Essentialism: Gender Role

Essentialism refers to the belief that multitude or finish have and underlying and unchanging state. The belief of essentialism in sexual practice states that there ar immanent differences between a man and a char fair sex and an unchanged idea of what it means to be a man or a woman. Thus manpower and wo useforce be subject to gender part that is their particularise occupation, behaviour and role in the society. Non essentialism is that difference in men and women behaviour and role is culturally and mixerly constructed.The article gainsay that sensation woman stump (Ellie Mae OHagan 2012), illustrate the essentialist view of women role. That is women have confine option about their path. In the article the source illustrate that to be seen as a prosperous woman, women should subscribe to the gender role laid pour down by the society. They ar less considered if they ar non married even if they have achieved an self-sufficient scotch status. In china, they are considered as societal lepers, outsiders of the society. society do non accept woman to be totally independent financially and emotionally toward men.It is illustrated by the case of that woman who had to fly away from China as it was not accepted that at everyplace 27 years old she was not married. The social system follows the essentialist guess and it rewards women for performing their gender role correctly and punishes them if they choose not to follow unoriginal gender role. Gender essentialism has been used to advocate and condone the conventional and natural role of women. Buss and Schmitt (1993) express that women are generally more interested in foresightful term relationship than men.That is women have more tendency to seek for marriage than men. The indicate effrontery by Buss and Schmitt for women to want a long term mate is to provide them with resources homogeneous silver or food. It is an essentialist view of woman not sufficient to provide themselv es with money and food. However, increasingly women are independent and challenging the conventional idea that men who are breadwinner. That suggests that the roles played by the two genders are constructed by society and can be changed. Another outlook of essentialism is that roles are mapped out by temper.The role of woman is natural and exists outside of cultural and social conditioning, therefore by nature women need to carrying, emotional or dependant. Women not responding to that view would be always questioned and depreciated by others. The author of the article suggests that women who are single are due to a flaw opposed to career natural turbulence. So by nature women cannot stay single and it is a fault if they stayed unmarried. Those are generalised statement which are asserted and interpreted for natural and universal.By consequence, as suggested by Marcia (1966), people gestate that gender roles reflect natural tendencies and do not consider themselves outsides the se roles. It influences their decision, occupation and behaviour. The author herself justifies her singlehood and her view of single woman was influenced by the essentialist view of single women, that they are unhappy and do not have a fulfilling life. Essentialist norms about natural traits of a woman, states that women would achieve pleasure and satisfaction if the accept the traditional role in relationship.Thus it maintains gender inequity and patriarchy as a universal system. It manifests in terms of stereotypical assertion about role of women in relation to man. in that respect are assumptions about what women are and what women should be. Even if a woman rejects the stereotypes, she is judge by others with references to stereotypes (Steele 1997). The singlehood is considered to be the woman fault and be blame for it. Singlehood in essentialism is considered likewise as consequence of women bad decisions, behaviour fit in to normal gender role and a strickle decision of women.The feminist essentialism as stated by Irigaray, argues that women condition and role has been delimitate by a patriarchal society. According to feminist women are hale by men to play certain roles defined by feminine traits like passive, submissive, emotional or caring. Women are judge to be wife, mother and cannot intrude those expectations. Feminist have tackleed non-essentialism to challenge society. Non- essentialism argues that culture incarnations roles for men and women and that it is transmitted by culture by means of generation.So societies have pre-existing norms and expectations. According to non- essentialism men and women are socially and culturally grown up to adopt gender specific behaviours. Society maintains and reinforces stereotypes. The articles illustrate too that women do live a fulfilling life whether or not married. Even if researches shows that single woman achieved more in life than single man, society and people still view them as unhappy an d faulty. Women like interviewed in the articles are frustrated due to these stereotypes.Society searches reason for their singlehood. Single women are considered whether workaholic or careerist. Essentialism associated these characteristic to men still no to women. Essentialism maintains gender stereotyping and inequities. Women are pass judgment using the nature reason to behave in a certain way. Even if women now work and are independent they still are expected to fulfil their role of wife and mother. Non- essentialism illustrate that gender determined role is not natural but socially constructed. Reference list Ellie Mae OHagan. 012. Scrap that single woman stereotype. The Guardian. http//www. guardian. co. uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/27/scrap-single-womanstereotype Buss, D. M. , & Schmitt, D. P. 1993. Sexual strategies theory An evolutionary perspectiveon human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204-232 Marcia J. E. 1966. Development and organization of ego development status. Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology,3, 551-558. Steele, C. M. 1997. A threat in the air How stereotype shape intellectual indentity andperformance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629.