Do you believe that gender roles exist?

There is a distinct difference between "gender roles" and "sex roles". One is biological, the other psychological. When someone sits with their legs apart and hunched over, it is regarded as a " masculine" posture. Why? If a person cries during a movie, it is regarded as a "feminine" response. Why?

Gender is very ambiguous. You can have a very "effeminate" man, but he is still a man. The curses God placed on man and woman derived from their sex, not their gender.

Well the women empowered movement is new thing in terms of history. Men always had the provider role, and women always had the caretaker role. But in this economy like many others women have to work to provide alongside the male, leaving both the caretaker role, sometimes having to hire outside help.

So culturally times have changed, making it nearly impossible of achieving the biblical traditional roles, unless the male is very successful in life. Also the culture is against the bible all together. It is evident everywhere from the attitudes of the people to the politics of the day.

I would say that women are more emotional creatures, which is why they sometimes get stereotyped as worse drivers. I have seen it first hand. Girls get all distracted about their boyfriends and nearly get into accidents. Never have I seen a male get into an accident over being emotionally excited. But males are more prone to speed racing and drunk driving I think.

Call me a sexist but in the end of the day even the atheists will agree that men and women are different.

But as a christian gender roles are in no way a salvation issue of course. Its just your personal choice if your a women and you want to work a "male" job, and vice versa.

JesusIsLordAmen said:

Call me a sexist but in the end of the day even the atheists will agree that men and women are different.

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No, no, that's not sexist. That's stating a fact. We are physically different and on some level, emotionally different.

And onto the OP:

I don't think they do. And I do not believe they should. Our lives should not be dictated by a culture where girls as young as ten were sold into marriages. Our lives and our choices are our own, and we should be able to do what we want without being judged.

InnocenceCannon said:

My question is, do they exist or not?

The current social climate strongly believes that there is no such thing as male and female in terms of personality.

I'm just curious because the bible seems to contradict this thinking. The main evidence being Adam and Eve's punishment. God gave them specific punishments, implying that they were to have different roles.

One of Adam's (and the rest of mankind) punishments being that he had to work a hostile Earth for sustenance every day of their lives. Eve's (all females) gender specific punishment was that she was to trust men to provide leadership.

I'm not arguing that women are under men so lets not get into a misguided argument over that. Just that women don't have a responsibility to be leaders (they have a choice) while men don't in most cases.

This also has heavy implications, especially for men. For example, if gender roles do exist, then men who act in a passive manner are not living up to their potential in most cases (because passive men are not trying to achieve any of the "qualities" that we have been mandated to acquire such as confidence or not avoiding taking charge).

So I'm asking:
1. In your opinion, do gender roles exist?

2a. If you said yes to number 1:
+Do you agree that we have certain traits that we must live up to (for example, how the Bible mandates that men be strong in leadership)

2b. If you said no:
+Society often expects traits from men and women. For example, men who cry are considered weak. Women don't have to take initiative in romance situations. Women should take up as little space as possible with their body and cover up their body. Men are allowed to "fight" to solve problems.

Why do you live by and accept these societal gender roles if you claim they don't exist?

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Yes, gender roles exist.

However, this is a bit of a complicated subject to approach. Gender roles mandate us to live in certain style and mannerism. They're worldly expectations.

What God gave to the serpent, Adam, and Eve were curses, not exactly gender roles. However, the curses influence our social structure and norm to this today.

The Bible expects God's people to always be strong and courageous, and never back down from danger. Women are encouraged to work in the Bible, as depicted in Psalm 31.

However, the Bible also makes it very clear for men to stay men and women to stay women. A man cannot give birth, and there's no point for a man to act effeminate. A woman should keep her head covered.

InnocenceCannon said:

My question is, do they exist or not?

The current social climate strongly believes that there is no such thing as male and female in terms of personality.

I'm just curious because the bible seems to contradict this thinking. The main evidence being Adam and Eve's punishment. God gave them specific punishments, implying that they were to have different roles.

One of Adam's (and the rest of mankind) punishments being that he had to work a hostile Earth for sustenance every day of their lives. Eve's (all females) gender specific punishment was that she was to trust men to provide leadership.

I'm not arguing that women are under men so lets not get into a misguided argument over that. Just that women don't have a responsibility to be leaders (they have a choice) while men don't in most cases.

This also has heavy implications, especially for men. For example, if gender roles do exist, then men who act in a passive manner are not living up to their potential in most cases (because passive men are not trying to achieve any of the "qualities" that we have been mandated to acquire such as confidence or not avoiding taking charge).

So I'm asking:
1. In your opinion, do gender roles exist?

2a. If you said yes to number 1:
+Do you agree that we have certain traits that we must live up to (for example, how the Bible mandates that men be strong in leadership)

2b. If you said no:
+Society often expects traits from men and women. For example, men who cry are considered weak. Women don't have to take initiative in romance situations. Women should take up as little space as possible with their body and cover up their body. Men are allowed to "fight" to solve problems.

Why do you live by and accept these societal gender roles if you claim they don't exist?

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First, its true that Society (The World) confuses gender roles because society is based on moral relativism, skewed ethics, self-ism , and confused sexuality. Gods ways are not confused...they are definite, unchanging, the best for people and society, and civil in their approach. We get to choose which road we will walk down and what will influence us ultimately in life. Choose Gods ways and life will go better .

This means of course, becoming counter culture .

There are a few physical/structural characteristics that lead to some differences in skills and tendencies, but I do not believe in social gender roles.

A woman's brain is more networked, where a man's has more narrow direct connections. That makes a woman more attentive to a broader group of people, possibly better at weighing pros and cons, and makes a man quicker at making decisions and taking risks. It does not make one gender more skillful or smarter than the other.

There are also differences with motor skills -- women known for detail work and men known for larger movements.

I completely disagree that women are more emotional. They have stronger hormonal swings that cannot be avoided, but that is different than an emotional personality. I know men who are ten times more emotional than I am. More, much more.

When a woman delivers a baby, there are hormonal instincts that go into effect, that shift her value system to focus on the baby's care in ways she never expected. That also is not personality -- it is temporary. (For some more temporary than others.)

On a religious level, I do not believe that God called genders to certain roles, other than infants needing certain survival care by their mothers. And men needing to take responsibility for their actions when they are not the pregnant ones.

The roles certainly exist in society, but they don't need to be so strong and divided.

parsley said:

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On a religious level, I do not believe that God called genders to certain roles, other than infants needing certain survival care by their mothers. And men needing to take responsibility for their actions when they are not the pregnant ones.

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It is inescapable that God has set up concreter roles for a husband and wife for maximized effectiveness, civility, harmony , etc... Even children are to obey their parents instructions . There is an Order in how Christian Families are structured with each Member contributing to the Unit. Its when each Member does what he/she feels like , that things get muddied up / disorganized / leading to ego-inflation , disharmony , and conflict.

In some relationships, the male is the dominant one, and the female is the submissive one. In some relationships, the female is the dominant one, and the female is the submissive one.

As others have said, "gender roles" are socially prescribed. Although different hormones and such typically make males more aggressive and females more sensitive, there are plenty of exceptions.

Bobby64 said:

In some relationships, the male is the dominant one, and the female is the submissive one. In some relationships, the female is the dominant one, and the female is the submissive one.

As others have said, "gender roles" are socially prescribed. Although different hormones and such typically make males more aggressive and females more sensitive, there are plenty of exceptions.

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Our Culture today believes Gender Roles are 'socially' prescribed ; however, Gods Word is what mankind is expected to go according to ...and Gods Word gives a clear deliniation between Husband and Wife and Parents and Child in terms of roles . Thus, it is God who is the ultimate Prescriber .

The primary reason there is such moral decay , unhappy marriages, and widespread divorce is because the populace is going according to what the ever changing Culture dictates. Christians therefore, are counter-culture when it comes to vital issues .

[...]

No such thing as gender roles

So I'm asking:
1. In your opinion, do gender roles exist?

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Yes, there are very specific gender roles

2a. If you said yes to number 1:
+Do you agree that we have certain traits that we must live up to (for example, how the Bible mandates that men be strong in leadership)

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Yes, we should do our best to live up to the Biblical mandates. However, there are times this cannot occur. I am the leader of our home, because my husband is sick. However, I take every opportunity I can to throw the leadership mantle back to him.

The Bible is clear in many places not just with Adam and Eve that there are distinct gender roles. These are to be followed in the church and also copied in marriage. Our society especially the feminist movement likes to do away with these roles. But as we have seen doing this has caused a lot of problems. We need to get over our pride and realize that God's way is the best way we should follow his design.

gender ROLES are stupid and unethical, gender ABILITIES are common.

Women and men do have different areas they excell... that does not imply men and women have predetermined roles in society and men generally stay in charge and get what they want

InnocenceCannon said:

My question is, do they exist or not?

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Yes they do exist. Read Ephesians 5 to see what God considers the role of a husband and wife in marriage, for instance. The scripture says that the man is the head of the woman as Christ is the head of a man. There is no mistaking that language; God has given it to men to lead. Men are the spiritual leaders of their household, which is not just a position of authority, but great responsibility. As the spiritual covering for the family, the man must be strong in the Lord, leading by example and taking an active role in the spiritual development of his wife and his children. The word also says that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. This means, among other things, dying to your self-interest and esteeming her as better than yourself. It is calling for sacrificial love and mutual submission.

The roles are very clearly defined but it is not politically correct to believe they actually exist. As someone mentioned, this is a more recent development. People will say that gender roles are the product of an archaic society, but according to the bible it was Gods plan since the very beginning. We should obey God rather than men and trust His design for men and women.

ephesians 5 says two things.

1. Man is the head of the family

2. Wives should submit to husbands

This does not compute to any complexity or clarity at all concerning gender roles neither does it imply men LEAD the family or lead females in general or that women in general answer to men or their husbands. Husbands need to submit to wives too, and anyone else that's right when they're wrong. Paul might have been sexist but God is not.

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OntheHorizon said:

ephesians 5 says two things.

1. Man is the head of the family

2. Wives should submit to husbands

This does not compute to any complexity or clarity at all concerning gender roles neither does it imply men LEAD the family or lead females in general or that women in general answer to men or their husbands. Husbands need to submit to wives too, and anyone else that's right when they're wrong. Paul might have been sexist but God is not.

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This is how our marriage is. We have a mutual submission marriage per Ephesians 5:21. We both lead in our family, each taken over leadership when that person has the experience or knowledge to do so. Neither of us has the final say or veto power. Decisions are made mutually and if a decision cannot he made, then the decision is tabled. If after an among of time goes by and still no decision has been made we drop the matter. If we cannot come to an agreement, then the matter was never meant for us to begin with. There is no she has to go with my decision because I am the husband in my marriage.

Well, people have cited some parts of the Bible that claim the man is above the woman in marriage. I would personally say that reflects the culture of the times in which the person was writing since we're all made in God's image, but that would be delving into a theological debate. So I guess I'll stop here.

I do want to comment on this, though:

The primary reason there is such moral decay , unhappy marriages, and widespread divorce is because the populace is going according to what the ever changing Culture dictates. Christians therefore, are counter-culture when it comes to vital issues .

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So a marriage is decaying if the woman is the more dominant personality in the marriage? If that's the case, then many families I know are in "moral decay." And I see no reason why prescribed gender roles would stop divorce from happening. Lack of commitment and love is what creates a divorce.