Overcoming Gender Bias in a Male Represented World

Overcoming gender bias in a male represented world

An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Dave W Johnson

Capstone: Interdisciplinary Methodology II

IDST 4081 – 3

Dr. Jude Chudi Okpala

November 20th, 2011

Overcoming gender bias in a male represented world

An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Introduction

Can we as a civilization overcome a recurring gender bias towards women in a male represented world? This is a very interesting question and through this paper I will attempt to show the differences and similarities between the male and female genders and the societal beliefs and cultures that get in the way of true equality in an attempt to show that we can overcome gender bias.

Males have always had a higher representation than women throughout history, but in times of catastrophic loss, women have risen to meet the demands from society that the males have had to abandon while away at war (Scott 2009). World War II backs this up when due to most men of the United States being overseas fighting, the women of the US had to step up and work those jobs that men used to have. A good example of this is Rosie the Riveter. She was the poster child for the war movement here in the United States, and epitomized what women were willing to do to help out. When the men came back from the war women were once again asked to go back to the kitchen and leave the running of the country to the men. This is a standard gender bias that has reared its ugly head over and over again and is even taught in the books that are given to children to read. In the article "Gender in Twentieth-Century Children’s Books; Patterns of Disparity in Titles and Central Characters," The authors show through research how An overwhelming majority of children's books have a masculine title, male protagonist, and a female that needs to be rescued. This disparity between males and females that we have been teaching to our children has been an ongoing issue and remains relevant...