Camille Paglia once said, “Heaven help the American-born boy with a talent for ballet.” It was always assumed that young boys were supposed to grow up to be tough and macho, whereas the girls are supposed to follow the ‘sugar, spice and everything nice’ guidelines. But what qualifies as manly? There are specific things that males are expected to do, and there are things that females are stereotyped with. There are roles that each gender is automatically associated with.

At home, the women are expected to be the child-bearing weaker sex. They are expected to bring the heirs into the world, care for the children, and they are expected to look after the household. Regular and common household duties include cooking, sewing, cleaning, and looking after their male counterparts, whether it be husbands or sons. They’re burdened with making sure that the household runs smoothly.

While the women are working to ease the complexity of daily lives, the men are the breadwinners. and they are the providers for the household. They are the ones to break their backs in hard, earning labor. They are thought to be the big, strong guys with the ripped abdomens who should never cry. We expect them to be the natural leaders and the protectors, just as the king of a lion pride leads and defend his pride to the death.

Just as the lionesses do the hunting, more and more women are taking jobs outside the household and becoming financially supportive of the household. But that doesn’t mean a woman can just go apply to be a mechanic or a construction worker. There are jobs and professions that are considered to be femininely acceptable. These femininely accepted professions include all low-paying jobs that involve house-keeping such as maids, servants, and other jobs of the same field. Teaching jobs are considered unmanly and effectively are taken by women. Being secretaries and assistants means women couldn’t be bosses and order men around.

But what people think should be the way that all men and women should behave is not always what we see in the world. Women are holding positions of power, but the United States of America has yet to boast a female President. There are still quite a few folks out there who think that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and not in the White House, commanding the military. It’s also very common to think that men wear clothing that consists of a shirt and either pants or shorts, while the women’s attire is frilly dresses and clothing that makes them appealing. But as anyone can see that that‘s not clothing that is wore today by women. Women are seen everywhere and anywhere wearing a tee-shirt and a pair of boot-cut jeans. It’s popular throughout the United States of America, but if the women are replaced and the men are put in the same situation - if they wore mini-skirts and prom gowns, they would be viewed as weak and pathetic. When men wear clothing that weaken their protected status, they will be degraded, but when a woman wears jacket-pant business suits, it signifies a role of high status and power.

As women slowly reverse the stereotypical notions, the roles have reversed completely in some households. In many households, it is the men who act as housekeeper while the women are bringing in the financial support. The roles have stayed the same, but the different aspect is who performs which role.

The gender roles are set in stone. The men are strong-willed and the dominant gender and the women are the weaker, but equally hard-working gender. “Heaven help the American-born boy with a talent for ballet”, the quote said by Camille Paglia shows the evolution and acceptance of gender roles. That ballet is a femininely- influenced sport, but as more women start switching roles, so will the men. The rules and regulations of the gender roles shall never cease to exist in the minds of certain people, but slowly, the women are stepping up to take part in their own destiny of what role they play.