America has long been heralded as the land of equal opportunity. It is almost universally regarded as the pinnacle of democracy and egalitarianism. Yet it would surprise many to note the persisting disparity between the rights of men and women in American society today. Though the nation has made great leaps in the direction of equal gender rights, it has recently stagnated, and many would argue has even moved backward. Additionally, very little if any consideration is given to the growing population of American transgender citizens who do not recognize the traditional gender binary. The roles played by the members of each gender in American society reflect a burgeoning problem about the lack equality between the sexes. 

Women in America do not generally have a poor standard of living. They are certainly not plagued with the same concerns as women in many African, Middle Eastern and Asian societies. This, however, is not to say there is no room for improvement. There is in fact plenty of improvement warranted. Women in America usually still fulfill the role of “homemaker.” The woman is still regarded as the caretaker of children, the party responsible for meals and cleanliness and the nurturer. Though the majority of American women do maintain careers, they are still relegated these responsibilities.

Conversely, American men still enjoy considerable power and affluence in society. They hold the highest paying and most prestigious jobs and are regarded as the primary providers and sustainers of the family. Aside from the obvious disadvantages these roles place on women, many men are also adversely affected. A man that fails to provide for his family or achieves relatively little success in life is regarded as inadequate and has having failed to sufficiently satisfy his societal role. 

Even more discouraging, gay men and lesbian women are shouldered completely out of their social spheres, as their lifestyles are in conflict with the expectations of their genders.

Many might argue against this, and there is some evidence of an anthropological shift. More women than men now attend undergraduate college, and an increasing number of women can be found in executive positions in the corporate world. Yet, while women outnumber men in undergraduate college, men overwhelmingly dominate the fields of philosophy, classics, and others in graduate schools.  Men also dominate political institutions and still hold the majority of executive positions. This directly reflects the persisting perception of men as the most refined, scholarly and capable of the sexes. There has never been a female president of the United States. For the same amount of work and with the same qualifications, women will earn 23% less than men. These facts are indisputable, and reflect the aforementioned gender roles in American society.   

These are the genders whose roles are generally discussed. Yet, this binary conception of gender and its roles excludes an entire sector of American society: transgender citizens. Transgender citizens are still largely invisible in the discussion of gender roles in America. If they are treated at all in the debate, they are treated as an isolated group that must be excluded, lest their very existence threaten the foundation of these roles. The consequence of this is that there is no way of determining the roles fulfilled by transgender citizens. They are deliberately hidden. The mentality behind this is that if transgender citizens are legitimized as playing valid roles in society, then the traditional notion of the gender binary and the roles founded upon must crumble.

As has been shown, the gender roles in America tend towards conservative and traditional notions of what is necessary for social acceptability. As a result, both women and men are stereotyped and restricted, while transgender citizens are removed from the social sphere altogether. The grim consequences of gender roles in the United States should cause people not only to give pause, but to re-define them entirely. Until that occurs, the role played by gender roles in America is one of repression.