Historically, there has been a complete binary between men and women. The expectations for the woman to stay home, cook, clean, and take care of the kids. For men, taking control, going to work, being the breadwinner, and being the dominant figure in the home. For years, these expectations have influenced the way all genders are supposed to be acting and what we are supposed to be expecting from others. These mainstream ideals hold up every single one of the ethics of domination. In our society, we have a hierarchy where men are seen as a better/superior gender where the discrimination towards women is justified.
In this current era, I realize that we still live in a society where men are on top and typically hold positions of power. We are told to sit back and remain silent, that we are meant to stay home and be obedient wives, we need to be nurturing and polite. My understanding of what society expects from women still aligns closely with the ethics of domination, but as women we know these are outdated and sickening expectations. In this day and age, women are fighting these expectations. We are getting jobs in leadership, we are becoming the breadwinners for our families, and we are no longer sitting silently and obediently. From a first-hand perspective, I have stood up to men in positions of power and have not allowed myself to get trampled by their abhorrent power trips and discrimination towards what I can and cannot do.
A question that has been heavy on my mind recently: How are men that are raised by powerful women still having traditional thoughts and ideals about what a woman should be doing? Recently Harrison Butker, a football player for the KC Chiefs, came out during a graduation speech, speaking about his wife, saying “her life truly started when she began her vocation as a wife and a mother.” Such an insulting sentence coming from a football player is not surprising, but coming from the son of a female MD is. How are men that are coming from such powerful women, still spewing such discriminatory ideals?
