gender role

American  

[jen-der rohl] / ˈdʒɛn dər ˌroʊl /

noun

1. the culturally determined set of behaviors, attitudes, and traits that are considered acceptable for a person based on their gender.

   A woman earning her own living cuts against the traditional gender role where men expect to provide for women.

2. the outward image of being a particular gender that a person presents to others.

   The hospital houses people according to the gender role they live as rather than their legal gender.

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Usage

What are gender roles? A gender role is a way of appearing and behaving that meets cultural expectations based on an individual’s gender. Traditionally, people have been expected to fit into either a male or female gender role.Gender is an individual’s identification as male, female, or another identification that exists between or beyond the spectrum of strictly male or female (such as people who identify as nonbinary). A role is a function or expected behavior pattern. The term gender role is used (especially in the plural form gender roles) to specifically refer to societal expectations of engaging in either stereotypical masculine behavior or stereotypical feminine behavior.Gender roles have become a source of controversy and criticism, and many people have sought to eliminate the need to adhere to them. This is due to the perception that they limit personal freedom, especially as the cultural understanding of gender has moved away from a strict separation between male and female.

Etymology

Origin of gender role

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Burden’s marriage began to settle into the traditional gender roles of homemaker and breadwinner, despite the fact that it was Burden who had financed their lifestyle.

From Los Angeles Times

Throughout its four seasons, “Mormon Wives” has featured lighthearted content like the moms’ love of the soda shop Swig and more weighty topics, including gender roles within the Mormon church.

From Los Angeles Times

The Wives’ appeal is in the way they challenge such calcified definitions of “traditional” gender roles.

From Salon

Attwood says she has been concerned by the tradwife trend - where women promote what has been described as 1950s gender roles, with lives centred around their husbands and serving them.

From BBC

That sense of safety also comes from the level playing field in gay romance - it does not have the fixed gender roles and stereotypes present in heterosexual love stories.

From BBC