The Sexual Double Standard Gender Roles - 1526 Words

Danielle Davidson English 150 Fall 2014 Ho Lot Of Stigma: The Sexual Double Standard Gender roles are social constructs that defines what sort of behaviors are acceptable for men or women. These rigid expectations teach people through socialization that we should think, speak, dress, and be a certain way depending on which gender we are. When we are young we learn the behaviors that are socially appropriate for males and females; these behaviors are often based on gender stereotypes. For example, women are expected to love shopping and take care of domestic duties like cleaning the house, while men are expected to love sports and to work outside the home in an industry like construction or engineering. While men and women do have distinct differences that can t always be chalked up to social imposition, these ideas of what it means to be male or female can be very harmful to people s identity. People are often judged and scrutinized for failing to fit into the box society creates for them based on their gender. There are quite a few double standards that exist regarding gender. It is unfair to judge people more harshly for something based solely on their gender, and one common example of this is sexual behavior. Women are judged harshly for the same sexual behavior that men are praised for. This sexual double standard can have devastating effects on women who get labeled as â€Å"sluts.† Men who are thought to have a higher number of sexual partners or be more sexuallyShow MoreRelatedHow Men and Women Are Perceived According to Their Gender844 Words   |  3 Pagesoccur based on ones gender and have been shaped over hundreds of years and have shown what is deemed acceptable for one gender is not always acceptable for the other. Our society is based on a gender social structure and what is appropriate for an individual. Promiscuous behavior and active sexual expression ranges from whats expected of an individual and can change based on their gender, age and socio-economic status. The evolutionary theories expla in biological differences in sexual behavior betweenRead MoreA Fallen Woman and an Upright Man: The Sexual Double Standard1330 Words   |  6 Pageswho grew up in poverty and whose fate was shaped by the sexual double standard. The sexual double standard is when men and women are evaluated differently for engaging in sexual activity (Marks 84). In Stephen Crane’s novella, â€Å"Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,† the sexual double standard is evident through social norms and expectations, the emergence of the sexual revolution, and the permissiveness of sexually active men. Society plays a large role in determining perspectives towards sexually active individualsRead MoreA Double Standard1688 Words   |  7 PagesSEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARD . Society is known to treat men and women differently despite the equality that is supposed to exist between the sexes. While sexism and gender sensitivity was at its worst during the early eras, it still exists nowadays because of what is known as the double standard mentality. In the poem ‘Double Standard’ Harper presents various examples of this double standard mentality that exists in the late 1800’s. The poem focuses on sexual double standard which is more appropriatelyRead MoreRock Music and Confined Sexual Repression in the 1960s Essay1119 Words   |  5 Pagesgirl response to the confined sexual repression, rock music created many controversial consequences. Music became a commodity that served escapism from reality instead of creating options and choices and brought the teen cultures to go against the mainstream culture to bring forth identities that are more coherent and ideal. Rock and roll was the most compelling commodity to enter the teen consumer culture. Gender roles being unequal created a sexist double standard and women were the object of needsRead MoreEssay about Gender Inequality1428 Words   |  6 Pagesovercome the obstacle of gender inequality and evolved into a society of fairness and righteousness. As many know, females can be just as proficient and qualified as males at any task. Though some efforts to off-set this gender imbalance is in place, it is still commonly acknowledged that many careers are stated to be a male job such as lawyers, and female jobs such as secretaries. Gender inequality is a visible fact in our society and in this essay, I hypothesize that gender inequality still existsRead MoreThe Feminization Of Love, By Francesca M. Cancian Essay1691 Words   |  7 Pagesbegan to be defined by their sexual behaviors. With this, the idea of love and romance was feminized; and women were considered the ones who expressed their emotions, accepted strong feelings, and remained pure. In contrast, men start ed to be considered sexualized creatures that were expected to be emotionally reserved. Today there is a sexual double standard that puts pressure on women to engage in less sexual activity than men and puts pressure on men to maintain a standard of masculinity, just likeRead MoreA Double Standard By Frances Ellen Watkins Harper909 Words   |  4 Pagescivil rights and gender equality throughout her lifetime (Strong Female Friday). Her desire and willingness to fight for social reform was fueled by the inconsistencies and double standards that she viewed within the society in which she lived, both based on race and gender. In the poem â€Å"A Double Standard† by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, the issue of gender discrimination is discussed through the portrayal of the contrasting principles in society regarding society’s response to a sexual encounter betweenRead MoreThe Effects Of Parental Supervision On Adolescents And Young Adults942 Words   |  4 Pages In genera l females are held to different sexual standards than men. When females hook up or have one-night stands, such conduct is frowned upon. Females who hook up or participate in the booty calls generally have lower self-esteem. Where did males prefer hook ups as an oppose to traditional dating. Interpersonal dating relationships start with adolescents and young adults. This age range is where trial and error relationship lessons are learned. I chose the topic of perceptions of traditional datingRead MoreSociety s Norms Of Sexual Activity1587 Words   |  7 Pagesdegraded of certain sexual behaviors that deviate from social norms. Feminist believe that women deserve equality, and therefore stand up for women’s rights. Society’s norms of sexual activity is different from men and women, when men seem sexually active they are praised, but when women seem sexually active they are judged and called â€Å"sluts.† In society, from a very young age people, including women, have been unintentionally teaching their children about double standards in gender, being unintentionallyRead MoreGender Double Standards Essay1705 Words   |  7 Pagessociety, one starts to see many cracks and loopholes where one set of standards does not apply the same way for men as it does to women, and vice versa. One of the main and most discussed double standards when it comes to gender is the fact that men are praised for being promiscuous, while women are put down and called names. This double standard goes way back in the societal memory. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that these gender differences have resulted from males’ and females’ different reproductive