I think fairy tales and children's stories have a greater effect than you think.
My point is that the cultural influences that define gender roles are all around us, to the point that often we don't even notice them until they are called out. The family gathering scenario was perhaps too obvious.
It really wasn't so long ago that gender roles were very explicit - men were supposed to go to work, while women stayed at home, barefoot and pregnant, to throw in an extreme oversimplification. But you get my drift. Men were supposed to be competitive go-getters. Women were supposed to be meek and submissive and obey their husbands. However far we've come today, a lot of those attitudes still persist.
I think that I interpreted your question as being, "gee, I have no idea why men and women wouldn't be treated equally," as opposed to "wow, we ought to get to the root of the problem and come up with a solution," so forgive me if I came off a little harsh. It's an insidious cultural problem, and the answers to it aren't simple, I agree.
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My point is that the cultural influences that define gender roles are all around us, to the point that often we don't even notice them until they are called out. The family gathering scenario was perhaps too obvious.
It really wasn't so long ago that gender roles were very explicit - men were supposed to go to work, while women stayed at home, barefoot and pregnant, to throw in an extreme oversimplification. But you get my drift. Men were supposed to be competitive go-getters. Women were supposed to be meek and submissive and obey their husbands. However far we've come today, a lot of those attitudes still persist.
I think that I interpreted your question as being, "gee, I have no idea why men and women wouldn't be treated equally," as opposed to "wow, we ought to get to the root of the problem and come up with a solution," so forgive me if I came off a little harsh.
It's an insidious cultural problem, and the answers to it aren't simple, I agree.