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Phoebe Langeland
English 1010
Camie Schaefer
12-05-2015
Gender Roles
Whats gender got to do with it anyway? In the world that we live in today gender roles
are very stereotyped. The woman does the cooking and cleaning and the man brings home the
money. This is typically the ideal situation, but it doesn't have to be. There are a lot of different
ways that we can break out of the normal routine and its okay, no one will get punished if roles
are switched around a little bit. Although gender expectations, same-sex relationships, and power
in the workplace demonstrate that actions and behavior don't determine your gender, which
means we should not limit people.
We expect a lot from females and a lot from males. The ideal situation is for the man to
go to work and bring home all the money and the woman stay home and cook and clean and take
care of the children. Sheryl Sandberg mentions, Theres no doubt that women have the skills to
lead in the workplace. Girls are increasingly outperforming boys in the classroom, earning about
57 percent of the undergraduate and 60 percent of masters degrees in the united
states (Sandberg 646). There can be a lot said about this one sentence. It is proven that the
women are stepping up and working there way up the educational ladder. But where are they
when it comes to working there way up the workplace ladder? When jobs are described as
powerful, challenging, and involving high levels of responsibility, they appeal more to men than
women (Sandberg 647). There is no doubt that women could do it, and dont get me wrong

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there are those brave women out there that will take a challenge, but it doesn't appeal to most
women. Women have all the power they need they dont need to be afraid to move up the
workplace ladder anymore.
In the essay Why Men Still Cant Have It All By Richard Dorment it is primarily based on
the expectations the men and women have in the household.
My wife makes more than I do. We majored in the same thing at the same college at the
same time, and when I chose to go into journalism, she chose to go to law school. She
works longer hours, shoulders weightier responsibilities, and faces greater (or at least
more reliable) prospects for long-term success, all of which are direct results of choices
that we made in our early twenties (Dorment 702).
This is a great example to prove that it doesn't matter who brings home the money and who
cooks and cleans as long as it gets done Dorment continues by saying, She does more of the
heavy lifting with our young son than I do, But I do as much as I can. I do a lot of the cooking
and cleaning in our house. So does she. I dont keep score and its hard to imagine how our
life would work if we weren't both giving everyday our all (Dorment 702). Another great
example to show how why does it matter who does what as long as it all gets done. Gender
defines who we are but if the woman brings home the money and the man takes care of the
children and clean whats wrong with that. I strongly believe that it doesn't matter who gets the
jobs done in the household as long as the couple is happy and its all working out.
In still talking about expectations of the household and who does what it is all still the
same even in aa same-sex relationship. When you see a same-sex relationship you think well I
wonder who does what in the household. It all depends on the couple and how they want to run

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there house. The most stereotyped question you will hear regarding a same-sex relationship is
Who do you think is the girl in the relationship? or Who do you think is the boy in the
relationship? Why does it matter when you look and see clearly that they are both boys or both
girls. Stephen Mays explains this perfectly in the essay that he wrote. A gay man may show
effeminate qualities. but that doesn't make him the woman of the relationship. Its just like the
muscled, bearded gay man doesn't have to be the man of the relationship (Mays 718). From
this one sentence the most important thing to take out of it is that how you act or behave doesn't
determine what gender you are. If you are a boy or girl how you act or what you do doesn't
change what gender you are.
One of the main problems with gender roles and the expectations is in the work place. As
Sheryl said that women have the power to get high up in the work place, that women have the
power and the education they need to do it. The type of work that takes sacrifice and a lot of
responsibilities or hard work doesn't attract the women of the world it more men that enjoy that
kind of work. Saying this doesn't mean that women cant do it there are plenty of women out
there showing men how its done. When a girl tries to lead, she is often labeled bossy, Boys are
seldom called bossy because a boy taking the role of a boss does not surprise or
offend (Sandberg 651). Being called bossy shouldn't scare women. To me that is a right of
passage to be called bossy as long as the work gets done and is done right and you get respect. If
you are called bossy or not it shouldn't matter because the work that needs to get done will be
getting done ad you should be getting credit for that.
Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes,
some boys like princesses (qtd. in Sandberg 653). Thats just the point boys may like girl things

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and girls may like boys things but that doesn't change who they are. We are who we are it just all
depends on our choices and who we make them. Men have a lot of pressure to fulfill
expectations, where as women have no authority. This doesn't have to be the case, it can be
switched around either way. Gender stereotypes are all over the place and there don't need to be
any stereotypes. Women can do some of what men can do and men can do some of what women
can do as long as all the responsibilities get done, it just depends on what choices were made and
if they were the right ones. Im a man, with a working wife and a busy schedule and a little boy
and another baby on the way, and I live with the choices that Ive made. That is all Ive ever
asked for, and it is all I will ever need (Dorment 716).

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Sanderg, Sheryl. "Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid." They Say, I Say.
By Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton,
2014. 642-58. Print.
Dorment, Richard. "Why Men Still Can't Have It All." They Say, I Say. By Gerald Graff,
Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. Nw York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 697-717.
Print.
Mays, Stephen. "What about Gender Roles in Same-Sex Relationships?" They Say, I
Say. By Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: W.W.
Norton, 2014. 718-20. Print