G.E.A.R to Humans (3)
Man, Woman, and Reactions
G.E.A.R. → Gender roles, Emotions, Assignment given by society and Reactions.
Two articles have been written on this topic already. The first one was an introduction to this subject matter and you can find it here. The second one addressed the attribution of intelligence to men and women. That can be found here. Today, gender roles in relation to evolution and modern times would be addressed.
With this article, I hope to express an understanding of evolutionary roles and modern roles. Redefining gender roles isn’t the goal but actually correcting the false ideas that many people have of gender roles, ideas that have sponsored the oars of abuse for the longest time.
Historical times showed us how men and women worked to co-exist on earth. Evolutionary roles became a thing when ancestors tried to find a way to survive on earth. Men are born with more testosterone than women giving them their huge frame and muscular build. This sort of strength was needed in battles and farming in the old times.
Farming and claiming territories is how they survived those ages. Since men were stronger in build, they were needed for immediate strength-requiring activities. Women, however, held the fort at home. They were in charge of protecting the children and managing the resources that men had gone out to work for. In essence, everyone needed each other to survive and we still do.
Over time, there seemed to be a preference for men and higher importance for men in society than women because the fact that they were men was all that was needed to confer high value on them over women. To be clear, men were seen as the only security systems for communities and women were just managing all men worked for.
Expect humans to abuse and take advantage of what is offered to them, there was the oppression of women and more silencing of women generally. Only women who were 10 times as bold and influential had a place to talk where men spoke. This went on for ages.
Women are not the only ones on the receiving end of this whole fiasco. Men were put into a box and heaped with pressure upon pressure to be monotonous in function. The pressure even seems like a natural thing now to the point where you were considered less of a man if you strapped your baby to your chest. That just wasn't manly. (Some still said this a few months ago).
However, times changed and humans found easier ways to do things. As a matter of fact, women who didn’t have men in their houses were forced to fend for themselves. Tools after tools were created, men and women tried to make life easier for themselves and women tried to stand up for themselves in society too. That’s why we have what we have today; some sort of representation of both genders in many fields.
The story and historical background are longer than this but this much detail should expose you to the ideas being portrayed here.
Modern times made a lot of things change. It wasn’t because the era just divinely came to be. Many people worked to see this sort of era; where most of the ills can be addressed boldly and possibly averted.
These changes made humans realize that there are some societal roles that just cannot be what they always were. Some were just so wrong, you would wonder why they ever even existed. For example, the notion that cooking in a family is a woman’s gender role and sole responsibility. Another one is a grand idea that paying your kid’s school fees was the man’s primary assignment.
You may be on the side of those who scuff at the sort of diverse statements you hear being said to men or women each passing day. I have been on the neutral part of debates right from when I was a child. By neutral, I mean avoiding extremes and realizing fluidity in many roles that men and women have to play in the world.
To put it out there honestly, there is a lot of ego-plays involved in many things that people try to hide behind society’s placement of roles and biology. If people thought objectively, they just might pick up after themselves when they are done eating instead of waiting for their partner to clear their royal highness’s mess.
To be continued in G.E.A.R. to Humans (4).
