Cafs_Gender_Significance

Is Gender significant in satisfying needs and wants' Community and Family Studies Gender is what separates males and females. What we learn about being male or female develops from a young age, know as gender construction, influenced by school, parents, media and society. Gender roles are constructed by a society and its culture. Males are brought up to be masculine, given toy cars, action figures and dressed in bolder colours. They are encouraged to play sports and to be ‘manly’. Traditionally as a boy grows into a man, he is expected to have a well-off job, providing income and food for the family. Also traditionally the man had the last say and made the decision making for the family. Females grow up to be feminie, when they are young they are given dolls to nurse, teacup sets, play kitchens and are dressed in lighter, more subtle colours. Traditionally a job did not matter much to a women once they got married and they were deemed unimportant for them by society, as they were expected to stay at home raising the children and performing house hold chores such as cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. In the modern world, these gender roles are changing although the expectation of them still exists. This is shown through the fact that women now have equal rights to men, taking on full time jobs in male orientated areas such as the police force and the army. Another reason to show how these roles are changing is by the fact men are becoming able of being just as maternal as women, staying at home nursing children, cooking and cleaning. Now most families having total integration of roles, having both parties committed to sharing tasks equally and performing in combined effort. Seeing as both genders are equal in ways of work and other areas, their needs and wants can both be met as they both have the same opportunities and resources available to them. The fact that both genders are educated in the same manner reflects this. So in some aspects of a modern Australia, no gender is not significant in satisfying needs and wants, as both male and female can reach the same goals, but this is in places where the equality between males and females is prominent and the government supports such ideas. If women do not have equal rights, then gender is significant in satisfaction of needs and wants. The needs of women would be dictated, and the wants of a full-time job (or other things that are available in an equal community) would not be met. Women would have more needs to have children and get married so they can depend on someone, whilst the men’s need to have a job would be more significant. The significance of gender in relation to meeting needs and wants depends soley upon the opportunities and resources available both of the genders. It does not matter if you are male or female in our society, but in other countries due to religion and culture it can. By Kathryn Gatenby