The Social Construction of Gender

Differences between men and women exist worldwide, unsurprisingly, and the differences sometimes lead to inequality which gives men more power and dominance and therefore, places an inequality on the women.

Biological differences are inborn, clearly, because men and women are different physically.  Hormones contribute to the difference; androgens which are found in males make them taller, heavier, and more muscular. Meanwhile, the female hormones, estrogens, do not make females as tall and muscular. Such hormonal differences explain why males tend to be more active, aggressive, and overriding than females. However, these differences cannot be used as a justification to deny women any rights. I believe that cultural conceptions play bigger role in the gender inequality than biological. Since the dawn of civilization, men have been the strong, the aggressive, and the powerful. The women, however, always had the opposite characters, they were the ones responsible for completing the tasks that didn’t require as much strength, care for the family members, etc. Thus, the social organization has somewhat also contributed to the gender inequality as the men always had more power the women.  

Although today, women have more rights and opportunities than the earlier times, they still are somewhat discriminated. Currently, the women are holding important positions but when compared to the men, they still do not make as income much as men do.  And the women are not treated as favorably as the men are. Furthermore, in many parts of the world, the women are absolutely dominated by the men and aren’t even treated impartially. In many countries, the women face extreme patriarchy by the men which suppresses their basic rights. Moreover, the women also face sexual harassment which indicates their weakness in the society.

Not admitted by many, but men are favored in almost all societies. Although in the US and some other developed countries, the gap between the men and women are not as wide, women in the rest of the world still struggles to for equality.