In sociology, a role is the expected behavior that corresponds to a certain social status. Because roles are based on social rules. They can often be a source of personal and group conflict. However, roles serve the purpose of providing stability and comfort.
Role behavior
Role behavior is the performance by a person of his social role, which is always standard, since it is a system of expected behavior. This behavior depends on regulatory responsibilities and rights. Each person individually understands his social role and therefore performs it differently, depending on the types of activities, relationships between people. For example, there are capable and inept managers, talented and incompetent actors, caring and indifferent parents, obedient and naughty children. All participants in the interaction expect from each other behavior that meets the requirements and rules for the given role. You can talk about the corresponding role expectation, that is, "the correct performance of their role." The sequence of performing the “correct roles” from “obedient child” to “diligent student”, and then to “successful businessman” is a condition for transition to the adult world and achievement.
Gender roles
Gender roles govern the relationship between a man and a woman. Social rules dictate that women should be passive with addictive behavior, while men are encouraged to exhibit aggressive competitive and independent behavior. If these norms are not met, a conflict arises. A woman who is ambitious and competitive at work has a hard time gaining the respect of her male colleagues. Women, on the other hand, are often the target of harassment and derogatory language at work. A man who wants to stay at home and raise children, while his wife must work full time, will not be understood by other men. However, over time, society becomes more and more democratic. Women and men begin to behave in ways that conflict with their traditional roles. This suggests that with the development of society, the rules governing social roles will continue to change.
Gender and family
Family roles are usually determined by the patriarchal hierarchy of power. The husband must provide a "living wage", and the wife must create home comfort, be quiet, modest and obedient. The division of labor led to the acquisition and further development of various skills. Many activities are considered purely for women and some for men. The traditional hierarchy of power begins with the father as the head of the family. In many countries, the person who earns the most is responsible for making family decisions. And, since men, as a rule, have higher earnings (for good earnings, higher qualifications are needed, and, therefore, a better education), then men are also responsible for making decisions in the families of many countries. At the same time, women and children become dependent on their husbands. However, times have changed. Therefore, modern families have an atypical structure: some children are raised by the same parent or grandparents, some mothers work full or part-time, and some fathers stay at home with their children.
While the structure has changed, many of the roles in the family have ceased to exist. For example, children must respect and obey their parents, attend school, and participate in extracurricular activities. Mothers still want to put family and husband's work first. In practice, however, the roles will depend on the specific design of each family. For example, in a single-parent family, you may have to make work a top priority in order to financially support the family.
Gender and Age
Roles are also gender and age specific. For example, a little girl will play with typically feminine toys, such as dolls, and play games such as house and school. A six year old boy, on the other hand, will bully, play sports, or play games such as "cowboys and Indians." When girls become women, they are expected to move to the role of "mother", in which her family is more important than everything else, including herself. The boy is expected to play the role of "earner", since work is the most important priority of a man. With age, the social roles of women and men continue to evolve. “Mother” becomes “grandmother”, while “breadwinner” becomes “retired”. The grandmother continues to see family as her priority, while the retirement role allows men to replace work with a hobby or other uncomplicated activity.
