The problem with "gender-specific roles"?

Heh, my first journal entry shall be an idea that has bugged me for so long. One I wish to share to the world, because I know some of these ideas affect so many people.

Everyone is almost always made to believe that everyone is expected to act in a certain way, or not act in a certain way. One great example is at how \"society\" expects mothers and fathers to act. That mothers are \"supposed to be kind, nurturing, docile, gentle, would love to cook and clean all the time\", while the father role is \"supposed to be strong, tough, manly, supporting, demanding, hard-working, mellow\". That it's expected of a woman to know her place and be silent, and a man is supposed to be the big and strong one.

That kind of view seems to be especially big almost every country you look, that a women is just a relic made for nurturing, not a person. It infuriates me to the very core that this is what many young girls and women are being taught as I write this, that they are taught that they have no worth other than be submissive to their man. It's doubly infuriating that it is being taught to young boys and men that they can act however they want because a woman will always be there to clean up after them. It is a very primitive view, and it is very far from the truth.

I believe that there is no set \"gender-specific\" role. That nobody should expect a certain gender to act in a certain way. A woman doesn't have to be a \"nurturer\" if she chooses not to be; a man doesn't have to be a selfish jerk if he doesn't choose to be. Why are these roles in place? They should be put out, and allow more free thinking. It should be taught to the youth that they can be whatever they choose to be. For example, a girl can grow to be how she chooses. If she wishes to be a \"nurturing role\", or an \"independent role\", it is her's to choose. Not society's, not anyone else's, only hers. Nothing should be expected other than how she is raised. That her parents should raise her to have an open mind and know that there really is no such thing as a \"gender-specific role\" for herself.

Because seriously? When you break it all down, what really separates a \"man\" and a \"woman\" is how the body is built. The body structures are similar, but we as people shouldn't be.

So...hah, let me get to my point. I do not believe that there is any superior gender. Man and woman are equal. One should not suppress the other. We were placed in this life to love and care for another. Not as possessions. We need to see past our own shallow-ness, and know that one path to true peace and understanding is to accept each other. Respect each other. Teach that there is no \"superiority vs inferiority\", but strive for equality. It is my hope that someday, a woman won't be just a possession, and a man won't just be the all-mighty one. It is a role we all share. My hope, for gender-equality.

May my point have gotten across somewhere up there. I hope I provoked a thought or two...and thanks for reading.

~Faye