The Traditional Roles and Expectations of Adults in Society

Introduction

The traditional roles and expectations of people in a community or society have observed change since the evolution of society. The role of specific genders can be defined as behavior and attitudes expected of both genders of a “community” by that “community”. The multitudes of cultures exhibit various expectations uponboth genders who live in that specific culture (Faqs). In general, every country, nation, and even every culture has experienced changes of its roles as genders and tradition in each and every generation has seen a shift towards the latest trends and social practices. The changes in the precise roles affect the home, place of work, and the educational environment. They also affect all human beings to some degree. But while these changes are being imposed, the traditions and cultural expectations are still kept within the context of the culture and ethnicity.

I am focusing and writing this essay regarding the traditional roles and expectations of adults in society in Sri Lanka because I was born and raised in Sri Lanka. The traditional roles and expectations of adults in society show a clear difference in the role of genders. Women in charge of cooking, raising the kids, and doing the house hold chores. The job of man is to protect the family and provide material support. With those specific responsibilities, males dominate various points of business and social life.

Discussion

I have come across many instances in which many people who are living in the United States of America that either do not know about Sri Lanka or even heard about Sri Lanka in the first place. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is an island in the Indian Ocean within 18 miles off the coast of India with about 22 million people populating the land. The official name of the small country is the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and Colombo is the capital of the country (Gunasena, 1996). In finding the meaning of the name, Sri means “blessed” and Lanka is the name of the actual land. Contact from the rest of the world to the island was made as early as Ancient Rome. The ancient Romans called the land “Taprobane”. Early Arab travelers called the island “Serendip” while the British named the island “Ceylon.” Sri Lanka became independent on Feburary 4th, 1948. Both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages. Sinhala is the native language of the people in Sri Lanka. The other ethnicity which occupies the island, the Tamils, speaks the language of Tamil. The use of English has declined within the county, but it still spoken by the middle and upper class, especially in the capital city (Baker, 1998). According to US Department of State website “Sinhalese make up 74% of the population, other minorities such as Sri Lankan Tamils total about 12%, Muslims represent about 7% and Burgers and Malay represent 7% of the population”(US Department Of State, 2011).

Gender roles are the expression of behaviors and attitudes that have been shaped by society, and ...