In some instances, individuals behave in gender stereotypical manner without necessarily reflecting on the circumstances that might be presumed at a later stage. Often, the behaviors develop into something considered as habits (Lecturer notes, 2018a). If an individual strays from gendered expectations, the outcomes or the expectations themselves result into unpleasant consequences. On two different occasions, when my mother was mowing the lawn in front of our house, I have noticed that she has had men approaching her: one who was walking with his dog and another one who was driving but stopped the car as soon as he noticed my mother working. When I asked her why those men stopped to talk to her, she told me that they stopped to give an advice to her on how to properly do lawn mowing. One of them recommended her to put on proper shoes, and the second one told her to wear goggles in order to protect her eyes from solid particles that could be propelled by the lawnmower blades. Since there were no rocks and she was comfortable in her shoes, I felt that those men only wanted to give her an advice on how to mow lawns only because she was a female, and they felt like lawn mowing is a masculine duty. In my informal paper, I will demonstrate how this experience in gender roles applies to groupthink/virtual community, and how it demonstrates structural functionalism theory.

According to structural functionalism theory, it is accepted that gender roles exist because of the increasing demand for establishing a division of labor. This will assist to maintain smooth operation of the family, and, in the process, it helps to strengthen the stability of the community at large (Lecturer notes, 2018b). As a result, males and females are taught and socialized on different responsibilities in life. For instance, since the men who stopped to give an advice to my mother had the belief that lawn mowing is a masculine duty, they thought that they were obliged to give her an advice (Lecturer notes, 2018b). In essence, the male members of the society are enlightened on issues of instruments in order to ensure that they remain goal-oriented, concerned in the intractability and relationships of the family, and remain focused on the responsibilities at hand. On the other hand, women in the society are enlightened to be expressive in everything they do. They need to react and look for emotions of others while simultaneously expressing their own emotions (Lecturer notes, 2018b). Apparently, while lawn mowing is an instrument associated task, the male members believed that for general stability of the society, it should be performed by the male member of the family and not by my mother (Lindsey, 2015).

Structural functionalism theory attempts to offer an explanation of the nature of social order and interaction of various segments of the society by exploring the functionality of each of the latter. Therefore, it becomes possible to see how they play a crucial role to the stability of the society and community as a whole (Lecturer notes, 2018b). As long as other sociological frameworks consider gender differentiation to be a disadvantage for the community and especially for women in society on a global scale since it prevents them from reaching their potential and contributing fully to society, functionalism theory asserts that gender roles differentiation makes the society more stable. In other words, the classification of many roles performed by different genders arises from the need to create a division of labor in the family (Lecturer notes, 2018b). In essence, due to the biological role of breastfeeding and childbirth associated with mothers, it is believed that most of their roles revolve around childcare (Lecturer notes, 2018a). Traditionally, as men have been linked with the roles and responsibilities of waging wars and hunting since the ancient period, most males are known to perform the tasks in the family that require physical strengths. It can be explained by the fact that they are stronger and relatively greater in size comparing with the female members of the society. All these aspects made the two male adults to believe that they have the responsibility of giving an advice to my mother.

Through the socialization process, different roles are taught to the generations while ensuring the continuity of the society. As long as there are other choices for feeding and taking care of an infant in the contemporary world, and many people need intellectual ability rather than muscle power, the differentiation between gender roles are believed to be ingrained in the society at different levels. Through the socialization process, people tend to make a difference between the situations which the society sees as unacceptable or unacknowledged and behaving in a manner that can be seen as relevant and appropriate in the community (Lindsey, 2015). It is the family that commences by teaching these roles to the young from an early childhood. Thus, such roles are later horned by the society at different stages in infants’ lives.

In conclusion, when it comes to gender roles, I have learned from my own experience that individuals acknowledge that a person is moving away from gender roles, and they tend to correct the behavior by responding in the manner that shows the one straying from the expected norms in the society in relation to the roles of their gender. In some instances, if a person is diverted too much from expected gender roles and responsibilities, such conduct is punished by harassment or violence. It is also crucial to note that an individual does not necessarily need to stray away from the stereotypical gender roles for incurring the wrath within the society. As a result, the above mentioned example is one of the experiences which I regard as an issue of gender roles. This requires reasonable attention by other people since they feel that the role of the female member of the society was diverted from norms, and she completely strayed away from the expected gender roles.