In Defense of Traditional Gender Roles

Up until the past hundred years or so there were clearly defined roles for men and women in the societies of most civilized cultures. Men were expected to be providers, protectors, and leaders, of their families, households, and countries. Women were nurturers and homemakers, and were expected to make the lives of their families, and society in general, more beautiful and happy in every way, using their natural gifts of creativity and compassion/tenderness. Today, these "gender roles", as they are now called, are frowned upon and generally accepted as being a plot by the patriarchy to oppress and enslave women into inferiority. We have all been conditioned to view work with a monetary salary as the only fulfilling and meaningful work, and in that light homemaking IS inferior to having a "real" career in the corporate world. Looking at it this way, it's easy to believe that for the past several thousand years women have been forced into a life of drudgery and slavery, kept chained in their kitchens so the men can enjoy the world without competition, because why else would pretty much all the women in history lived according to these roles???

Well, there's always the chance that they loved their families. There's the very slightest of possibilities that the overwhelming number of women all over the world (including Queen Victoria of England) who opposed the Women's Suffragette movement did so because they loved their roles as homemakers and the fact that they had the almost absolute power to shape society for better or worse, and realized if they gave up these positions they would lose the honor and respect they had hitherto received simply because they were women. They were different from men, and this made men respect and cherish them. To better understand why so many women fought the "liberation" of themselves and their sisters, we must examine the traditional roles of men and women from a different view than the one that has been drummed into our heads for the past century.

The main argument against the traditional roles of men and women is that it is insulting and inferior to women. There is no evidence to back up this argument, though; in fact there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Men were expected to sacrifice everything, even their lives, to protect and shelter women and children, even strangers. It was their responsibility to give their women (not just their wives, but their mothers and unmarried sisters as well if their father was no longer alive) a home and provide for them until their death or marriage. If there was a war, they were expected to leave and fight for their country. Women, on the other hand, could live in security, knowing that if someone DID attempt to harm or disrespect them, they would be defended and avenged by the men in their lives. Today, women are expected to fend for themselves because, apparently, they're exactly the same as men and heaven forbid (!) you suggest they may need assistance. In days past, womankind was viewed in general as the gentler sex, to be cherished and honored (no matter who they were), not only for their ability to conceive and bear children, but also in honor of Our Lady.

The main flaw in this argument against TGRs is it makes the assumption that since men and women's roles were different, one was more important than the other. In fact, the roles were complimentary, and necessary to one other. Men could not protect and provide without the help and support of women, and women could not keep the homes functioning smoothly and care for their families without the men's leadership and help. An excellent comparison would be two people making a a cake, one baking the cake itself and the other decorating it. Neither role is more important than the other, but both are necessary for a good result. If the decorator insists on doing the same job as the baker, they will end up with a bunch of plain cakes and nothing beautiful. If the baker insists on decorating instead of providing the cake itself, they will end up with nothing but frosting.

Society today clamors for "embracing our differences" and "acceptance", yet the basic fact that men and women are different is ridiculed and called sexist. Society cannot function properly if all it's members insist on doing the same job and leave the rest undone. As women, we have a vital role in being the ones who shape the world and are the very hearts of society and our homes. The heart and the head have very different roles, but if either cease to do it's job, the body perishes.