Sex and gender roles

Sex and gender roles

Sex and gender roles have been an issue of contention over recent years. Most people have believed that feminism is a fictional experience that female gender attempts to create politically. The feminism experience can be compared with the argument presented by Donna Haraway in her essay, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” where the main theme is based on gender. Haraway holds a different opinion on the way a difference is defined between a man and a woman and humans and machines. Generally, the binary model that attempts to define the difference in genders and machines and humans does not fall in line with Haraway’s school of thought. Haraway’s opinion, however, appears to give the female gender a definition that does not appear to be in line with most of the societies’ beliefs. An article in The Ney York Times newspaper outlined the way the female gender is intimidated to the extent of having an impact on the voting patterns in the US. The division of the society into genders, according to Haraway is the reason conflicts have been common and traditional feminists attempted to create identity politics instead of fighting for the rights of women and the claims by Haraway have been affirmed by an article in The New York Times, “She’s the Next President. Wait, Did You Read That Right?”

Gender divisions and identities have been behind the reason for gender conflicts across the world. The idea brought out in “A Cyborg Manifesto” is that feminists are on the race of developing identity politics under the excuse of building an identity. According to Haraway, identities should be confused, and nothing should be taken as the definition of being a woman or a man. The argument by Haraway becomes more sensible after reading the article, “She’s the Next President. Wait, Did You Read That Right?” in The New York Times (2020). The world appears to have assigned roles according to gender, and some people have been left to suffer. For example, most societies have been developed in a patriarchal system leaving the women without little or no power to engage in societal roles. Leadership positions are left for men, and attempts by women to compete with men are viewed as acts of rebellion. Moreover, Haraway brings out the idea of the cyborg and nature to explain the way the female gender obtains power.

The power of the female gender is confusing because systems do not have clearly defined roles of women. However, Haraway argues that the confusion is enjoyable as it brings out the role of nature in causing boundary confusion. Also, Haraway brings out the idea of the cyborg, which is developed technologically and does not leave any opportunity for gender definition. Besides, it would difficult for technology to design the roles and functionalities of a cyborg to identify it as either male or female. The gender identities created mostly by feminists have not served any significant benefit in explaining the idea of being female: “There is not even such a state as ‘being’ female, itself a highly complex category constructed in contested sexual scientific discourses and other social practices” (Haraway, 155). Besides, the idea of female identity is similar to the idea of the cyborg, which is fictional and only exists in a world to come. Moreover, the feminism problem has only served to divide the unity of humanity, and people have been suffering from the impacts of gender discrimination.

A society that lives under the benefits of unclassified gender lines does not go through unnecessary conflicts in the attempt to create positions for each gender. However, the article in The New York Times newspaper brings out a society that is suffering from the impacts that Haraway foresaw in her comparison of the female gender to the cyborg. The society in the US is facing a case where females are viewed as minors in the election process. Although gender equality has been championed for, from different agencies, the perspectives held by the people do not seem to be changing anytime soon. Besides, society appears to be built in a patriarchal system that does not allow women in leadership. For example, the idea of a female president does not go well with most of the voters. For example, the words of Elizabeth Warren, “I will do everything a president can do all by herself on the first day,” are not taken in good faith as she uses the pronoun “her” to refer to a president. The Americans are not used to the idea of a female president and, therefore, a critical of Warren’s comments. Generally, the report in the article brings out the sense in Haraway’s words that, “I do not know of any other time in history when there was greater need for political unity to confront the dominations of ‘race,’ ‘gender,’ ‘sexuality,’ and ‘class,” (Haraway, 157) effectively. Besides, the attempts to create definitions for gender identities will continue growing the gap between genders. Moreover, the monstrous world without gender, that Haraway proposes could be the solution for the issues surrounding gender inequality.

Gender inequality does not appear to be nearing its end as different genders are putting efforts to create dominance. Feminism is out to overcome the patriarchal systems that prioritize men’s dominance over women. However, the efforts by feminists have only worsened the situation with the male gender not accepting to be ousted from dominance. Generally, the conflict has only served to widen the gap between men and women. The article in The New York Times brings out the extent to which gender inequality has established roots within societies. For example, the mention of the pronoun “her” can determine the perception of voters towards power. Also, another problem came out in that the victims were living in denial. For example, Americans were not entirely opposed to the fact that Hillary Clinton would be elected as a president but still saw the idea of referring to her as “she” as being inappropriate. Generally, society needs to adopt the idea by Haraway that a monstrous society without gender will solve the challenges posed by gender identities. Unity between genders will ensure that the world is friendly, and gender roles no longer inhibit humans from progressing.

In sum, the article in The New York Times, “She’s the Next President. Wait, Did You Read That Right?” affirms the claim by Donna Haraway that gender identities are creating rifts among human beings. Haraway brings out the idea of the cyborg, which is developed technologically and does not leave any opportunity for gender definition, claiming that society should forget the idea of gender. The conflicts that exist around the definition of gender roles can be overcome by advocating for a society without gender.