Do We Need Clearly Defined Gender Roles?

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[Gandeloft]

Ugh. even the word sex is censored.. I am sick of YouTube..

[Sashique]

Just live life the way you want and find someone else that synergises well with you. If you force yourself to fit a role, you won't be happy.

[justadudewhostolebread]

I do agree that biologically genders are different suited.
But these days traditional roles are becoming a kind of a cage, where people always expect a man to finance and women to saty at home.
Some times non traditional family is equally efficient, saying that this type of family will plunder or be less efficient is clearly wrong

[delaneymetzger]

I don’t think that it matter who does what, but it should be clearly defined who does what. Both parties of a marriage are capable of doing all tasks (unless there’s a disability) but whoever is better at a task and enjoys it more should do it. As long as there’s constant communication and effort put in by both people, there should be minimal issues.

[puma]

We all individually have different strengths and weaknesses. Why can’t we just live together on that principle driving who does what.

'Clearly defined gender roles' based on sex within a relationship can help some couples. Women do this. Men do this.

It can also harm couples because who fits neatly into those categories? 'Clearly defined gender roles' based on sex can be a detriment, forcing a role onto someone who doesn't have those strengths just cause they are a particular sex or simply don't want to do it.

We, as individual human beings, do not fit neatly into sexed based gender role categories.

[richardpeach]

Clearly defined and traditional can be two different things. If it’s untraditional, they need to be more clearly discussed and understood in order to more clearly define them because they are untraditional and therefore not innately embedded within the relationship culturally. Whatever the roles may be, the idea of dividing up tasks and assigning accountability to certain priorities is just a matter of practicality within a functional organization and a marriage is a commitment to the organization that is a family. That family needs to be organized as do all organizations in order to be competitive and cooperative within the realm of organizations unto themselves. I don’t understand why this has to be reiterated but the assignment of roles is simply a function of organizational structure and if it’s not traditional, then it’s still practical.

[OlgaKors]

I don't have kids (don't like them and never liked / wanted). My husband loves cooking and I look after finances. "Gender roles" can be like a cage for someone who does not fit. People should be doing what they have preferences / desires towards, not what is traditionally expected of them.

[benedict]

This is actually one of the things i want to do in my art, draw things and features that people call "ugly" or "imperfections" and put them in figures to see that theyre beautiful.

[rico]

Even though I agree we have predispositions towards certian gender roles. I don't think it should be coerced. If women want to work I don't think that's a bad thing. And the economic reality is that the women have to work. Ultimately, I want to live in the most open society where people can find what gives them fulfilment.

[violetmushroom]

They shouldnt be mandatory roles. Many women are handy, like myself. I fix things around the house, carry weights, all bevause my father is not a fcking sexist. And I look the model part too

[Chicomite]

It's crazy that we need a philosophical discussion just to say "men are better at some things, women are better at others", this used to be common sense. Now it's offensive to this generation 😕

[Leaning_Bear]

this is why men and women make such great partnerships... two halves of one whole, i don't know where i would be without my husband, nor where he would be without me. we look after each other in such different and yet essential ways

[MyKidsLike]

Times have changed. Men are not throwing spears and women are not out picking berries.

[DPham]

Clearly defined gender roles emerged not to oppress men and women but out of the *reality* that men & women have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to survival. If we abandoned them, they'd just re-emerge again when a serious survival situation comes up.

I don't see many feminists fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine.

[Sierra]

Societal structures and needs change and so do the things expected of each demographic in that context. Our species survived because of our adaptability in spite of biological shortcomings.

Archaeological evidence does not support strict gender roles in hunter-gatherer tribes. The able bodied people in the tribe did the hunting.

If the able bodied men of the tribe got gravely injured in a fight with a rival tribe and can no longer hunt, the women HAD to hunt or else the whole tribe will starve. Survival didn't depend on being the best hunter, it just depended on being just good enough to survive. Women may not be biologically geared towards the skills used in hunting so they may not have been the best at it. But they still participated in hunts because a woman who is a mediocre hunter is still a better hunter than the man who broke both his legs in the last hunt and can't walk.

If a disease spread through the tribe and the women were either dead or dying, the men would have HAD to forage for medicinal plants and take care of children. They don't have to be the best and more biologically geared at foraging and child rearing, they just have to be good enough for the tribe to survive.

Ridgid gender norms do not create the space for modern families to adapt to a structure that would optimise their family's ability to survive and thrive.

I find most people who have strong opinions on what a man and woman's place should be have lived a life comfortable enough to not have HAD to break away from those norms when their survival depended on it.

[stretchopotomus]

You don't have to conform to "traditional" gender roles to have clearly defined roles in a relationship. And believe me, having clearly defined roles is EXTREMELY helpful in a relationship, even just as something to go off of.

[jordanmet]

Consider that doing things the “natural way” isn’t inherently better whether true or not

[barrymanilow]

Make sure The Guardian opinion writers don’t get hold of this. ‘Men protect from spear attacks. Women pick berries….’

[mattbarnard]

And guess what. Men and women's skills are complimentary. Together they are stronger than the sum of their parts. Society seems hell bent on denying and destroying this.

[orphanedhanyou]

My husband changed out the valve in our shower handle recently. He opened the box, said "oh no" in confusion & doubt when he saw the valve, turned it over ONE time, then said "oh I got it" like he was one of those people that instantly solve a rubiks cube. The 3D spacial awareness thing for most dudes is REAL.