In the African American society, the issue of gender equality has been a thorn in the flesh for many years. Women have been struggling to achieve equality with men. Their efforts have always been ignored and not acknowledged by their society. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, the effort that women put was not appreciated. Women took part in fundraising, mobilization of masses, and behind the scene organizing of the movement Rimpau, I. (2003). Most of activism activities have had both gender taking part but the credit for success has gone to men alone. In the church, men and women have been treated unequally. Women have been denied the major roles in the church such as taking part in the clergy, decision making, and financial administration. They are given the posts of deaconess stewardess which have far less authority in church governing. Due to this, some women have begun to form separate religion spheres to assert authority in the church. This has enabled women to found their own congregations and churches.
In most cases, women find themselves facing double problems of both racial and gender discrimination. African American woman are normally compelled to choose between gender and race in their clamor for equality and they and in many cases they and up choosing race so that they do not appear disloyal to their race. Therefore, women appear to carry a heavier burden than the other groups on every aspect of social-economic being. The society is also characterized by high levels of immorality such as domestic violence, incest, murder, and robbery though people live in denial Rimpau, I. (2003).
The family setting can be seen as a factor that has promoted the differences between men and women of African American origin since the responsibilities and rights of a marriage couple are usually assigned according to sex. This promotes the culture of superiority-inferiority complex between the two genders of African American people since the children of such a family will learn their roles and responsibilities from their parents. Most women even those who were employed have been unable to achieve gender equity in the domestic arena. This is because the African American people have their own culture characterized by many traditions and sexism Rimpau, I. (2003). Gender role specification assumes that people observe and heed the specific behaviors that the culture portrays as appropriate for each gender.
More differences are evident in the African American society. The boy-child, over many years, has been trained to be hardworking, career-oriented and to be the head of the family. On the other hand, the girl child is trained to be well-mannered, loving, attractive, and kind. This means a woman is trained to be focused on domestic activities such as taking care of the children and pleasing the husband who is expected to be breadwinner in the family. Typically, this society has prized men and masculinity and devalued women and femininity. Women could not perform some duties such us omnibus driving or working in construction industries. This was considered a taboo. Women who clamored for those jobs that were preserved for men were considered as threats to the position of the man in the society.
In addition to that, these jobs were perceived as energy intensive and thus suited men alone. African American women feel that their abilities are not acknowledged by men as they are supposed to. Yet most women believe that they are more hard working than men. Women performed the duties that were crucial for the survival of Blacks’ institutions such as churches while men help leadership positions. The leadership positions were preserved for men as women believed to be poor leaders
Similarities are there between men and women of African American society. In families where both parents are educated and are working, both the mother and the father do participate in household chores. Other similarities come in when it comes to racial issues. Women and men gather together to assert for equality of races. In some cases the fight for gender equality sidelines men too, such as in cases of homosexuality. Men receive a lot of punishment normally in the form of stigma for being ‘sissies’ that girls do for being ‘tomboys.’
In the last thirty years, many changes have been encountered in the African American society where women have developed resistance to being subservient. They have put their focus on upholding the values that will foster a good relationship with their male counterparts. These values are collaboration, partnership, and co-operation. They have put measures that are meant to convince men to take affirmative action such as fighting against sexism among other vices. From sports, politics, humanitarian activities and other areas, women have been found to be taking the lead and are painting a new image of America.
Black women have continuously changed the society’s perception of all women, including the white women. They have been able to jump over the three discrimination hurdles that they face namely race, gender, and class. They have massively entered into field previously preserved for men such as engineering, science, and athletics others and are performing exemplary well. National governance, a field perceived as exclusively for men for many years, has been transformed, and is now being managed by both men and women. More African American women are securing these dockets (Riley, 2006). They have joined the House of Representatives and other top dockets such Condoleezza Rice’s stint at the State Secretary docket.
In education too, women have showed great ability and there is an increased population of female students. African American women have been able to go past secondary schools, with more women joining universities and other institutions of higher learning. They have ended up securing top jobs in both private and public sectors. Currently the number of black women with bachelor’s degrees has exceeded that of men. With the increased determination of women, fields like teaching and nursing which were perceived as feminine are experiencing shortages as women have started entering other areas of education. They have massively entered into field previously preserved for men such as engineering, science, and athletics and are performing exemplary well (Riley, 2006). In other areas such as entertainment, African American women have really excelled and have proven to be very powerful.
Many women have spearheaded the race towards liberation of African American. One great example is the reputable Paula Giddings, an American writer, who has help raise the lost voices of African American women. She has exerted many efforts in understanding the perspectives of different people. Many groups such as New York Urban League and National Coalition of 100 Black Women have recognized her efforts and have awarded her honorary doctorates. She went through prejudice during her school days and gained a lot of experience that motivated her to become a writer. Through her books, she has encouraged school-going children to express their feeling about their races. She has encouraged women to go to school and pursue their dreams until they realize them (Riley, 2006). When she was working for the American government’s program that was looking into the miseries of African American women, she was able to read widely and finally came up with ways to contain the situation. In her books, she clearly highlighted the double discrimination of women, on race and gender. She would also get assignments from organizations to check whether the conditions of African American were improving (Riley, 2006).
Modern women have adopted ways of negotiating the differences between them and their counterpart males. They have begun programs to promote education for women. Once a woman has gained education, she gains respect also from the other people. Women have also been encouraged to join politics and proper programs are put to facilitate this. Ways of generating funds are created to finance the female politicians. Activism has also been used to achieve gender equality of the African Americans. Activism is being achieved through the use powerful African American celebrities to sensitize the women. Women have also taken part in agitation for changes in laws that are promoting gender balance (Riley, 2006).
In conclusion, the society of the African America people is characterized by segregation of the people according to gender. For many years, women have been on the receiving end of the segregation but over time the situation is changing as more and more are getting empowered. A good number of women like Paula Giddings have worked hard to see an end to this. Women are now seen in national politics and international activities like sports and they are performing quite well. Besides all the differences that are evident similarities of the African American men and women like in the cases of racial prejudice. In the recent days women have developed means of promoting gender equality between the two races.
Riley, E. M. (2006). Reaching the top: A study of the success strategies and motivation of african american women who have achieved executive status in the fortune 500. Capella University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 157 p. http://search.proquest.com/docview/304909298?accountid=45049
Rimpau, I. (2003). Gender talk: The struggle for womens equality in african american communities. Library Journal, 128(2), 105-105. http://search.proquest.com/docview/196787989?accountid=45049
