Shakespeare's Gender Roles in Society Today

     In Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, Shakespeare includes various messages about society's trivial expectations of gender roles due to stereotypes portrayed through several characters. I believe that these messages should remain prevalent in society today as gender roles and stereotypes still negatively impact both males and females daily. As illustrated in the "Shakespeare Gender Swap" media clip, a woman and a man who share identical personalities and experiences, only differing in their name, are still viewed differently by members of society. Men are viewed as strong and brave while women are seen as week and shallow. Also, the clip "Happily Ever After: Perpetuating Stereotypical Gender Ideals" emphasizes the pervasive impact of gender roles that begin from a young age. It appears that children are exposed to societies gender roles through books and movies, resulting in a predisposition and early exposer to gender roles. In the play, Shakespeare comically indicates the irrelevance of gender roles through Viola's reaction to Orsino saying "there is no woman's sides can bide the beating of so strong a passion as love doth give my heart" (II.iv.103-105).Viola, as a woman masked, denies this statement by stating that she knows that woman love equally as men, with equivalent passion and emotion. Similarly, Orsino says "let thy love be younger than thyself, or thy affection cannot hold the bent" (II.iv.42-43) emphasizing the malleable nature of a woman, her emotions, and life. In my own life, I have witnessed the pervasiveness of gender roles as well as the impact they have on both men and women. There are set societal standards as to how women are over-emotional in relationships while men are the strong, often too stoic halves to the whole. Therefore, Shakespeare's messages regarding the negative impact and incorrectness of gender roles is still necessary for society to consider today as these roles still remain a force facing men and women of all ages daily.