How Gender Shapes Girls' Lives Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How Gender Shapes Girls' Lives - Term Paper Example As a function of seeking to understand these dynamics to a more full and complete degree, the following analysis will engage the reader with a more informed understanding of the way in which gender norms impact upon current culture and help to define, as well as constrain, the way in which young girls self identify and create an understanding for the world around them. From a historical analysis, it can be understood that the cultural norms and mores that women were expected to adhere to within the past were generally contingent upon their own fertility, the means through which they could bring up the children that they burst, and their responsibility to take care of the men within their families (McGovern, 1998). Ultimately, this represents a patriarchal understanding of the way in which women should subject themselves to a level of second-class citizenship as compared to their male counterparts. Whereas the gender norms for men were contingent upon increasing their material possess ions and/or focusing upon those aspects of life that interested them and they believed were of value, women wear instead prompted to focus upon a very narrow set of expectations; none of these were necessarily concentric upon the desires and hopes that a woman might have with regards to the way in which her future should look. Throughout the course of the years, the patriarchal society has changed very little (Chan et al., 2012). This illusion for change is one of the most impactful factors that encourage individuals within the current era to engage with the false understanding for the fact that the current/modern dynamic is somehow drastically different than it was before. Whereas it is without question that rights and privileges have increased, the mores and the norms of society have evolved, these very same mores and norms are nonetheless still predicated upon a patriarchal definition of society; thereby, very few real changes have been effected. The fundamental issue of continui ng to define gender norms based upon fecund understanding or the ability of the female to produce and care for children is by far the single most constraining aspect of the way in which gender norms continue to impact the way in which individuals understand their own net worth and place within society. Many would argue that the level of change that was exhibited from the beginning of recorded history up until the mid 18th century was negligible. However, a recent level of emphasis upon women’s rights, and the role in which gender has with respect to define the way in which individual should behave, indicate that a fundamental break with the past has in fact been engaged. Yes, upon closer inspection, the true levels of differential that exists between the gender norms that exist within the current era and the gender norms that exist in several hundred years ago are not quite as stark as they might at first appear. Although it is true that women now have the right and ability t o integrate with the workforce, although it is true that women can choose between staying at home and seeking to benefit their lives by working and drawing a salary, although it is true that not each and every family is headed by a male, although it is true that women now have the right to vote, although it is true that a woma