ABOUT WOMEN

Having a little boy, and being a Hispanic woman, the topic of gender roles fascinates me, both because I am a woman raised in a machista society with a totally different mentality than what my upbringing tried to instill in me, and I am raising a man. It is well-known that we live in a patriarchal world. Men rule everywhere, and women around the world are confronted with a lot of issues about their position in relationships, in the family, in the workplace, in society, and in the world in general.

Women in Relationships:

Generally, women are expected to have a passive role when it comes to dating and mating. Women who express their feelings openly and are up-front about their intentions in a relationship are often misjudged and labeled as easy, freeky, too intense, and so on. Men, in the other hand, are always taught to be aggressive when pursuing any kind of relationship with a woman, enforced to do so, and rewarded for doing so.

Women in the Family:

Women are taught to be nurturing, to take care of their children, their husbands, their extended family, and even their husbands’ extended family in some cases. Women are expected to sacrifice their entire lives for the sake of the family.

Women in the Workplace:

Women encounter segregation and discrimination in the workplace in a constant basis. Women encounter a glass ceiling at work, meaning that they can only reach up to a certain organizational level, and beyond that the climb is almost impossible. Stereotypes follow women to the workplace, as they are expected to do “women jobs” and be followers rather than leaders. Women who actively pursue leadership roles and are straight forward in the workplace are labeled as too aggressive, manly, or bitches.

Women in Society:

As I was growing up, I always heard that behind a great leader (a man) there is always a great woman. That say was supposed to be a compliment for women. Women have made great contributions to society, however, since women have been socialized to be prudent and giving, they usually do not get the credit and exposure for their roles in society as men do. Interestingly, though, women are mostly responsible for charity work and volunteerism.

Women in the World:

Women have been persecuted, mistreated, disrespected, and alienated in every culture, in every country in the world, for centuries. I do not know if there was a time in which women’s situation was different than what we have known over the years. It is clear that women have been able to level things with men more in some countries in the world. However, there is still a lot of improvement to be done, in our neck of the woods and the rest of the world.



Men are a wonderful thing, and we cannot keep placing the blame on them for our position in the world and society. At least in this country, women can start to learn to value themselves more and make everyone see and appreciate that value. We have to break the chains of socialization and gender roles, and start forging the life we want, as women, but mostly as individuals. This is not a call to an armed revolution or a revolution against men, but rather a call for women to start living more passionate and fulfilling lives, in whatever roles we decide to exert.