Gender Socialization And Social Inequality example essay topic

In the romantic comedy What Women Want, the protagonist Nick Marshall displays pretentious, arrogant qualities when suddenly an electric shock gives him the unexpected ability to read women's minds. The story follows Marshall as he attempts to manipulate women in his favor with his unanticipated capability. In this screenplay lies an abundance of sociological instances that focus on and relate to gender roles, gender socialization, and social inequality. Gender roles are the specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women. The roles can result from a division of labor, and generally, women are assigned child-care and domestic duties, while men provide for economic support and physical safety. The movie begins with an explanation of a "man's man", claiming that one is the leader of the pack, someone that other men admire, and an individual that just doesn't understand women.

To other men, this type of role is desirable. The "man's man" in this story, Nick Marshall, displays many examples of gender roles. He has a maid to tend to his domestic needs and a door-woman to hail his cabs. His secretaries are all female and perform trivial tasks that he could easily do himself, like buying his cigarettes. Even the coffee shop employees are female. Marshall grows accustomed to these stereotypical gender roles and even mentions to his daughter upon her arrival at his home that now she can cook for him and get his slippers.

While staying with him, his daughter walks in on her father and is shocked to see that he has waxed, polished his nails, applied pore strips, and put on panty hose. This typically is not an appropriate way for a male to act, but would have been perfectly acceptable had a female been viewed in the same situation. The latter instances all embody gender roles, specifically that of women. Gender socialization begins at birth and is reinforced by one's family situation. A typical instance of gender socialization in a family is the differentiation in emotions, responsibilities, and personality of the mother, father, and siblings due to gender socialization. Schools, peer groups, and the media enforce this type of socialization.

In the movie, Marshall's ex-wife notes the fact that his suave abilities with women are directly related to his family situation during his childhood, in that his mother was a Las Vegas showgirl and thus, women constantly surrounded him. As a result of the gender socialization inflicted upon him during early childhood, Marshall shapes the socialization of his daughter by jokingly informing her that now that she plans to stay with him for the next few weeks, she can cook for him and get his slippers. In these cases, gender socialization exists within the family and is instilled at a young age. Social inequality is also a focal point of the movie and results from gender roles.

In most cultures, females are viewed as passive and subservient, while the men are expected to provide physical protection and financial support for the "weaker sex". Marshall's co-workers, as well as Marshall himself, are stunned to find that the job assumed to be given to Marshall was instead hired out to a woman because gender inequality would suggest that the higher ranking position would be filled by a man. While Marshall watches television, he quickly changes the channel after hearing the announcer state that the women's finals were coming up on that channel because sports are typically viewed as a male activity due to their physical nature. In this movie, gender inequality results in discrimination against women as exemplified in the latter instances. Gender roles, gender socialization, and social inequality are abundant in today's society.

In the movie What Women Want, the aforementioned concepts are amply exemplified in the case of the story's protagonist Nick Marshall.