society, the gender split in terms of the different lifestyle and profession choices men and women make also increases. Some argue this is best explained by biological essentialism.

Anne Oakley

Anne Oakley, a sociologist, interviewed women about motherhood. She concluded that the so-called ‘maternal instinct’ comes from culture rather than biology. This was based on her observations that women don’t instinctively know how to breastfeed and that the mothers who neglect their children were themselves often neglected as children. This suggests Paul 11 is wrong to think that God created women with a maternal instinct.

Oakley also discovered many women found it frustrating to be a stay-at-home mother. This corroborates de Beauvoir’s claim that women are forced to sacrifice their life goals to bring up their children which seems unfair – why is it not equally the responsibility of the man?

Alternative explanation of Oakley’s data : However, it could be that childhood neglect creates traumas which interfere with the maternal instinct. That would explain why neglectful mothers tended to have been neglected themselves by their maternal instinct having been interfered with.

Nonetheless , if the maternal instinct evolved then it might not come from God which means it loses its moral authoritative force as something that ‘should’ be enacted.  

Counter-point: Still, if it genuinely helps women to become developed then they may want to choose to embrace the maternal instinct. It may also cause them suffering to ignore it.

No one knows: The science of human nature is very controversial and it is extremely difficult to prove anything on either side of this debate.

Possible exam questions for gender & society

Easy Should official Christian teaching resist current secular views of gender? Have secular views of gender equality undermined Christian gender roles? Assess Christian teaching on the roles of men and women in the family and society. How successful have Christian responses to secular views about gender been?

Medium Is motherhood liberating or restricting? ‘Christian teaching on the gender roles in the family and society is sexist’ – How far do you agree? ‘Traditional Christian views on gender roles are more successful than secular views’ – Discuss. Critically assess the views expressed in Mulieris Dignitatem. Are Christian challenges to changing attitudes about gender convincing? “Christian thought and practice has been undermined by contemporary secular views on gender roles” – Discuss.

Hard Is the idea of family entirely culturally determined? Has Christianity successfully adapted to changing views on family and gender? “Christianity should accept different types of family than the traditional” – Discuss. “Challenging Christian practice regarding gender roles has not has any effect” – Discuss.

Quick links

Year 12 Christianity topics: Augustine. Death & afterlife. Knowledge of God’s existence. Person of Jesus. Christian moral principles. Christian moral action.

Year 13 Christianity topics: Pluralism & theology. Pluralism & society. Gender & society. Gender & theology. Secularism. Liberation theology. 

OCR Ethics OCR Philosophy OCR essay structure OCR list of possible exam questions