Oppression

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Harvard University *

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Sociology

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Nov 24, 2024

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Student Name Instructor Course Date To what extent are gender roles oppressive? The feminist movements have been working hard in recent years to eliminate the world of inequality and oppression due to women being prisoners because of gender roles. Gender roles are a set of social norms for how to act and think in society. They were established in most societies over many years, varying from culture to culture and even over time within one culture. Gender roles are incredibly limiting, as they dictate what you can do, who you can be attracted to and how you should behave. In the modern world, most people know that gender roles were created by society so that men could do specific jobs and women could take care of their households. However, some people hold onto these ideas even though they know they are false. Society fails to recognize the importance of equality when it comes to gender roles because it is too afraid of confronting issues that could further complicate its views on gender. Gender roles are responsible for the oppression of women and men because they allow for the oppression of women and men. Gender roles can be restrictive and limiting for both men and women. This can be true even when gender roles are socially accepted and played out in a manner that feels quite normal at first glance. Gender roles are never static; they flow like water, changing with time, environment, and society. Gender as performance focuses on the unmasking of natural patterns that leads to individual insubordination when performing duties (Foster 27).Gender roles are pervasive throughout all cultures and serve as an example of what a man or woman should be. They often limit individuals' interactions, choices, attitudes, and behaviors based on sex, gender and expression. The Yellow Wallpaper literature by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

characterizes a psychologically damaging experience of institutionalized female confinement. The narrative depicts a woman subject to progressive psychic deterioration, slowly increasing her dependence on her husband and ultimately being confined to her bedroom with only padded walls, barred windows and thoroughly adored yellow wallpaper for a company (Gilman 3). Gender roles make it difficult for women and men to work together because their roles are so different that chores will often be unfairly distributed between them. Gender roles typically assign specific behaviors to one or both genders, reinforcing gender-based expectations and stereotypes. However, these chores have proved to be a source of violence in many homes. Sorensen played a role of promoting peace in a homestead and protects violent actions that may be result of gender role (Abner 3). The Yellow Wallpaper depicts the negative effects of stereotypically feminine roles in Victorian society, perpetuating gender oppression and the idea that women are inherently subordinate to men. The writing of Charlotte Perkins Gilman subverts traditional gender roles by creating a character that is authoritative yet passive, violent yet meek, and liberated yet trapped in her own house. Gender roles make it difficult for men and women to work together because their roles are so different that many times chores will be unfairly distributed between them, which can cause resentment from both parties. Women often take on more domestic roles in society; men are more often characterized as career-oriented. For instance, women are required to cook and clean, while men are expected to have a job. A woman will be seen as a failure if she is not cooking or cleaning, but it may be acceptable for a man to have no defined role. Gilman's literature notes the oppressive custom by establishing gender roles that emphasize women being passive and submissive to men, which is in contrast to the feminist tradition. This is reinforced by the narrator's desire for a man who will be "strong and ruthless" and only bring harm to those around him through actions rather than words.

Women are oppressed in society because of depending much on the masculine gender rather than finding out how to ensure they do constructive activities in their lives. The system of patriarchy has come in place since the prehistoric times and this has affected the role of women for centuries now. Women are oppressed and marginalized in the society as a result of society tendency of depending on men. They have been deprived from many of their rights and privileges. For instance, Boyce argues it is a “Cultural phenomenon based on the masculine power, in the inferiority and discrimination of the women, in the exaltation of the oppressive virility and the oppressive femininity” (Boyce 147).Although, feminism movements have been raised again to fight back this oppression and discrimination against females the issue of oppression still exists in the modern world. For instance, the protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper is confined to an environment that limits her freedoms. Her husband takes advantage of her isolation by controlling and ruling her life with an iron fist. Her isolation is caused by an oppressive gender role, given the fact that she is based on the characteristics of femininity at that time. Gender roles are often oppressive, as they limit the range of possible behaviors a person may engage in by limiting opportunities. These roles emphasize the importance of women being part of the domestic sphere and men being active participants in their community or workforce. Gender stereotypes can make it hard for a woman to gain recognition outside her family unit and make it tough for a man to spend time with his children or take care of household duties, but these stereotypes also impact how well someone can perform at his job. Boyce et al argue “…the existence of a traditional masculine model that characterizes by an emotional restriction and an obsession by the profits and the success (Boyce et al. 141).”For instance, in the traditional world, education was restricted for women and girls, who are expected to follow the traditional gender roles that are in place. Men on the other hand have more freedom, but no gender equality exists due to unequal

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opportunities between genders. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the protagonist is controlled highly by her husband, John and husband who hold high position in the society such as physicians. Her husband determines what she can during free time, the place to sleep and whom she can meet with a little regard to her opinion. This scenario depicts how gender roles limit individuals through oppression. Furthermore, gender roles are oppressive since they limit women to be dutiful and should not question their husbands authority and whereabouts. The gender roles have been socialized into makeup of an invisible system of oppression, where men are in control and women are economically dependent on their husbands. “The gender intensification hypothesis contends that beginning in adolescence…which in turn causes them to develop increasingly differentiated gender-role identities attitudes, and behaviors” (Priess et al. 1540. This has created an unbalanced power dynamic that impacts both men and women negatively as well as our society at large. Women are not allowed to stand out in public and fight their own battles, and they always need a man's permission to take care of themselves. They should not question their husbands authority because this will bring shame upon them. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrative itself does not portray any of the women in an active role; rather they choose to remain passive and obedient to their husbands wishes. This is especially evident not only in how the women are portrayed but also in how they react to their situation. For instance, the protagonists in the story say, "what is one to do?" (Gilman 2). This emphasizes the woman's impossibility to reject the pressure of the social norms according to which a woman should obey her husband. In the society, women are subjected to mental torture due to the inhumane acts of established gender roles and norms. These norms are created on the basis of the social industries, which have been established by men and have been made as a part of their human nature. Such norms more often cause mental distress among women. Women are forced to

behave in a certain way and to choose the career that suits the society's idea of what is considered appropriate for them. This incorporates to feeling of shame and low self-esteem, resulting in depression and anxiety. “It may be that femininity is indeed unrelated to depressive symptoms…despite longstanding assumptions that there is something depressive or otherwise psychopathological about femaleness” (Priess et al. 1541). The consequences of these practices can be seen both in their physical health as well as in their psychological state that is depression, anxiety. For instance in The Yellow Wallpaper literature tells the story of a woman who is trapped in an asylum, but not for her sanity. She is a victim of depression that stems from patriarchal and gendered society, where women are subjected to mental torture due to the inhumane acts of established gender roles and norms. The narrator notes, "If a physician of high standing and one's own husband…a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do? (Gillman, 2). This shows how women are subjected to evolution of mental illness as a result of being oppressed their husbands. Gender roles play a huge role in oppressing women since subject women to house imprisonment. In a typical society, a man's identity is based on his work or profession, while a woman is confined to being a housewife and mother. They are also expected to bear children, get married fast and bear sons only for the family name, which causes a huge societal pressure on women. Women create a false sense of independence by accepting them, giving them power and therefore proving them to be useful. However, when women belong to a house they do not benefit from any social growth or equal treatment, they are oppressed and controlled by their husband or father. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator texts escapes the confinement and wallpapers of her room, she learns from the other characters that her husband has categorized her as useless. For example, the narrator says that she has been locked in a mansion, "A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house… would be asking too much of fate! (Gillman 2). This treatment of women as useless is a result

of gender roles which assume that all women should focus on being housewives and homemakers. In conclusion, gender roles are oppressive. Gender roles are rigidly defined patterns of behavior or performance that often prescribe appropriate behavior for specific situations. The gender profiling in society has been a problem because of its inequality between men and women. It also violates human rights such as the freedom from domination and physical or mental abuse from gender bias. The Yellow Wallpaper literature portrays a story where women are taken advantage of and treated unfairly and possibly abused physically and mentally as a result of gender roles oppression.

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