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1、THESOCIALROLESOFMENANDWOMENInallsocietiestheobviousbiologicaldifferencebetweenmenandwomenisusedasajustificationforforcingthemintodifferentsocialroleswhichlimitandshapetheirattitudesandbehavior.Thatistosay,nosocietyiscontentwiththenaturaldifferenceofsex,buteachinsistsonaddingtoitaculturaldiffe
2、renceofgender.Thesimplephysicalfactsthereforealwaysbecomeassociatedwithcomplexpsychologicalqualities.Itisnotenoughforamantobemale;healsohastoappearmasculine.Awoman,inadditiontobeingfemale,mustalsobefeminine.However,oncethecontrastbetweenmenandwomenhasbeenincreasedandaccentuatedinthisfashion,i
3、tisusuallytakenasafurthermanifestationofbiologicaldifferenceswhichconfirmtheneedfordifferentsocialroles.Or,toputitanotherway,sexdifferencesareusedtocreategenderdifferenceswhicharethenexplainedassexdifferenceswhich,inturn,requiregenderdifferences,andsoon.Thismaybenomorethancircularreasoning,bu
4、titissociallyveryeffective.Forexample,inourownpatriarchalsocietymalesenjoyasociallydominantposition.Thus,fromanearlyage,boysarehelpedtoacquireamasculinitythatallowsthemtoassumeandmaintainthatposition.Bythesametoken,girlsaretaughttocultivateasubmissivefemininity.Theresultingdifferenceinthemale
5、andfemalecharacteristhendescribedasinbornandusedtodefendtheexistingpowerarrangement.Onlythosewhoacceptitarenormal,andonlytheycanexpecttosucceed.Themalesocialroleisdesignedtorewardmasculinemen,whilethefemalesocialroleoffersitsrelativeadvantagesonlytofemininewomen.(Theaggressivemanwillrunthebig
6、gerbusiness;thepretty,agreeablewomanwillfindthericherhusband.)Inotherwords,masculinityandfemininityaregenderqualitieswhicharedevelopedinresponsetosocialdiscrimination.However,oncetheyhavebeendeveloped,theyjustifyandcementit.Themasculineandfemininegenderrolesmutuallyreinforceeachotherandthereb
7、yperpetuatetheinequalityonwhichtheyarebased.Obviously,thispsychologicalmechanismcanoperateonlyaslongasthebehaviorofmenandwomendoesnottransgressthegenerallyacceptedlimits.Everysocietytriesthereforetopreventsuchtransgressionsbycallingthesociall
