Gender Roles 2

Until recently, the words sex roles and gender roles were used interchangeably to describe female and male characteristics, attitudes and inclinations. Now, at least in an academic environment, a distinction has been drawn between these terms. Sex roles can be defined as the biological differences between the sexes, such as the ability to become pregnant or nurse a child. Gender roles, on the other hand, refer to culturally-derived, socially-created assumptions about what it means to …

…in tandem with one another. Rarely does one turn to religion or family exclusively for security. These methods are intertwined and, within each of them, are rules regarding sex and gender roles. Within our refuge we are bombarded with the fallout of the Sex-Gender System, in which women are made to feel of lesser importance than men. And, as Lipman-Blumen argues, these roles will always be fiercely protected as the blueprint for all power relationships.