A (English): Do you think modern couples genuinely divide responsibilities equally, or do they just repackage traditional roles in progressive language?
B (Українська): Мені здається, що часто це лише нова обгортка для старих моделей. Ми можемо називати це партнерством, але сценарій нерідко залишається тим самим.
A: That’s interesting. So you believe the vocabulary has evolved faster than behavior?
B: Саме так. Лексика змінилася — ми говоримо про «партнерство», «підтримку», «рівність», — але в критичних ситуаціях люди повертаються до звичних ролей.
A: Do you think biology plays a role, or is this purely social conditioning?
B: Біологія може впливати на певні аспекти, але більшість очікувань формуються культурою. Нас з дитинства навчають, що означає бути «справжнім чоловіком» або «хорошою жінкою».
A: Yet many men say they feel pressured to suppress vulnerability because society still expects them to be providers and protectors.
B: Це правда. Чоловіки часто опиняються в пастці ролі, де слабкість сприймається як поразка, а емоційність — як недолік.
A: So would you argue that dismantling gender roles could actually improve intimacy?
B: Я думаю, що так. Коли людина не боїться вийти за межі очікувань, вона стає щирішою. А щирість — це основа близькості.
A: But doesn’t complete fluidity create confusion? If no roles are predefined, how do partners negotiate responsibilities?
B: Відсутність жорстких ролей не означає відсутність домовленостей. Це означає, що домовленості створюються свідомо, а не автоматично.
A: That requires a high level of emotional intelligence, though.
B: Безумовно. Потрібна зрілість, здатність до діалогу та готовність визнавати власні упередження.
A: Do you personally believe equality means splitting everything fifty-fifty?
B: Ні. Рівність — це не арифметика. Це відчуття справедливості та взаємної поваги, навіть якщо внесок різний.
A: So, in your view, the real revolution isn’t in who cooks dinner, but in who gets to define what fairness means?
B: Саме так. Справжня зміна відбувається тоді, коли партнери разом визначають правила гри, а не успадковують їх без запитань.
How Do Gender Roles Affect Your Relationships?
Certain biases can shape our expectations
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While they *ought* to be outdated, there are certain gender roles in a relationship that men and women are traditionally taught and pressured to fit into: A man is strong and takes financial care of the family, while a woman is nurturing and takes emotional care of everyone.
Men take out the trash, and women do the dishes. Men pay for dinner, and women take care of the children. Men make straightforward, unemotional decisions, and women fret and follow along.
These are but a few of the many gender roles perpetuated in society that people into small boxes and frustrating relationship dynamics. These ideals of how a person supposedly *should* behave based on their gender can harm our mental health and relationships as a whole.
"Gender roles can have a significant impact on our relationships by creating power imbalances and limiting our ability to express ourselves authentically," says Satadeepa Som, a psychologist and sexual wellness therapist at Allo Health, India’s first dedicated sexual health clinic.
Traditional vs. Egalitarian Views on Gender Roles
While gender roles are often viewed through a binary, traditional vs. egalitarian lens, many people usually take a middle-ground approach. They may hold a more modern view of gender roles in a relationship, but still retain some traditional views heavily influenced by society's historical norms.
- Traditional ideology separates men's and women's tasks as they have historically been treated—men are the breadwinner, and women are the caregiver.
- An egalitarian stance, on the other hand, seeks to remove gender as any determination of who takes on what tasks.
In the middle, where much of society, consciously or unconsciously lives, is something known as transitional ideology, the man is the breadwinner, but he also supports the woman in household tasks.1
Research has shown that when couples hold more egalitarian attitudes and where partners' share responsibilities more equally, they are more likely to report higher levels of marital satisfaction and psychological well-being.2
To this day, the impact of gender roles on people's everyday lives are endless. Regardless of if a person thinks these stereotypes are helping them or making them look tough or caring, being forced into a box based on your gender is incredibly limiting and can cause a range of repercussions.
Evidence also suggests that it's important for partners to be on the same page when it comes to their expectations and attitudes toward gender roles in a relationship. Research has shown that when a couple's gender role attitudes are out of sync, relationship satisfaction is much lower.3
According to Rebecca Minor, LICSW, a gender specialist and part-time faculty at Boston University specializing in the intersection of gender and sexuality, three major areas where this is the case are job choices, emotional expression, and household responsibilities.
1. The phrase “put people into small boxes” most nearly means:
A) Encourage specialization
B) Impose restrictive stereotypes
C) Protect cultural traditions
D) Promote individual differences
2. The word perpetuated in the text suggests that gender roles are:
A) Accidentally repeated
B) Systematically reinforced over time
C) Recently invented
D) Biologically determined
3. A “power imbalance” in relationships most plausibly results in:
A) Efficient decision-making
B) Emotional neutrality
C) Unequal influence and autonomy
D) Shared accountability
4. Transitional ideology can best be described as:
A) A complete rejection of traditional norms
B) A hybrid between conventional and egalitarian values
C) A radical feminist perspective
D) A return to rigid gender binaries
5. When attitudes are “out of sync,” relationship satisfaction declines primarily because:
A) Financial instability increases
B) External pressure intensifies
C) Expectations clash
D) Communication becomes unnecessary
Part II. Synonym Precision (Choose the Closest Meaning)
6. “Nurturing” most nearly corresponds to:
A) Authoritative
B) Supportive
C) Dependent
D) Submissive
7. “Fret” most closely means:
A) Deliberate carefully
B) Celebrate openly
C) Worry anxiously
D) Assert dominance
8. “Egalitarian” is best defined as:
A) Hierarchical
B) Meritocratic
C) Equalizing
D) Complementarian
9. “Authentically” in this context suggests:
A) Strategically
B) Conventionally
C) Genuinely
D) Dramatically
10. “Repercussions” most nearly implies:
A) Minor inconveniences
B) Long-term consequences
C) Public scandals
D) Legal disputes
Part III. Advanced Grammar & Transformation
Rewrite the sentences using the word given. Do not change the meaning.
11. Couples who share responsibilities equally report higher satisfaction.
(ARE)
→ Higher satisfaction __________________________ equally.
12. When partners disagree about gender roles, relationship satisfaction is lower.
(THE MORE)
→ __________________________ about gender roles, the lower the satisfaction.
13. Society continues to reinforce traditional gender expectations.
(BEING)
→ Traditional gender expectations __________________________ society.
14. People are pressured to conform to gender norms.
(UNDER)
→ People are __________________________ conform to gender norms.
Part IV. Collocations & Academic Register
Choose the most appropriate academic collocation.
15. Gender roles may ______ psychological well-being.
A) disturb
B) undermine
C) spoil
D) interrupt
16. Egalitarian couples tend to ______ marital satisfaction.
A) report higher levels of
B) claim more
C) show bigger
D) state stronger
17. Traditional ideology ______ tasks along gender lines.
A) dissolves
B) separates
C) confuses
D) neutralizes
18. Which underlying assumption does the text challenge most directly?
A) Gender roles are biologically inevitable
B) Emotional expression weakens authority
C) Social norms evolve unpredictably
D) Couples rarely discuss expectations
19. The tone of the text can best be described as:
A) Polemical and confrontational
B) Neutral but research-informed
C) Satirical
D) Nostalgic
20. The strongest inference supported by the research mentioned is that:
A) Financial equality guarantees happiness
B) Compatibility in gender role attitudes predicts relationship quality
C) Traditional marriages are unstable
D) Emotional intelligence is gender-specific
