What do you think of this statement about natural roles for men and women?

Question

Someone posted this comment on my blog:

"Let's say that women are 'historically' nurturers and men 'historically' provided; that you don't want children because you are young and have other options; that recoiling from a male provider is a reaction brought about those options.

These new options are possible in modern societies, but they don't necessarily negate what may well be evolved functions. Possessing these functions AND the right not to carry them out is a sensible approach."

Discuss.

Answer 1

Let me put it to you this way.  Men are SUPERIOR.  Women are INFERIOR.

Lets look at some different situations and how a man or woman would react.

1. Self-perception

When a man thinks he is fat or ugly, he goes to the gym, swims, and works out.  He has dignity, self-respect, and a hard-work ethic.  He knows what he wants, and he goes after it with no complaining.

When a woman thinks SHE is fat or ugly, she mopes around and eats tubs of ice-cream because she is depressed.  Or she smears more hideous paint on her face to mask the ugliness.  Or maybe she stops eating altogether (a growing disease called anorexia).  All of these are a direct result of women's ignorance, laziness, lack of self-awareness, and general inability to solve problems.

2. Relationships

When a man has a problem in a relationship, he tells his *****.  He doesn't fleet around the bush, or try to conceal it.  Then he comes up with a rational solution, because that is how he is.  He is a rational thinker.

When a woman has a problem in a relationship, she doesn't let it go.  She will "keep it inside" for weeks, months, or even years.  And, of course, all women just want men to "be there and listen to their problems.  Don't try to solve them!"  Why the h**l they would not want to solve the problem is a mystery to me.  Women let their problems linger, and that is why they are inferior.

3. Interests

What are men interested in?

Sports: Physically and psychologically beneficial activities.  Good for losing weight (take note, fat *********.e.s).

Technology: Paving the way to the future in the automotive industry, computer industry, etc.

Women: On Valentine's day and other occasions, men do all the work to be romantic and please their ho, and he gets jack s-h-i-t in return. Google steak and bj day.

What are women interested in?

Make-up: Let's spend money on paint to try and make ourselves look like clowns when we should be losing some weight instead!

Clothes: Lets spend more money!!!

Dramatic/sensitive media: Let's watch 27 Dresses, let's read Romance novels, and let's watch s*x & the City because we're too incompetent to live our own lives and be happy!  Instead, we have to daydream about fictional romance and happiness!

Women should be interested in cooking, cleaning, working-out, and....that's IT.

And please, don't bother calling me a male shovenist pig, because the only thing worse than a male shovenist pig is a WOMAN WHO WON'T DO WHAT SHE'S TOLD.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as natural role. To many mistake natural with tradition.

A person's role in life is what is in there own abilities mixed with personal needs and wants.

That is the closest thing to natural role there is.

For example I love being a sahm. But I also love being a financial provider so I have found a way to be both. For me that would be natural.

There are others who dreamed of being a lawyer, so it would be completely unnatural for that person to do what I am doing.

I answered a queston similar to this one today so I thought i'd put the link up   http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 3

Myfaeia has a good point.

Answer 4

Historically, women have generally been expected to be providers as well as nurturers.

For most of human existence we were hunter-gatherers, and women's role in providing plant food was essential to the survival of the tribe.  In early agricultural societies, it was most probably women who did the farming, as is still the case in some agricultural societies today.  Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, women were providers as well as nurturers, making products for home use and selling the surplus, butter, cheese, eggs, ale, thread etc.

The seperation of home and workplace that occured with the Industrial Revolution made it difficult for women to fulfill both roles, and the tradition of the women staying with the children while the men went off to work arose (previously, work had mainly been done at home, homes were places where people worked as well as lived).

of course, many poor women still had to work, even if they were married, and children would often start work at quite an early age too.  But the middle-class ideal, of the man going out to work and the woman staying at home, became regarded as the norm.  In the 20th century, when many people's living standards improved, more married women who had previously had to work were able to stay at home, and most regarded this as an improvement in their lives.  

However, nowadays most married women seem to want to be out at work rather than at home, and presumably they are happy with that.  Unfortunately, since children can no longer be put to work at an early age, the problem of what to do with them remains, but there generally seems to be some sucker who is willing to look after the children, no matter how demeaning an occupation that might be for most women.

Answer 5

Darling if men are superior then why don't they become pregnant and give birth to children; let them try to do what a woman does then they may think twice before they open their mouth!

Answer 6

It basically just means that while we were historically and biologically "meant" to fill those gender roles, and we still can if we'd like, we don't always "have" too. Were no longer obligated to those "natural roles" anymore.

Answer 7

Your statement is essentially saying females are designed to be nurturers and males to provide for the offspring and/or females, but we aren't obligated to carry out these roles. It seems a fairly simple and obvious concept. You don't seem to be in any rush to have babies even though your body is designed to do so; I have no interest in killing a gazelle with my bare hands (well, and probably crude weapons and group tactics) even though my s*x may have been initially designed for this and similar purposes.

Answer 8

There's no "natural" roles based on gender. There are plenty of women are are not nurturing and men who are not interested in only being providers. Those roles only occur as a result of social conditioning and personal interests.

By the way, Shahin M, it's no wonder you can't get dates with that attitude. I wouldn't date a man who felt that way about me. Also, the word is spelled "chauvinist" and it comes from Nicolas Chauvin, a French soldier who was obsessive in his love and devotion to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Answer 9

I was writing an unusually long answer but I think this will be enough:

Live and let live.

Do not force people into your ways,  but do not let people force their ways on you either. As your ways could be strange to them and their ways strange to you. And neither your way or their way is necessarily better.

If I understand, the poster says that having new options does no necessarily mean that everyone would like to take them, nor should they be forced.

Answer 10

It's sounds like the guy wants you to be obligated to think about a woman's place in the past when considering your future decisions.

He is asking you to accept his view that women are nurturers and men are providers and then, if you want, you can choose to "recoil" . But you cannot escape the "evolved functions" You merely have a choice not to carry them out.

Sounds like narrow thinking. Oldschool.

Women today, don't have to consider the limitations of  the past. They can pursue any destiny they choose.  The future is wide open. They can be providers or nurturers.

Answer 11

Social structure vary by culture and can't be programmed into an individual like a biological features are "programmed". I think you are justifying your own dreams and beliefs by this broad and invalid reflection on history.

Your anxiety comes from an individual or individuals that are pressuring you to do something you don't want to do. This is the hostility you feel. You are showing it as subtlely as possible.

You don't want a child because you want to work and become successful. A child would take that success away from you, since it requires time, and make you have to be depended on a man,since a majority of the time single mother need the support of a man. This is the issue. You don't want anybody to take power away from you.

"A third attempt at protection against the basic anxiety is through power-trying to achieve security by gaining factual power or success, or possession, or admiraition, or intellectual superiority. In this attempt at protection the motto is: If I have power, no one can hurt me." (Horney,1937,p.98)

Answer 12

evolution from the ice age to this age has definetly changed these roles from what was considered as natural then. even dogs evolve to become gaurd dogs if they have an ancestory of one even if their lineage was one of being a street dog.With humans the evolution of the mind in resposes to environment and soceity is much more than with animals so though the body of a woman still nurtures specially with brest milk etc the roles overlap.The freedom of choice or the right to such choices is still in the process of evolution