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A (Brief) History of Gender Norms
While gender roles and the social concept of gender roles are starting to change, history has shown that our gender determines the role we play in society. Looking back in history, and even applying this today, we can see that these gender roles and norms are influenced by several different factors including agriculture, language, geography, culture, religion, family structure, different traditions/customs, and many many more. Today, our gender roles have been enforced by past traditions, generations, and history. Historic events such as war and laws have impacted the stereotypes and gender roles of our society.
During the time of hunter and gatherer, division of labor played a huge part in developing gender roles. The women were the nurturers, taking care of the children, foraging, and focusing on the home front. Meanwhile the men went out to hunt, create weapons, and were the ones to go off to fight wars. Once agriculture shifted from handheld tools to plows, this further set in place the gender roles we see throughout history.
“Unlike the hoe or digging stick, the plow requires significant upper-body strength, grip strength, and bursts of power to either pull the plow or control the animal that pulls it. Farming with the plow is also less compatible with child care, which is almost always the responsibility of women. As a result, men in societies…
