Characteristics of the Ideal Man and the Ideal Woman in Three Essay

Characteristics of the Ideal Man and the Ideal Woman in Three Different Cultures - Essay Example This means that the qualities that are associated with masculinity are intelligence, daring, courage, wisdom, and physical strength. Women in Muslim culture are expected to be caring, patient, considerate, kind, and obedient to their husbands. The Muslim culture holds that women are different from men in significant emotional and intellectual ways. That means that their trust of the decisions made on their behalf by male members of the family is paramount to their well being (North and Trip, 2012). In Hindu culture, men are also expected to be the primary breadwinners in the family. Jobless men are not respected as much as those who have steady jobs. Intelligence, wisdom, physical strength, virility and perseverance are qualities that are attributed to real masculinity in Hindu culture. Hindu women are expected to be caring homemakers who respect the values of their ancestors. Even though modern Hindu women are embracing working lives in increasing numbers, traits such as submissiven ess and quietness are still valued in the Hindu woman in Hindu society. The United States has more balance between the roles of men and women in society than most other cultures around the world, and so there is not much variation between how men and women are expected to behave. ... g the ‘perfect’ women in this book tend to be homemakers and daughters who remained faithful to their male relatives even when their lives were negatively affected by their sacrificial obedience. Muslim cultures revere their examples and expect their women to emulate their examples. On the other hand, the Qur’an stipulates that men have been put by â€Å"allah† in positions of authority over women. This means that women’s obedience to men is indisputable; and that any woman who does not believe this is risking her immortal soul. Muslims therefore tend to adhere to rules concerning the roles of the sexes in a more rigid fashion than is the case with other cultures (Long, 2005). In the Hindu culture, the attitudes about the roles of the sexes and the preferable traits for both sexes are influenced by the Vedas, which are the sacred texts in the Hindu religion. In the partriarchal system supported by this texts, a man’s masculinity is confirmed b y the obedience of all women in his household to his rules. If a man does not rule over his wife, then the perpetuation of the rules of the Vedas concerning the continuation of rightful authority are broken. If a daughter refuses to serve her father and brothers or a wife disobeys her husband, then the established order of communication between the male and female sex is disturbed and this disorder will be observed in other elements of nature. The importance of perpetuating these believes about the roles of both genders therefore has a religious basis, just as is the case in the Muslim cultures. In American culture, the changes that are now evident in society concerning the roles of men and women were not always there. Just a century ago, women were mainly expected to concentrate on bearing children and maintaining the