Gender Roles

Floating around the massive expanses of the Internet, it seems that there are more debates than usual regarding gender roles.  Some people are concerned that they are eroding from modern society, but most people welcome the elimination of the concept.  Well, sounds like it's my turn to put in my two cents on the issue.

I'm right there with the majority in believing that gender roles have got to go.  The philosophical thinking of modern times has no purpose for the overly-simplistic categorization offered by gender roles, and forcing people into those categories has done more harm than good.

The traditional gender roles, you have probably heard a million times.  Men are supposed to be stoic, strong, and dominant, while women are supposed to be sympathetic and submissive.  The people who advocate gender roles are right in that men generally exhibit dominant, stoic behavior, and that women generally display more empathy and the need for togetherness.  Also, they are right in pointing out that such roles were necessary back when families were under constant threat from whatever loomed in the wilderness.

However, "generally" is the key word here.  Not all men are dominant by nature, and not all women are submissive by nature.  At the very least, systems of rigidly-enforced gender roles ostracize the dominant women and submissive men, and at the very worst fuel aggression and blind submission; women forced into being abused by men who were forced to abuse.

These roles have become obsolete in modern society.  People are encouraged to find their own path, rather than fill a pre-determined role.  Men are encouraged to show their "feminine sides," and women are encouraged to have leadership aspirations.

Things are not perfect, though.  We need to take into consideration that the pro-gender-role people are right that most men are dominant and most women are submissive, and acknowledge this without reverting to full-on traditional gender roles or, for example, forcing men to be more empathetic than they are capable of.

We also need to do better at giving new generations what they need to find their own path in life.  Too often, people crash and burn or just flounder about once they enter the real world, not able to handle the pressure.  This is the only real advantage the traditional gender roles had.  People knew how they needed to live their lives and what was expected of them.  Nowadays, we don't have that luxury, and we need to do better at compensating for this.

This will not be easy.  The ideals being embraced by today's generations are totally alien to generations past, who were used to being told what their lifestyles should be.  It is indeed alien to Western culture in general, where the dominant religions emphasize "Read this, do what it tells you"  over any kind of self-exploration.  Indeed, the basic foundation of Christianity isn't privy to the concept.  There are denominations that embrace it (Thank you, Methodism), but the biggest, most mainstream sects generally don't.  Is there a religion out there that is built around choosing your own path to being the person you were meant to be, one that would be perfect for the world we live in today?

Yes!  It's called Buddhism!