Is+Society+Changing?

The article “Where Are We?” written by Allan Johnson relates to pop culture of TJ Maxx in many ways. The main idea in “Where Are We?” is that society views men more powerful than women. I contacted our local TJ Maxx to gather information about job positions and if certain jobs were performed by a male or female. Before contacting TJ Maxx, I conducted an informal survey of five people to determine whether they thought four various positions were held by a male or female. I asked if they thought the store manager, cleaning crew, delivery person, and salesclerks were male or female. The response was two out of five thought the manager would be male, five out of five thought cleaning would be completed by a female, five out of five thought the delivery person would be male and five out of five salesclerks would be female. When I called TJ Maxx I learned the store manager is male but they have two female assistant managers. The cleaning is done by a male, the delivery person is mostly male, but occasionally female, and the salesclerks are primarily female, however they do have some males working in the store. In “Where Are We?” it states that “Patriarchy is male dominated and that positions of authority are generally reserved for men” (Johnson [5]). In the case of TJ Maxx this is true because the manager of the store is male. The article also states that “When a woman finds her way into such positions, people tend to be struck by the exception to the rule and wonder how she’ll measure up against a man in the same position” (Johnson [5]). The assistant managers at TJ Maxx will always compare their performance against the male leader or manager in this case. I was surprised to learn that the cleaning is done by a male. This goes against what my survey indicates society would expect. The position of delivery is associated with lifting and moving heavy boxes which society dictates should be “mans work” so to learn that woman are working in this field also goes against what society views as typical. The article also states that “Men are assumed (and expected) to be in control at all times, to be unemotional (except anger and rage), to present themselves as invulnerable, autonomous, independent, strong, rational, logical, dispassionate, knowledgeable, always right, and in command of every situation, especially those involving women. These qualities, it is assumed, mark them as superior and justify their privilege. Woman, in contrast, are assumed (and expected) to be just the opposite, especially in relation to men” (Johnson [14]). This is why I feel that society views the job of salesclerks should be done by females. They are the more patient, helpful, and emotionally vested in helping others. I further relate to the findings that the salesclerks are female because this is a position of servitude and society associates this type of position with females. In conclusion, society can predict whether a male or female will hold certain job positions with high accuracy. Based on the reading and my survey I see glimmers of hope that the walls between male or female dominated roles is being broke down. We are seeing women begin to perform traditional male jobs (delivery), and men performing traditional woman’s jobs (cleaning). Works Cited Johnson, Allan. //The Gender Knot Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy//. N.p.: n.p., 2005. Print.