Do you think there are still very specific gender roles?

StarSong said:
Gender [/B]is a more complex concept. Used at a cultural level, it means the behavior, appearance, and roles society expects of people, based on their assigned sexes. Those can differ from one culture and one time to another. Used individually, it can refer to your own perceptions and identity, regardless of your assigned sex at birth or the social perception of your gender.
Intersex people can have varying gender identities, like anyone else. Most have a gender identity that matches the sex they were assigned at birth. Being intersex isn't the same as being transgender. But if someone with intersex traits identifies with a gender different from their sex assigned at birth, they might consider themselves transgender. Or they might identify as nonbinary – meaning neither male or female – or other genders.
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"Gender" was historically just a synonym for sex. Until the mid-20th century, it was used grammatically (masculine, feminine, neuter) or interchangeably with sex in legal and medical texts. The idea that "gender" is a separate, self-defined identity was pushed largely by psychologist John Money, whose theories were debunked by the failure of his most famous case (David Reimer). So no, I’m not buying into this new-age bullsh*t about "gender."
 

When I worked as a software engineer, about 90% of the engineers were male. I don't know if that has changed in the 20 or so years since I last had a traditional office job and started freelancing. I wonder if that will change as AI is used more and more to do the actual coding.

I also belong to several songwriter groups, which are also male dominated.

I was a member of a writing group for a while and it was probably 75% female... maybe more... It's been a while since I worked on my novels and was part of a group. Literature used to be dominated by men; now it's dominated by women.

I'm a member of a woodworking group on Facebook and it's probably 90% male.
 
Compared with when I was a teenager, there are far more women now who are proprietors of local businesses, and have careers in writing and publishing, in law enforcement, in the sciences, in medicine, in politics, and employed as lawyers and judges. And there are very many areas of employment I'm leaving out. Not just in Canada, but in the U.S. as well.
 

I used to love doing jobs around the house, e.g. painting, tiling, and things in general. My husband hated getting his hands dirty and as I offered to paint the interior of our house, he agreed to become Olga, the tea lady, and I was Boris the worker. It worked out just fine. The interior of the house looked great, and the laundry and bathroom were sparkling with new tiles. I got plenty of praise about my good jobs.
 
Some of the young kids came over for Xmas a lil after but to visit us when they could.
One tiny Cute girl, maybe 4'8 introduced herself and Sam a Man. He was cool.
He introduced His I'm with Her Wife Charlie. 6', sticky thin with a girly voice.

They were nice, respectful, I went out to the garage with Charlie To fix the Front brakes on Her Car.
The Caliper mounting bolt had come loose, causing vibration / pulsing stopping stuff.
Luckily it was a nice warm evening in Feb. Wife and I wonder if they will adopt an Addicts
young baby. We have heard about this running rampant now.

Maybe many of us have met, know other LGBTQ and have had good experiences or bad?

No disrespect meant for those.
 
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The question is about gender roles though, not gender transition, separate topic.

Yes I have seen that change a lot in my lifetime - and am glad now that we can have female pilots, mechanics etc and conversely male child care workers, nurses, stay at home parents.

Obviously there are some functions only women can do, like breastfeeding

But job roles can be done by whoever has the qualifications and ability, whatever their gender.
 
oslooskar said:
That’s a nice sentiment, but reality doesn’t work that way. People have different strengths, weaknesses, and aptitudes. Believing in equal opportunity is one thing, but pretending everyone is equally suited for every role ignores reality. That kind of thinking is what leads to men like Lia Thomas competing in women’s sports, undermining fairness and the integrity of competition.
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I don't think anyone is saying everyone is equally suited to every role - that would be a silly statement.

But it isn't a gender divided thing - anyone of any gender can be suited to any role.

Not everyone of any gender.
 
January said:
I don't think anyone is saying everyone is equally suited to every role - that would be a silly statement. But it isn't a gender divided thing - anyone of any gender can be suited to any role. Not everyone of any gender.
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January, if you acknowledge that not everyone is suited to every role, then you already recognize the reality that differences exist. The issue is that those differences often correlate with sex, whether due to biology, societal influences, or a combination of both. No one is saying that a woman can't be a miner or a man can't be a nurse, but statistical trends exist for a reason. Ignoring those trends and insisting that gender plays no role at all in suitability for different tasks is just as naive as claiming that everyone is equally capable of everything.
 
I disagree.

statistical trends largely reflect historical cultural differences, or societal differences if you like, rather than inate ability differences

I recognise that differences exist between people, not that there are gender divided differences.
 
January said:
I disagree. statistical trends largely reflect historical cultural differences, or societal differences if you like, rather than inate ability differences I recognise that differences exist between people, not that there are gender divided differences.
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Historical and cultural influences absolutely play a role, but to dismiss biological differences as insignificant is ignoring reality. Men and women, on average, have different physical strengths, endurance levels, and even cognitive tendencies. That’s not a social construct—it’s measurable. Acknowledging these differences doesn’t mean saying one sex is superior to the other, just that they are, on the whole, different. Denying gender-related differences while admitting individual differences seems contradictory. Why should all differences be purely personal but never correlated with sex?
 
oslooskar said:
Historical and cultural influences absolutely play a role, but to dismiss biological differences as insignificant is ignoring reality. Men and women, on average, have different physical strengths, endurance levels, and even cognitive tendencies. That’s not a social construct—it’s measurable. Acknowledging these differences doesn’t mean saying one sex is superior to the other, just that they are, on the whole, different. Denying gender-related differences while admitting individual differences seems contradictory. Why should all differences be purely personal but never correlated with sex?
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Yes on average men are physically stronger than women.

In the few jobs that rely on physical strength more men might be able to do the job. And some women can. And some men couldn't

Still comes down to individual ability

And not many jobs rely purely on physical strength anyway.
 
January said:
Yes on average men are physically stronger than women. In the few jobs that rely on physical strength more men might be able to do the job. And some women can. And some men couldn't Still comes down to individual ability And not many jobs rely purely on physical strength anyway.
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Of course, individual ability matters, but so do statistical trends. If a given trait—like physical strength—shows a significant sex-based difference on average, that’s relevant in fields where it plays a role, even if individual exceptions exist. The same principle applies beyond just strength. For example, men and women, on average, tend to have different risk-taking behaviors, spatial reasoning abilities, and endurance levels. Recognizing this isn’t about saying ‘all men are X’ or ‘all women are Y’—it’s about acknowledging measurable patterns rather than treating every difference as purely individual.
 
My son does all the laundry, and his wife earns much more than him. She's a doctor, he's a teacher. This past summer they decided it was cheaper and better for him to have total care of grandson while she worked. Camp for my grandson would have cost more than what my son earned on his summer job.

My husband did most of the laundry and passed this gift of knowledge to our son! :ROFLMAO: He does no cooking DIL does that. His father at least knew how to heat up a mean frozen dinner!

I'm proud of their equality in marriage.
 
January said:
No I don't think women on average tend t o have different risk taking behaviours, spatial reasoning or endurance abilities - let alone think that is relevant to many job roles
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These differences are well-documented in psychology, neuroscience, and physiology. For example, studies show men, on average, score higher on mental rotation tasks, a key component of spatial reasoning. Men also take more financial and physical risks—a difference observed across cultures and linked to testosterone. As for endurance, men tend to have greater muscle endurance, while women often excel in long-duration aerobic activities due to fat metabolism efficiency. These are statistical trends, not absolutes, but dismissing them outright ignores a vast body of research.
 
oslooskar said:
These differences are well-documented in psychology, neuroscience, and physiology. For example, studies show men, on average, score higher on mental rotation tasks, a key component of spatial reasoning. Men also take more financial and physical risks—a difference observed across cultures and linked to testosterone. As for endurance, men tend to have greater muscle endurance, while women often excel in long-duration aerobic activities due to fat metabolism efficiency. These are statistical trends, not absolutes, but dismissing them outright ignores a vast body of research.
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None of that, even if it as pronounced as you think, means individuals cannot take on any role in life which suits them individually.
And fortunately in my lifetime I have seen sexist culturally imposed barriers come down and we now have more women in trades and men in nursing and men having periods as the home parent etc.
 
January said:
None of that, even if it as pronounced as you think, means individuals cannot take on any role in life which suits them individually. And fortunately in my lifetime I have seen sexist culturally imposed barriers come down and we now have more women in trades and men in nursing and men having periods as the home parent etc.
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Of course, individuals should pursue any role that suits them, and it’s good that artificial barriers have come down. But that doesn’t erase the reality of biological and psychological differences. Recognizing trends doesn’t mean restricting individuals—it means understanding why some fields naturally attract more men or more women, even in cultures with full freedom of choice. The data show that even in highly gender-equal societies, men and women still tend to gravitate toward different career paths. That suggests biological influences play a role, alongside cultural ones.
 
JustBonee said:
Gender roles? ….. woman is the Mother, and man is the Father.

I know people will argue with that these days, but I stand by that.
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and the mother can work full time and the father can be the home parent and the mother can be an electrician and the father can be a child care worker and both can take on all parenting roles (except breastfeeding)
Or any permutation or variation of above.
 
JustBonee said:
Gender roles? ….. woman is the Mother, and man is the Father.

I know people will argue with that these days, but I stand by that.
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Traditional parenting works if they are good parents. Same gender parents works if they are good parents as well.

Some of the most loving and successful parents that I’ve known are same gender.

Children need unconditional love, understanding, respect, and healthy guidance. If a single parent or a couple can provide that to the child then the child, the parent(s) and the world will be better for it.
 

Do you think there are still very specific gender roles? good question, the only specific gender roles I am aware of are females give birth and males fertilize female eggs that are carried the mother until time of birth providing all goes well.​

Sorry men as far as gender roles females are more productive than males. We just fertilize eggs while females run the whole factory.
 

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