GENDER ROLES AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY.

 

Gender roles have become a very unpopular ideology everywhere in the world. The assignment of specific responsibilities exclusively to a particular gender is now considered a very archaic and hateful thing to do. In the past, women were subjected to working in the kitchen and catering to the nutritional needs of others. Cleaning the household, birthing and raising offspring in a family were additional ‘duties’ women were expected to execute and for centuries, such beliefs were the norm. For a very long time, women have been under appreciated and considered the inferior gender despite their monumental contribution to the lives of everyone else around them. This supposed “inferiority” has fuelled a lot of unprofessional and inappropriate incidents like passive aggression from co-workers which make the working space uncomfortable for the average female worker. In recent times, however, with ideologies like feminism and gender equality rapidly taking over, the narrative has been entirely switched.

It was obviously a strange sight for a lot of people who witnessed the gradual shift in their culture and norms. Imagine being the first person to see a fellow man wash dishes or the first to see a woman lift a sword to go to war. Strange would be an undermined description of such events. The slow switch of responsibilities between both genders was also met with numerous mixed feelings. Men who had interests in doing tasks regarded as feminine such as cooking and cleaning were jeered at by their fellow men whilst women who dared to go hunting, smoked cigarettes or fought wars were scorned too. They were hated because some men felt threatened. They were hated because they made a lot of men feel weak and vulnerable, a feeling millions of women have had to live with for a lifetime. Just like any other process of change, the cessation of misogynistic culture took a long time to gain acceptance from wider society. 

In today’s global entertainment industry, women play significant roles and are essential to the progression of every cause concerning entertainment. Be it comedy, filmmaking, music, or theatrical entertainment it is easy to name numerous female figures who have conquered all of these ventures, a fact that would leave people of the Baby Boomer Generation shook. Viola Davis, Angelina Jolie, Taina Raymonde, Yara Shahidi, Lupita Nyongo, Jenna Fischer, these are names that carry a lot of significance and meaning for women in the world of film production. These are actresses who have broken numerous boundaries and surpassed the limitations set for them by society and that’s why they and a lot more other names are celebrated with pride. Katharine Hepburn, an  — year old American actress holds the record for most Oscars won by a female with four outstanding wins within the span of 48 years. Katharine was and still is an icon for a lot of young actresses on a global level some of which have excelled themselves. Meryl Streep is one other exceptionally talented actress who holds the record for most Oscar nominations (21). This clearly shows how far women have come from being considered as just the minority gender. 

In music, even when women began taking part in professional music, it was always assumed that every woman had an angel-like soprano voice and sang high soprano notes in the operas. Rap, a genre of music that has always been seen as a tough and thuggish type of music also witnessed the breakthrough of inspiring and amazing acts like Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, and much recently, Cardi B who was born Belcalis Almanzar broke the record and became the first solo female artist to win a Grammy for best rap album on 5 April, 2019. Today, the global rap scene is able to boast of countless talented female rappers who are killing it. Africa would also have a lot to boast about when it comes to producing gifted female artistes and names like Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Sho Madjozi, Eno Barony, Wiyaala, Efya and Freda Rhymes would definitely come up.

I for one stand for gender equality as it is crystal clear that women possess equally wonderful and necessary skills that could be important in decision making and a lot more than they are perceived plus if you ask me, I think women have just done what they are best at which is making the most out of anything they are given. Just as they work with the most simple ingredients to make the most delicious meals in the kitchen, they’ve taken their “limitations” to the kitchen to a whole other level and are making the best out of the few opportunities they are given. 

More grease to the elbows of every single woman out there fighting to be treated equally. Considering the massive progress women have made in entertainment, the only way is forward and the world wouldn’t be able to contain what’s coming at them.