Jordan Resor

Mrs. Luhtanen
English II
April 15, 2015
Gender Roles in Society
Gender role stereotypes in todays society are far more common
than most of us our aware of. These stereotypes are shown in a current
article called Gender Roles and Differences, but have been around
since Shakespeares time, and he displays them in his famous play
Much Ado About Nothing. I do not believe that these roles have
faded; I believe we just do not pay attention to them anymore.
The play, Much Ado About Nothing is almost completely based
off of gender roles. For example, By my troth, niece, thou wilt never
get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue. (II.I) When
Leonato says this to Beatrice he is saying that if she doesnt speak
nice, and ladylike that she would never get a husband. This quote
leads to a way deeper meaning in that of women cant speak freely. It
is showing that women who speak freely are undesirable to men. In
this time period they do typically have gender role stereotypes. Im not
saying that they are right, but I know they were very common. Many
people only look at these stereotypes for women, but they also
affected men.

In Much Ado About Nothing male stereotypes are not really

noticed, but they play a central part too. An example would be when
Beatrice said, He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that
hath no beard is less than a man; and he that is more than a youth is
not for me; and he that is less than a man, I am not for him... When
she says this she means that a man without a beard is not a man, and
that if you do not have a beard you are not good enough for her.
Honestly that part of the play offended me, because I have been trying
really hard to grow a beard, and I have had no luck. So if I were in that
scenario and I truly cant grow a beard I would have not been
considered a man. Even though that is not the case, I would have been
judged for my inability to grow one. At the same time that she is
saying this she is also saying that a man that has a beard is old. I for
one also no this to be false, because of the freshman at our school that
have amazing beards, and they are young. Getting off of the facial hair
topic the play portrays all of the real men to be in the army. Leonato is
one man in the play that is not in the army, and he is not weak in
power, but he is not as big and strong as the other men. This play also
has it to where the soldiers pick out a girl, and the girl is flattered that
he chose her. It is basically showing that the women accept any soldier
because they are truly a man. This is especially true when it comes to
Claudio and Hero. Claudio sees Hero, which is a very attractive person,

and wants to marry her, and what happens; after a long feud, they get
married. That also falls into a stereotype for the women.
As I was talking about Claudio and Hero they portrayed gender
roles for both sides. Claudio asks Leonato for permission to marry Hero.
Leonato says yes, and Hero would not have had a choice if she did not
actually like him. That also being said, Claudio is told a lie and decides
to embarrass Hero in front of everybody, and nobody believes her, not
even her own father. This lie was about being Pure, which is another
stereotype for women. In this play the women have to be pure while it
doesnt even matter for the men to be. After that feud gets cleared up
she still married him. She forgave him after he completely ruined her
reputation for something stupid in front of everybody, and didnt even
talk to her about it. I know that these specific stereotypes do not exist
today, but many new ones do.
In the article, Gender Roles and Differences, it clearly talks
about many of todays gender roles. Whether we realize it or not, we
push everyone into there role right when they are born. This article
brought up how right at birth, if its a boy, you give him a blue blanket,
and if its a girl you give her a pink blanket. I would have never even
thought deeply into that, but it is true. Also, parents strive to put their
kids into their gender categories. For example, Parents often supply
boys with trucks, toy guns, and superhero paraphernalia, which are
active toys that promote motor skills, aggression, and solitary play.

Daughters are often given dolls and dress-up apparel that foster
nurturing, social proximity, and role play. (I will state, that I do not
disagree with this, but they are there.) We dont realize it, but its all
around us. That quote from the article shows how women are put into
nurturing roles while men are put into tough and destructive roles. This
also continues later in life for both men and women. Men are supposed
to be big and strong, while women are supposed to be weak and
dainty. Men are portrayed to not be able to be emotional, and if a man
is emotional they are looked at as weak and sensitive. Women of the
other hand are supposed to be weak, but when they try to be
independent, they are not looked at as wife material. This article also
states that more men are in the army, and law enforcement, while
women are more involved in childcare positions. When you look back
on it the reason it is this way is because we were raised in this way,
and didnt even know it. Our parents want the best for us, and they
believe that the best for us is to follow in the stereotypes footsteps. I
know people my age look at someone with emotions as weak. As an
example I want to be a Veterinarian. Most adults support that, but
when my friends ask they think Im joking. It doesnt bother me, they
just say that I dont come off as the kind of guy that would want to
work with animals, which is a sensitive job, because I play football and
drive a jacked up truck. Just like most men that go on to work in some
line of force. I never really looked at any of these things in this way,

and I dont think many people do. My last point is that when you put
two and two together, todays stereotypes developed from
Shakespeares time. They may have changed, but they have
transferred down through our generations.
As I stated before, gender stereotypes in society are far more
common than most people know, and I think that if people really
thought about it they would notice them too. These stereotypes are in
todays society and are even shown in Shakespeares play Much Ado
About Nothing. That is in fact where I think todays society developed
our gender roles and Stereotypes from.

Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. Much Ado

about Nothing. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Source: Boundless. Gender Roles and Differences. Boundless
Psychology. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014.