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112 Gender Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Gender is a complex and multifaceted aspect of human identity that influences every aspect of our lives. From the way we dress and behave to the roles we play in society, gender plays a significant role in shaping who we are and how we interact with the world around us. With such a wide-ranging and diverse topic, there are countless gender essay topics to explore and discuss. In this article, we will provide 112 gender essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing and research.

The impact of gender stereotypes on children's development
Gender inequality in the workplace
Gender representation in the media
The intersection of gender and race
Gender identity and sexual orientation
Transgender rights and activism
The history of the feminist movement
Masculinity in the modern world
The role of gender in politics
Gender and mental health
Gender-based violence and abuse
Gender and education
The gender wage gap
Gender and technology
The portrayal of gender in literature
Gender and body image
Gender and sports
Gender and healthcare
The impact of gender on parenting
Gender and language
Gender and religion
Gender and disability
Gender and aging
Gender and globalization
Gender and social class
Gender and environmental issues
Gender and war
Gender and peacebuilding
Gender and migration
Gender and entrepreneurship
Gender and leadership
Gender and the criminal justice system
Gender and social media
Gender and the arts
Gender and fashion
Gender and popular culture
Gender and body modification
Gender and social norms
Gender and social change
Gender and the family
Gender and marriage
Gender and divorce
Gender and friendship
Gender and sexuality
Gender and reproduction
Gender and parenting
Gender and childhood
Gender and adolescence
Gender and young adulthood
Gender and midlife
Gender and old age
Gender and health
Gender and physical health
Gender and reproductive health
Gender and mental illness
Gender and chronic illness
Gender and addiction
Gender and trauma
Gender and resilience
Gender and coping strategies
Gender and social support
Gender and healthcare access
Gender and healthcare disparities
Gender and healthcare quality
Gender and healthcare outcomes
Gender and healthcare costs
Gender and healthcare policy
Gender and healthcare reform
Gender and healthcare innovation
Gender and healthcare workforce
Gender and healthcare leadership
Gender and healthcare education
Gender and healthcare research
Gender and healthcare ethics
Gender and healthcare advocacy
Gender and healthcare activism
Gender and healthcare organizations
Gender and healthcare technology
Gender and healthcare communication
Gender and healthcare decision-making

These gender essay topic ideas and examples cover a wide range of issues and perspectives related to gender. Whether you are interested in exploring the impact of gender stereotypes on children's development or the intersection of gender and race, there is no shortage of topics to choose from. By delving into these gender essay topics, you can deepen your understanding of the complexities of gender and its influence on society.

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Gender Roles - List of Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Gender roles refer to societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex. Essays might delve into the historical evolution of gender roles, their impact on society, and the challenges and implications of shifting gender norms in modern times. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Gender Roles you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Gender Roles in “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen

In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House. Ibsen forces its readers and audience to question the different gender roles the two important characters have which are by society and how they were treated during the time of the 19th century. Gender has played a big role in history, literature and in people lives. There are expectations each gender has throughout their lives. The unique play which realistically tackles the issue of the woman question, double standards in gender roles, and money. […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Victorian Era Gender Roles

The Civil War had just recently come to a close bringing about many changes in American culture. The archaic class system had been shaken, leaving the wealthy and middle class void of social standards and in search of a new identity. In an act of desperation, Americans adopted European culture, a culture tyrannized by men, as their own. In the 1890s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells the story of a woman who is diagnosed with hysteria […]

Social Expectations Behavior of Men and Women

Gender roles are defined as the social expectations about the typical and appropriate behavior of men and women. Female gender roles include communal traits and behaviors, which focus on emotional sensitivity, interpersonal skills, and expressivity. Male gender roles include the expectation that boys and men exhibit traits that focus on self-orientation, independence, and assertiveness. There are exceptions in gender roles when it comes to occupational choice, cognitive skills, and hobbies. Society is torn when it comes to gender roles because […]

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Romeo and Juliet Gender Roles

The society of Verona had major differences among the way men and women should act. Men were expected to be masculine and carry themselves with honor and pride; while women were expected to please their men and hold their own opinions. However, Romeo and Juliet defied the standard gender roles that was put on them by their society. Men in Verona during this time induced a strong sense of power over women. Whereas, women were looked at as possessions who […]

Traditional Gender Roles Since the 1800’s and 1900’s

Traditional gender roles have and are changing dramatically over the years since the 1800's and 1900's. Roles you thought were strictly just for men or women have taken a turn and we are seeing roles adjust. Throughout this essay, I will discuss what were some traditional genders roles that men and women were accustom to, how they morph into today's roles, the policy's placed for these changes and most importantly the pros and cons it comes with it. Before I […]

Gender Inequality and Feminism

Gender inequality is a concept which has been occurring over a number of years and due to gender differences it fuels up gender inequality, which gave rise to gender socialization. Gender socialization is the process of learning gender roles which emerge from society and nowadays social media, throughout this process men and women learn their roles in society. The most common attribute we ascribe to women is that they can be vulnerable and sensitive, on the other hand, men hear […]

Gender Roles in “A Handmaids Tale” by Margaret Atwood

The concept of gender is one that has been a heated topic for many years. There are many different theories on what gender is, and how it should be used and treated in society. Judith Butler argues in her piece Performative Acts and Gender Constitution that gender is not something that one is born with, but it is instead a performance. She writes about the importance of identity, and the divide between sex, gender, and race. While many believe gender […]

Gender Roles in Marriage

Despite all of the changes the American society has endured, still the traditional roles of men and women in marriage triumph with the men reinforcing it and the women willingly accepting it due to the fact that it is seen as a part of the male dominating culture. The man is still considered the breadwinner of the family, and the female as the caretaker of the children and household. Meanwhile in the modern day and age both the husband and […]

The Role of Women and Stereotypes in the Greek Society in the Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey is a classic poem by Homer ha revolves around the narrative of Odysseus an ancient Greek hero. Homer describes a full twenty-year journey that Odysseus spends fighting the Trojan War and traveling back to his family. The most significant theme is the nature and the role of women in Greek society. According to the story, men during the period were dominant and made most of the rules. However, Homer defies and illustrates the disparity in the role of […]

Gender Roles: Attitudes and Behavior

Over the years gender roles have had specific definitions created by society. Gender roles determine how males and females should think, speak, and dress. Also, gender roles can be defined as the behaviors and attitudes expected of male and female members of a society by that society. Gender roles are already developed before you are even born, you're are taught during childhood and usually goes on through adulthood. There is such a wide variation in modern gender roles that are […]

Perspective on Gender Roles and Identity in Family

Since the beginning of time, gender roles have been a major part of what made up the general rules of society. Gender roles can be seen in every aspect of living such as workplace, marriage, schools and the way society functions. As much as gender roles dominate in society, the rules of gender roles dominate even more in marriages. In heterosexual marriages, when men and women are married, gender roles are expressed more than in just regular societal situations. The […]

Domestic Violence and Traditional Feminist Philosophy and Beliefs

Throughout the country a majority of domestic violence programs are based off the traditional feminist philosophy and beliefs. The feminist approach is defined as an approach that aims to understand gender inequality(source). The approach examines women’s and men’s social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and politics with a goal to empower the oppressed (source). Although this belief is meant to be a positive movement for all women and fight against domestic violence it is not completely ethical to just use that […]

Gender Roles and Educational Differences Among Various Societies Around the World

Throughout history, it is has become evident that societies hold differing views towards men and women. While this may not always be intentional, people among various cultures are often looked upon differently and are set to different expectations due to their gender. When considering gender inequality, unequal rights to education is a problem faced by girls worldwide. Girls around the world are denied education daily due to child labor, early marriage, and conflict between nations. In Pakistan, Kenya, and even […]

Paradigms of Gender Roles in Stream of Consciousness and Grief

Written in response to not only the death of her parents, but also the impending death of the Victorian Era with the looming Modern era, the death of a generation in World War I, and the death of Western patriarchal gender roles; simply ascribing Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse as a eulogy to the death of her parents would be the greatest understatement of the century. Following of course Woolf’s own understated treatment of death and time in the text. […]

Gender Roles on the Culture of American Medicine

Introduction Social constructs are embedded in the everyday lives of people. Constructs can range from a vast majority of things within different cultures throughout the world. Women have gone through a history of steps in order to get to a place where they can be equal to men and even now, there are gender differences between men and woman that are still prevalent today. Woman have gone a long way from the woman's suffrage movement since the 1800s. Women have […]

Gender Roles during the Great Depression and the Cold War

A role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender which is determined by the prevailing cultural norms is called a gender role. Both men and women have been told how to behave, dress, and even present themselves to the public. An example of gender roles in society is women are supposed to be feminine, graceful, polite, nurturing, emotional, take care of kids, cook, clean; while men are supposed to be muscular, aggressive, tall, take care of […]

Love in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”

Henrik Ibsen's controversial play, "A Doll House", conveys the story of a wife's struggle to obtain her self identity and freedom in escaping the social norms of an irrational system of the nineteenth-century. The protagonist of the play, Nora Helmer, represents dependency and submissiveness, which signifies the oppression of women...exemplifying the conventional feminine standard during the period. On the contrary, her husband, Torvald Helmer is characterized as an alpha male. He is fiercely assertive and independent, but even as a […]

Gender Roles and Identity in Children

Gender roles have always been a focused topic throughout cultural history. Theoretical and empirical work on family gender roles focuses on the process in which parents convey behavior to their children. The family unit and gender roles that are played can directly affect society. There are people who believe there is a role set for them. Traditional American culture has identified a male as the head of the house hold. He is to be considered the Breadwinner . The female […]

Changing Gender Roles in Marriage, Society, and Workplace

Abstract Gender roles play a significant role in our life because it shapes how we think about the society we live in and the people around us. Women have been stereotyped to take care of house business and in the upbringing of kids. Gone are the days this happened now women are taking over what's so-called men's work. Men fear to have a female Boss from what I've heard most men don't like when their Boss is a female they […]

Modernist Take on Gender Roles

Throughout history, the relationships between mother and daughter have been frayed by woman's liberation. Many mothers have an old fashioned, traditional opinion about what a woman should be in society. The short story "Girl", by Jamaica Kincaid, is an example of this particular relationship in action. The theme(s) in "Girl" strongly suggests that a woman should be domesticated and that there is a certain way that she should act, in addition to the role that she must fulfil according to […]

Yemen Presentation: Gender Roles and Statuses

Gender inequality is among the biggest problems in the country of yemen. It is socially accepted that women are nothing more than indulgent mothers, sisters, and wives who perform household duties while men are perceived as the providers responsible for the health and wellbeing of their families. Women in Yemen are plagued by disadvantages and discrimination due to their sex. In yemen culture, women do not have equal rights to men and they have always been considered inferior to men […]

Gender Identity & Roles

Abstract From birth, we as humans are grouped into two categories: male and female. Gender is the first and most basic way to define a person, not only in terms of physical attributions, but also through roles structured by culture and society. Gender roles are social constructs developed by cultures that put various expectations on each sex. They set a standard of what behavior is appropriate for a person according to whether they are male or female. These roles represent […]

Gender Roles in Hayes and Poe

Throughout history, women have battled discrimination and inequality inside and outside of the home. Women were generally seen as worthy only as housewives who took part in chores, such as cooking and cleaning. A woman's perspective did not hold any value, and she was not allowed to do what men were allowed to do, like vote or own land. According to unfpa.org, it says, Gender equality is the measurable equal representation of women and men...they have equal value and should […]

Shakespeare and Gender: Traditional Gender Roles

Shakespeare portrays gender in interesting ways throughout his work by defying traditional gender roles. Many women in Shakespearean plays are strong and rational while their male counterparts are lost, irrational and carried away by their emotions. Examples of this dynamic appear in Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. It would appear Shakespeare believed gender to be a role that people could choose to play in a variety of ways. A comedy usually contained romantic couples whose story ended in marriage. The […]

Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart

The role of women has always been surrounded by controversy, some people believe women should get married, have children and take care of the household. Others believe women should have the choice between working a nine to five job, being a stay at home mom or both. Things Fall Apart was written by African writer Chinua Achebe in 1959, it came from the stories that Achebe’s mother used to tell him about the Igbo people. Things Fall Apart tells the […]

Gender Roles in Society Essay

Gender is a critical aspect of social inequality. Gender has been defined as a means to “serve to reduce assumed parallels between biological and psychological sex or at least make explicit any assumptions of such parallels (Unger 1976, p. 1086). Gender inequality is a prevalent issue in society as a whole, and America is no exception. It is a sociological construct which carves the path in which men and women will live their lives, affecting a broad range of choices […]

Men Succumb to Societal Pressures

Going off to college can be a pivotal moment in a young man’s life– he is away from home, has more independence, has to make new friends, etc. Once a young man is placed in a new environment surrounded by other men, they may feel obligated to “prove” themselves masculine through conventional masculine norms that may have adverse effects to their mental health. The fact that many men succumb to societal pressures to act anti-feminine, self-reliant, aggressive, etc., is important […]

Jane Eyre Gender Roles

The Victorian Era was a period of time where both women and men were treated differently based on their sexuality. Men were recognized as the superior ones in a household and the ones who did all the heavy labor. Women, on the other hand, were usually housewives that were constantly told what to do. Women never really had much of an opinion towards anything that went on in their lives, everyone pretty much expected them to listen to what they […]

A Doll’s House Gender Roles

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was a realistic prose drama written in 1879 that portrayed the social constraints women of the 19th century experienced in their daily lives. The controversial social themes in this work embodied the struggle of women to conform to humiliating societal expectations. In the play, the dynamic character Nora, who is first characterized as a trophy wife, begins to recognize the web of lies and deception prevalent in her household. Through the symbol of the tarantella […]

Gender Roles in the Great Gatsby

Looking at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby through a feminist lens shows us how women in the twenties were portrayed within literature. Fitzgerald shows this by including gender roles, patriarchy controls, and double standards between the sexes. He shows these ideas though the lives of his characters such as Tom, Daisy, Nick, Jordan, George, and Myrtle. Fitzgerald is one of the best feminist writers of his time, he did not realize the impact that he would have on society.Throughout […]

Additional Example Essays

Is Sexual Orientation Determined At Birth?
Gender Inequality in the Workplace
Victorian gender roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Feminist Critique in Pygmalion
My Favorite Food and Childhood Memories
The Yellow Wallpaper Feminism
Why Abortion Should be Illegal
Death Penalty Should be Abolished
Logical Fallacies in Letter From Birmingham Jail
How the Roles of Women and Men Were Portrayed in "A Doll's House"
Positive Effects of Social Media
Importance Of Accountability

How to Write an Essay About Gender Roles

Understanding gender roles.

Before diving into an essay about gender roles, it is important to understand what gender roles are and their impact on society. Gender roles are the societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality. Begin your essay by explaining the concept of gender roles and their historical context. Discuss how gender roles have evolved over time and vary across different cultures and societies. It's also crucial to explore the ways in which these roles are perpetuated and challenged, including through media, education, and family dynamics.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong essay on gender roles should be centered around a clear, concise thesis statement. This statement should present a specific viewpoint or argument about gender roles. For instance, you might explore the impact of gender roles on personal identity, analyze the role of media in shaping gender perceptions, or argue the need for a more fluid understanding of gender. Your thesis will guide the direction of your essay and provide a structured approach to your topic.

Gathering Supporting Evidence

To support your thesis, gather evidence from a variety of sources, including sociological studies, historical texts, and current media examples. This might include research on the psychological impact of gender roles, historical analyses of gender in different cultures, or examples of gender representation in films and literature. Use this evidence to support your thesis and build a persuasive argument. Be sure to consider different perspectives and address potential counterarguments.

Analyzing the Effects of Gender Roles

Dedicate a section of your essay to analyzing the effects of gender roles on individuals and society. Discuss the consequences of strict gender roles, including stereotypes, discrimination, and limitations on personal and professional opportunities. Explore how gender roles affect both men and women, and consider the intersectionality of gender with other aspects of identity, such as race, class, and sexuality.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your discussion and restating your thesis in light of the evidence provided. Your conclusion should tie together your analysis and emphasize the importance of reevaluating and challenging traditional gender roles. You might also want to suggest areas for further research or action that could contribute to a more equitable understanding of gender.

Reviewing and Refining Your Essay

After completing your essay, review and refine it for clarity and coherence. Ensure that your arguments are well-structured and supported by evidence. Check for grammatical accuracy and ensure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Consider seeking feedback from peers, educators, or experts in gender studies to further improve your essay. A well-written essay on gender roles will not only demonstrate your understanding of the topic but also your ability to engage critically with societal norms and stereotypes.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Gender Roles — Gender Roles In Society

Gender Roles in Society

Categories: Gender Roles Society

About this sample

Words: 534 |

Updated: 16 November, 2024

Words: 534 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Introduction, traditional gender norms, challenges for non-conforming individuals, hope for change.

Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Smith, A., & Jones, B. (2021). Understanding Gender Diversity: Educational Initiatives and Social Change. Journal of Gender Studies, 30(4), 456-471.

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Related Essays on Gender Roles

Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House takes a hard look at 19th-century marriage norms and gender roles. Written back in 1879, it's all about the Helmer family and how women were really boxed in by a male-dominated society. [...]

Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel, Persepolis, provides a unique and insightful perspective on the gender roles and expectations in Iran, particularly during and after the Islamic Revolution. The novel explores the experiences of [...]

In "Ranch Girl," Maile Meloy skillfully explores the complexities of gender roles and identity in a conservative rural community. Through the protagonist's journey, the story sheds light on the expectations placed on individuals [...]

Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House, is a thought-provoking piece of literature that delves into the complex dynamics of marriage, gender roles, and societal expectations. The main characters in the play, Nora Helmer, Torvald [...]

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a male dominated play. Most of the noticeable characters in Macbeth are male, including Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo, King Duncan, and Malcolm. Despite the lack of female power by numbers, Lady Macbeth [...]

“Does this dress make me look fat?” It’s a common conception; women tell each other to wear black because the contrast is slimming. Politicians run attack ads on components to make themselves look better in comparison. The [...]

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