Gender Roles In Today's Society

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In today’s society, the roles of men and women aren’t what they used to be. They are equal, can have the same jobs and same rights. In the past women were to stay at home, cook, clean, and raise a family. The man’s role was to provide financial stability and do the hands on jobs. Today, those roles can be switched, altered, turned upside down and backwards. You might be wondering what occured to change the standards of society so drastically. Gender roles have been influenced and changed through feminist protests, broken stereotypes, and the stress for men to provide. The female mind has grown from a quiet, do what your husband says perspective, to one that explains its own personal wants and needs. Although women are still fighting for…show more content…
Wollstonecraft says “...their soul ambition is to be fair, to raise emotion instead of inspiring respect.“ (118). She implies that women are not asking for more respect over men, but simply that the laws of nature be fair. However, she feels that women need to make the change for themselves, saying that “The woman who strengthens her body and exercises her mind will, by managing her family and practicing various virtues, become the friend, and not the humble dependent of her husband.” (Wollstonecraft 117). The context of this quote shows that she not only believes that women who better their mind and body will be treated fairly, but also be seen as a friend to their husband. Wollstonecraft says “..while they have been stripped of the virtues that should clothe humanity, they have been decked with artificial graces that enable them to…show more content…
In Mallam Sile, the stereotype of men and women was broken. Some would say that men are supposed to be big and strong, while the women are petite and helpless. However, Mallam Sile was a smaller, less confident man, while his wife proved to be strong, and fierce. The author, Mohammed Naseehu Ali, describes Sile saying “Mallam Sile was short-so short, in fact, many claimed he was a Pygmy.” (95). Society struggled to accept that they were not an ordinary couple and alienated them. The people cried out as she went to find Samada, “Go back to your house, woman. Don’t fight him, he will disgrace you in public.” and “What kind of woman thinks she can fight a man? Be careful, oh!” (Naseehu Ali 101). This however did not stop Abeeda from fighting Samadu. Not only did she have the courage to fight him but she had the strength to win. Society was shocked, she has beat all the stereotypes, and when she did, her husband was treated fairly, as was she. The story of Mallam Sile and Abeeda, describes an unordinary couple, however couples like them today are common. Although some still believe in a traditional couple with a petite women and a big, strong man, there are those who choose not to focus on the materialistic qualities of a couple. Sile was so grateful for the respect of the people, “He smiled and thanked

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