Human Nature versus Social Roles and Need for Self-Observation Essay - 2

Human Nature versus Social Roles and Need for Self-Observation - Essay Example High profile women perpetrators have entered the mindset with movies such as Monster chronicling the life of female killer Aileen Wuornos.   And men all over the world still squirm whenever they hear the name Lorena Bobbit.   We’ve witnessed all manners of gender-bending with TV shows including Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Queer Eye for the Straight Girl.   Same-sex marriages have challenged the traditional roles of men and women in the home.   Reality TV has taught us that women can be tough and men can be gentle.   Cultural acceptance of these gender-based behaviors has broadened dramatically since 1990.   Yet Tannen’s book You Just Don’t Understand still has something to say to us after all these years.Without a doubt, Tannen wrote her masterpiece from a particular socio-economic perspective with a specific audience in mind.   The text has â€Å"middle-class America† watermarked on every page and no one can argue the fact that the b ook was intended to inform the masses.   Cultural expectations heaped upon children from a young age results in many people sent in pursuit of the â€Å"American dream† with its corresponding gender roles.   Public schools in America segregate boys and girls.   We all know that boys play football and girls are cheerleaders.   Over time we become desensitized to the harsh mechanisms which society employs in order to keep both men and women stuck in their traditional roles.   As Tannen tells us, â€Å"We cannot take a step without taking stances that are prescribed by society and gender-specific. We enact and create our gender, and our inequality, with every move we make.† (283)   People find Tannen’s book refreshing even today because it steps outside the box.   It depicts a wider perspective that helps people to recognize themselves.   Reader’s accomplish the enormous task of shedding the blindfold they’ve been duped into wearing wh en they approach Tannen’s message from the perspective of being a human rather than either male or female.