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

In this forbidding climate, Genly Ai, an emissary from Terra, another planet, struggles to understand a place where gender roles, modes of communication and beliefs are entirely different from those at home.

From The Wall Street Journal

"A lot of this gap is driven by… people starting families later and later in life," she explains – often a result of education and career opportunities for women and changing gender roles.

From BBC

Her story resonated with women who came of age in the 1950s, when traditional wives were the norm, then found themselves a decade later in a confusing new era of debate over gender roles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Women and men often took on gender roles that were more traditional and distinct than their roles are today.

From Literature

As more women turn to karate, the sport has become a symbol of Iran's changing society, where a young, urban generation is quietly challenging traditional gender roles and societal norms.

From Barron's