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Theorists perceive gender as being socially constructed and it arises from societal interactions. Also, theorists believe certain behaviors correlate with a certain sex, which distinguishes the genders. (Shepherd, 8) For example, women are perceived as peaceful, gentle and motherly, whereas males are strong, powerful and less inclined to show gentle feelings. Some societies view masculinity in a higher value while others, however rather few, have an equal standing with femininity and masculinity. The dominance of masculinity within certain societies can create violence against women, unfortunately most violence occurs within the household. This violence is a way for men to keep women "in their place" and be subordinate to men. (Seager, 28) When babies are born we distinguish their gender based on their sex, then culture socializes them into what the typical boy or girl 'should be.' For example, surrounding a boy with more masculine toys like cars or building games to teach them certain values, whereas gentler items such as dolls and stuffed bears would surround a girl. Barbies are a way of bringing out motherly traits within a girl because they present the opportunities to play house and take care of the dolls. These are ways our society is able to distinguish gender roles and identities. As Shepherd says, "In order to be recognizable to others and ourselves, our gender must be performed within particular cultural and historical boundaries." (Shepherd, 12) The idea of who is a boy or a girl and what behaviors 'belong' to the particular gender create social norms, and these behaviors are expected in society. Certain roles of men and women are then constructed out of these traits. For example, women roles are directed more towards household care, nursing, and any form of motherly care, whereas men are more prone to have jobs that require heavy lifting, security, and more masculine activities. Some societies view masculinity in a higher value while others, however rather few, have an equal standing with femininity and masculinity. The dominance of masculinity within certain societies can create violence against women. Unfortunately, most violence occurs within the household. This violence is a way for men to keep women "in their place" and subordinate to men. (Seager, 28) This unequal picture of masculinity and femininity presents an issue when dealing with international security issues and governmental jobs that respond to war threats. The fixed notion of men and women can give off the impression that women should not be involved in foreign affairs of security measures because of the behavior that correlates with femininity. Being able to make rational decisions links with masculinity, while femininity is more irrational and sensitive. The belief that "women have no place in the hard-headed world of defense strategy due to their irrational and emotional traits" (Shepherd, 11) is not uncommon. This negatively affects opportunities for women to receive jobs that include governmental roles or other 'masculine' jobs because of the behavioral norms that surround femininity within society. These means within society can affect how women are viewed and how they view themselves. It can lead to women believing they do no belong in certain places or positions and cannot compete with men. Representation of women within government worldwide has increased overtime but there is still an unequal representation as compared to men. (Seager, 36) Women can be able to provide peaceful solutions and various viewpoints because of their nonviolent traits. Positioning women within our governments is important attribute to our society because women provide different perceptions and points of views that can lead to new ideas. They allow governments to increase representation of different cultures and genders. Women in military are also a controversial aspect because their peaceful traits do not associate with the rough military expectations. The constructed models of femininity conflict with the norms of military since it is imagined to provide definitions of masculinity, and debate still exist of whether women should be involved in military affairs. (Seager, 39) Although this can also be argued that women in military is just as important as their role in society.

Women: 'Natural' Caregivers
Women are seen to be the 'natural' caregivers since their role's are defined to be oriented around the household and caring for their family. The household is the central domain where women perform their 'natural' role by cooking, cleaning, other household takes, and child rearing, placing them in the private sector. The women role involves having children and taking care of them constantly, whereas a man's role is to have a sustainable job that pays the bills, i.e. providing, protecting and fixing, putting them within the public sector of society. Women are perceived to be closer to nature then men. As they care for the earth they care for their family as well. This is the norm for society where women are associated with the environment since humanity defines them that way in a patriarchal society. According to Kristin A. Kelly, in her book, Domestic Violence and the Politics of Privacy " Under the eurocentric canon, masculinity is treated as part of civilization - on the human side of the humanity nature dualism - while femininity is treated as 'closer to nature'." Men are above natural raw materials and women are down within nature. This creates an illusion of subordination of women and causes inequality. Today the 'natural' role of women still exists and causes problems in the workforce, leadership positions and outside the private sphere. It can create inequality between men and women where men are seen more superior and partake in greater leadership roles. Women are segregated into certain jobs that are more 'suitable' for caregivers, for example, nurses, or childcare. According to Joni Seager in her book The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, more women work in the service sector while men work in the industrial sector. In other words, there are jobs that are seen to be more suitable for women and other jobs more suitable for men. Seager also states, "even then the gender gap in wages persists because such legislation primarily dictates equal pay for the same job, but men and women typically work in different jobs." This is called "occupational segregation." This means women typically have jobs that pay less. Seager explains that women earn 24% less then men. Since women have certain jobs that are in their nature to perform, many are paid less then what they deserve. This wage gap concludes that women are a cheap form of labor and most willing to work for less because of their desperate economic situation they may be in. There are also a greater number of men with leadership job positions then women. It is different within various cultures but each has a similar quality of what the 'natural' role for women look like, which are caregivers and family oriented. These viewpoints of women's positions to be caretaker’s leads to problems in the workforce where many women cannot get a job that is regarded as a "man's job" or they feel they cannot compete with men, leading them to involved themselves in lower paying jobs resulting in wage gaps. These inequalities between men and women in the work force due to their ‘natural’ position in society are an issue we need to face and look to resolve.