What Is My Gender Role?

I want you to close your eyes but keep one open. Look around. What do you observe with the one eye that is open? Now, switch which eye you have open and do the same thing. What different perspective do you get from the second eye? Lastly, open both eyes again and look around. No matter what you see, you have a better view of the world when both eyes are open. Your vision becomes more complete, clear, and understanding. The same is true in family relationships. The best ideal family situation is to have both a father and mother that work in unity with each other. I have talked about this in past blogs, but this week we investigate why it is so important. What does a women provide to a family and what does a man give that are so valuable?

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Did you know that 80% of the time trained professionals can look at an image of a brain, and after careful examination, they can tell correctly whether the brain belongs to a male of a female? 80% of the time! That is impressive and it shows just how different our brains are.  So now let us look at some of the major differences between gender roles that we have and some possibly theories of why we hold on to these beliefs.

Females are nurturing, caregiving, detail orientated, have better communication skills, people focused, emotionally expressive, cooperative, verbally aggressive, and relationship focused. 

Whereas the typical man is more spatial oriented, independent, action focus, object focus, rough and tumble play (ruff housing), more competitive, and more physically aggressive.

There are three major theories of why people believe in these gender roles. Each one holds some truth and in my personal philosophy I feel that is a combination of all three. 

The first one is that we are born this way. It is a part of our biological make up and design. Certain hormones are more common in different genders. While each hormone is identified with a specific gender they are found in both men and women. Testosterone, a hormone mostly found in males, contributes to muscle mass and strength. This supports the males are more likely aggressive and stronger than females. Estrogen is considered the female hormone and helps with the regulating of moods. This could explain why females are more naturally driven to be nurturing and able to connect with others.

The second theory is that we are taught these things from our parents and the society we grow up in. People expect different genders to do different things. This influence starts at a young age. Even the toys we play with as kids impact and teach us certain gender tendencies. Boys often play with guns and cars. Girls play with Barbie dolls, they do their own make up, and they play dress up with each other. These small social experiences in life impact the way we act as males and females.

The last theory I will share is that of a spiritual nature. In this theory we are created by a God who has an eternal plan. God created us with divine characteristics and expectations to accomplish in this life. In The Family Proclamation, a document published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints states that, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

God wants mothers to be loving and nurturing. He wants fathers to provide, protect, and preside with love and kindness. These divine characteristics are in alignment with what we see typical gender trends in our society.  

Nature? Nurture? Spiritual? What is the reasoning? I believe that all play an important part to us understanding why we act a certain way. Vision is much clearer when we use both of our eyes. This is also the case when we have both a man and a woman in a healthy relationship. Their gender roles complement each other and are meant to be beneficial to the overall family.

Here is a link to The Family Proclamation incase you are interested in reading more of it:

https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?