Janie Gender Roles In Society

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Sohib Shafqat 12/6/14 Essay: Gender Roles The term “gender role” refers to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to act and behave. These roles are created by society and are based on norms or standards. In most cultures men are seen as the dominant or superior sex, while feminine roles are associated with passivity, nurturing, and subordination. Most people alternate their actions according to how they think society would judge them and unwillingly allow society to influence their actions, however in reality they know they are much more capable to exceed out of society’s norms, but are too afraid to be seen as different. However, a person with a strong sense of self would do things he believes are right and not just what people see are…show more content…
Jody was power hungry and had no sense of self; he wanted to be a people’s person. Nothing he did was for Janie but instead for his town. He felt that if he wasn’t dominant over Janie the town would see him as a weak, vulnerable and delicate man, especially with the amount of wealth and power he had. He couldn’t let Janie overpower his judgments, because that would destroy his manhood, which is typically how most relationships works. Most women wouldn’t speak up against their man because then society would see them as rude, unrespectful and uncompassionate women, which then would ruin their reputation. However, Janie did not let her gender interfere with achieving her goal and after taking a prodigious amount of abuse, she finally spoke out against Jody, eventually leaving him. Her third husband, Tea Cake was a caring and loving man, who really admired Janie for who she is. He gave her many privileges that were once forcibly snatched from her. They talked a lot and were very compassionate and romantic with each other, but one day Tea Cake hit Janie to show her and everyone that he is in control and the dominant one. Janie remained silent and harbored no hard
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