Kaitlyn Feeler

One question I have always pondered is how society shapes gender roles. I came to explore this question because I wanted to be a mechanic, until I saw the sexism that women have to endure in the auto mechanic industry. Therefore, I felt that being an orthodontist would be the best profession for me. I came to this decision by exploring how gender roles effect women, how media effects women, how women in the work forces are effected, and the specific sexism that comes with the auto mechanic industry. I began my research with an article by Rachel Francis.

Rachel Francis wrote an article called “The Art of Being a Woman in a Male-Dominated Field.” Rachel states that “Surprisingly, the things that make my job challenging are not the lack of knowledge, an inability to learn, trouble working with others, poor communication skills or even downright laziness. The things that make my job a challenge are all the things I have absolutely no control over: my appearance, my age and my gender.” This quote truly shows how a women’s work ethic truly has nothing to do with how easy or hard it is to make it in a job, especially when it comes to working in a male-dominates industry. This is because women are taught to dress to please men, yet this distracts men. If a woman is too young they are viewed as unintelligent sex objects, which also distracts men. If a woman is too old then they are viewed as unattractive and not able to change with modern society. Then there is simply being a woman. Women have always been portrayed as house wives. Society has engrained it into people’s heads that a woman’s place is at home with her kids, pleasing her husband. This article has helped me validate my knowledge about sexism and why it is so hard for women to have male-dominating jobs due to gender roles.

While researching Rachel Francis’ article, I came across an article