Gender Survey Follow-up

Is it more socially acceptable for women or men to display characteristics of the opposite gender?

Let's face it. There are just some things men are allowed to do and women aren't. The idea floating around out there is that men should act manly or goofy while women should act feminine or the same way they always have. Everyone knows they should try to conform, usually by clinging to the stereotypes that have developed. But in certain capacities, displaying some characteristics of the opposite gender is fine, and in some, it's social suicide. So which situations are which?

Men and women agree that there are certain gender lines that are slowly eroding and situations were it's perfectly fine to act like only the opposite gender would fifty years ago. Four out of 5 of those surveyed believe it's not inappropriate for a woman to have a job in which she is a boss over men. Over 90% said it was appropriate for women to pursue careers in traditionally male fields. The majority of those surveyed believed neither gender should obsess to pursue physical perfection, with the understanding that hygiene is a separate issue. Four out of five thought it was fine for a father to stay at home to care for his children while his wife works. Three out of four said it's okay for men to wear pink. Two thirds, however, believed that homosexuality is not socially acceptable. Clearly, this is where most people draw the line.

The men were split on only two issues. Only one more man believed it would be acceptable to have a female president than believed it would be unacceptable. Also, only one more man believed that not all women should concern themselves with "girl things" than thought all women should.

Yet there were issues on which men and women flat-out disagreed. Two thirds of women thought there should be more opportunities for women to participate in male-dominated sports while four-fifths of the men disagreed. Surprisingly, sixty percent of the men said all men should concern themselves with "guy things" while, of course, 80% of women thought not all men should. And as far as sewing and cooking go, four out of five women said all men should know how while three fifth of the men said they shouldn't all know how. (I had to chuckle when I read that. I thought, "They'll be up a creek when they rip one of their favorite shirts or tear something to shreds that they just don't have the money to replace." Besides which, I doubt they thought it through completely. Grilling and barbecuing count as cooking.)