Ben Bethers

IB English
McKay Period 4
January 4, 2022

Socratic Seminar Questions and Answers

1. To what extent does society create gender roles?

It is interesting to think about the ways individuals develop their personal values and
ideals. Where society certainly has a big hand in guiding this process of development, it
is ultimately up to us what we say and do. With this being said, there is certainly a
general expectation for both men and women, however, our choices reflect what we
personally think about gender roles and how we will live in the future based on our past
and present actions. Although it might be hard to resist societal expectations, the choice
comes down to whether we will conform or if we want to find our own way to express
ourselves. So I think, ultimately, it is society that sets the predefined gender roles, but it is
up to us to change that definition of gender roles to how we see fit and live accordingly.

2. Does the gender we are born into influence our natural behaviors and or are simply raised
into these behaviors with societal expectations?

It is hard to say what behaviors in genders are biological and what behaviors are taught.
Although it is certainly hard to do so, I am certainly inclined to believe that we are born
with certain behaviors. I believe that it is a simple fact that men and women would
generally have different values, feelings, and overall personalities even in a world void of
societal expectations. I think that the biological make-up of our brains are composed in
such a way that men and women inherently have different behavioral characteristics. This
being said, I feel that the societal expectations concerning gender roles that we know
today were formed at least in part based on these fundamental differences between men
and women.

3. Are societal expectations regarding gender always harmful? Why or why not?
Source: “Barbie Doll Poem”

Not all societal expectations regarding gender are not always harmful. Although it is
certainly true that some societal expectations can discourage individual growth and
variety of personality, as outlined in the Barbie Doll poem, which highlights how
expectations that inherently make you feel insecure and insufficient in your looks which
can lead to detrimental emotional effects. This being said, I still think that there are still
 many positive societal gender expectations. For example, the standard of men respecting
and defending women, especially in relationships, due to the fact that women are
generally not as physically strong as men. This is a clear example of society encouraging
both respect and upstanding behavior. Additionally, I additionally believe that, to a
certain extent, traditional gender roles regarding parenthood are beneficial because they
teach much needed practices in parenthood. Although these roles are typically taught for
the women and men fulfilling certain roles according to their gender, the reality is that
couples can distribute these roles however they feel comfortable. This being said, the
fundamental traditional values should be preserved, these being someone, either one or
both of the parents, providing money, and discipline. Furthermore, traditional values also
teach that both parents should provide stability, love, and support for their children. These
responsibilities provide a basic recipe for raising a productive and stable family because
it covers the fundamental needs of children, both emotional and physical. Therefore,
although there are some harmful social expectations that are intrusive and harmful, it is
quite clear that there are other societal expectations and pressures that are beneficial and
teach important skills in several important areas of life such as parenthood and courtship.

4. Should everyone be expected, regardless of their personal feelings, to follow societal

expectations regarding gender to some extent? Why or why not?

Yes, although some expectations are intrusive and harmful to individual worth as well as,
there are many societal expectations with gender which should be followed that
encourage healthy behaviors and teach members of society productive skills. As society
has many debated expectations for men and women, it is hard to see that some societal
expectations are good for people. One example would be both parents needing to stay
present in their kids’ lives and care for their children up to adulthood. This prevents
unstable family circumstances and instills a sense of responsibility in adults, making
them realize that having a kid is a serious commitment and decision that cannot be taken
with a light hand. Furthermore, this expectation prevents kids from developing into
uncivilized and careless adults who have never had positive examples in their life.
Furthermore, another example of a societal expectation that should be followed is for
men to protect women because women are generally weaker than men physically. As a
rule of thumb, more power means more responsibility, therefore men should be expected
to protect women physically if needed due to the fact that most men are stronger
physically. Through such expectations, it is clearly seen that some societal expectations
should be followed because they are crucial both for practical reasons that help maintain
the integrity of society and for personal reasons that teach productive and healthy habits
to people.
5. Was Nora’s action of walking out of the house to never return justified? Why or why not?
Source: “A Doll’s House”

I believe that in no way was Nora justified in leaving behind her kids. Much like an
absent parent in today’s society, back then one parent could not handle the sole
responsibility of raising a child while providing a good and stable life. Nora leaving her
children was inexcusable in that it left her children in favor of finding herself. Although it
is a classic motto for it is “Never too late”, in this circumstance it is. Nora’s time for
deciding what she wanted out of life had passed at this point and had made commitments
that she needed to keep, like being a mother. Although Nora wanted to find herself and in
many ways had been unfortunately leading a forced and false life, this in no way excuses
her leaving completely, she has an obligation to stay at least partially in the lives of her
children because she is her mother. The same would go for Torvald if he wanted to leave
the house for good. The simple fact is that Nora’s obligations as a parent make it
unjustifiable and selfish for her to completely leave the life of her children.