Hey everyone. :)
So during class today, we had a conversation
about gender and especially the fact that most men are complacent in what their
possibilities are in regards to their roles in society, specifically with jobs.
I then proceeded to pose this question to all
the males in the class:
“If you had all the qualifications to be a
nurse or a ballerina, and your passions lined up with those professions, what would
stop you from pursuing those careers as a man in modern day society?”
I asked this question because I was curious
to see what the key obstacles were and if each male would hold a different
perspective.
The consensual agreement between the boys was
that:
a) You would be questioned amongst your male
friends in regards to your sexuality and you would be made fun of
b) It could be seen as a failure to uphold
masculine posts, i.e. you failed in school to become a doctor (‘masculine’) and
so by default you came a nurse ('feminine')
c) There are boundaries to perceived feminine
jobs that men just do not wish to cross
However, it differs between across cultures. For example, Youssef mentioned in class that in Egypt, 50% of the nurses are in fact male.
Why is this possible in Egypt but not
possible in my home country Nigeria? What are the fundamental differences in
the cultures that allows for such gender positioning differences to take place? How comfortable would you be to see men in the
maternity ward and day care centres or women in trucking, construction and
heavy machinery operations?
It would
be great to achieve an ideal employment balance on a national scale and I
believe we’re still very much headed in the right direction. But I don’t lose sleep
over the preponderance of traditional jobs today.
to my mind, professions are more gender-balanced in Western cultures. in my country, which culturally is somewhere between East and West, men can be nurses and ballet dancers (especially ballet dancers, since ballet is very prestigious in Russia), but I'm sure that some peolple around will make jokes about such a career choice. The most interesting question for me was: how comfortable will I be, if I see men in day care centres? That led to me to thinking that probably this is not only a "discrimination" issue, but an issue of common sense: women usually are better nurses, because women possess traits necessary for that, they are stronger in emotional sphere and empathy
ReplyDeleteI understand that people may lead towards a woman taking on the day care role more than a man because are seen as better carers and more sensitive. But, does that "common sense" view not actively stand again what women fought for in the 60s?
ReplyDeleteYes, women may be better carers but I feel like the minority of women that are in positions that are seen as masculine job roles is widening everyday. I think the changes will be made culturally before it can expand to a global change. I think the barriers that need to be broken perhaps calls for a globalisation of cultures into an even more homogenous work-life balance.