Everyday we conduct ourselves in a socially acceptable manner. Whether we are at dinner or at the supermarket, we subject ourselves to the norms of behavior that society has determined for us, even in some cases before we were born.
Even though most of these guidelines are correct, there are several that are far from the truth. For example, a woman’s place is in the home and a man’s place is at work. Today we know that this statement is false, but the generations of World War II and many years before thought that this was true. That generation thought that men’s jobs consisted of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and salesmen. On the other hand, women were incompetent in that department and therefore, could never successfully accomplish such a challenging task. This was the norm until men went off to fight in the war and women could no longer depend on men to provide for them. Soon after this realization women changed their skirt for pairs of pants and got to work. Some got jobs in the army while others went right to work on their farm. In addition, many women of this era got jobs in factories, a position that typically just men held. Over time and with many powerful women, the view that women only served as homemakers and mothers phased out; however, other double standards remained.
Why have these double standards survived as long as they have? The sad truth is that we still live in a male-dominated world. In the beginning, men were in charge of everything and women were more trophies or second class citizens, rather than equals. It is true that over the years women have gained more rights and are now more equal to men; however, it is also true that this perception of men in charge has carried on over the years. This is why we have not yet had a woman president. This is also why there are jobs that pay a man more than they do a woman.
In a study conducted by the American Association of University Women, it was found that in one year of full-time employment women earn 20% less than men. This one-year study was monitored for 10 years and 20% was relatively consistent. In fact, in the study of 1992-1993, the salaries of 9,000 participants were watched and the salaries differed by 20%. The same study (except for the fact that it was conducted with 10,000 people) in 1999-2000 showed that women were earning 31% less than men.
One answer to this problem might be that there is a difference in the education between men and women. Among these participants 42% of women held an occupational license vs. 34% of men. In addition, 25% of women had completed some graduate work vs. 19% of men. In the field of education, women get paid 5% less. More specifically in the field of mathematics, women get paid 25% less. So if women are clearly more qualified than men, why are women getting paid less?
Similarly, there is the double standard that men are not allowed to cry and that women are an emotional mess. What is the difference between a man crying and a woman crying? There is none. A man crying has become a sign of weakness, when in reality, crying is a simple, human release of emotion and stress.
Why has society imposed all of these standards on us, both men and women? Most of them have no rational basis and their only purpose is to serve to perpetuate the power of one gender over another. A human being is a human being and sure there are differences between females and males; however, these differences are exagurated by societal practices that make no sense.
