We all like to think that girls have just as equal an advantage in society as men. Sadly, this is not the case.
Why is that such a small population, of both men and women can answer this riddle naturally:
A father and his son are on an airplane. The plane goes down, and right before impact the father does a heroic dive to ensure the survival of his son, but he dies in the act of doing so. The survivors of the crash are sent to a nearby hospital, and the injured son is taken to doctor, the doctor replies: “I can’t operate on this child, he’s my son.”
Almost everyone I ask takes a good 5 minutes before realizing that women can be doctors too, and thus the doctor was his mother. Why is it that they have to trip over the fact whether the dad somehow came back to life? It’s weird to me that absolutely everyone has a hard time with this riddle, but I believe this is saying something. Society has a hard time seeing women in a high profile job such as a doctor.
In today’s day and age, the role of the man is to be strong, fearless, powerful and carefree. Women are to be fragile, precious, emotional little creatures. We often hear comparisons of men, to “beasts,” and likewise for women, “fox.” This is the norm, but there is also pressure in society to follow these trends. Would an adolescent girl who doesn’t know all the Jonas Brothers be the most popular girl in her middle school? Could a guy who doesn’t know who won the Superbowl be one of the bros? The society we live in does not really show this happening any time soon. However, society has changed over time, and become more accepting to differences.
When men and women first started, they lived in a very primitive barbaric society, where women were strictly for reproducing and nurturing, because the growth of our species was so important. Men were the hunter-gatherers, doing all the physical tasks necessary for his family to survive. The bodies of men and women are different, and in a way, these applications are very logical. However, in today’s modern society, so much has changed. Reproducing isn’t priority number one. In America, it is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This concept is what allows us for progress, but these instincts that our genders are born with will always be there, but I believe there will be a time when we eventually will have to disregard these instincts in order for society to function. Who knows, though?
All I know is that today, men still have the upper hand in society. Society pushes us to follow this template and thus, we are trapped in a cycle.
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Lots of interesting stuff here Max! The persistence of that riddle is confusing to me, also. Since I was in school we were told again and again that women could do anything men could do. Moreover, in the face of these cultural projections of inequity, women have proved themselves to be more successful at almost every level of higher education. So what is that riddle really about% Why do you enjoy telling it%
ReplyDeleteThe last paragraph is really interesting, also. You sort of set up this society vs. biology paradigm. "In America, it is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." What makes this particularly complicated, is that I suspect they are not as opposed as you suggest. For some people traditional gender roles deny them access to life liberty and happiness, but perhaps to even more, traditional gender roles are a big part of that fulfillment! So what do we do%
I've heard that riddle before and it did stump me for a few minutes. When I think of a doctor I insticively picture a man but am not sure why since women are doctors as well. It was an intersing topic and some good questions were asked about the adolescent view of gender- with the JoBros and Superbowl. My question is what is your view on these ideas society has of men and women?
ReplyDelete-Kathy
I agree that the natural differences between genders are becoming more and more neutral, but it will always be hard to ignore a woman's ability to have children. This makes me think that women would be able to become more like men but men may never be able to identify with women the same way. Do you think men will be able to get past this inevitable difference?
ReplyDelete--kendall
I think its interesting that you showed the gender divides through common things like pop culture and riddles. To what extent do you think that society has accepted differences in gender roles? How far outside do you think a boy or girl could go outside their 'norm' and not be ridiculed? what other changes do you think have to happen in society for everyone to be accepted?
ReplyDelete-maura