Men work and women take care of the house and children. This is the traditional role each gender has followed, but times have changed.

Women are being elected to political offices as well as becoming lawyers and doctors.

Men are taking time off from their jobs to be stay-at-home dads, while more women are the breadwinners in their household.

Faith Sponsler, art major, was raised in a family of women with a single mother as the lead. She believes gender roles have shifted in a good way.

“[These days] women and girls are encouraged to go after their professional dreams,” said Sponsler. “Most faculty [at Sacramento State] are very encouraging.”

She also believes there is an increasing amount of support between women, as opposed to women competing for a man or a job.

“I think more women are pushing other women to succeed,” said Sponsler.

There are some people who will resist how gender roles have shifted from the way they used to be.

Despite all the progress and change that has happened, not everyone is on board with the shift in what it means to be male or female.

“Our society as a whole is still lacking in that [support],” said Sponsler.

Mainstream media objectifies women and focuses more on sex appeal than they do for men.

Men are often portrayed in the media as rich, sophisticated or intelligent, while women are labeled with words like sexy or cute.

Dr. Tony Paulson, professor at Sac State and an eating disorders specialist, said society creates unrealistic ideas about women and men that can lessen their perception of their own value.

“Money is a form of attraction for guys,” said Paulson.

Jamaica Corpus, child development major, said there is one main reason why gender roles still exist, even if they are not as extreme as 40 or more years ago.

“I think it’s just social,” said Corpus. “We all have societal pressures to be a certain way. Men always have to be tough, I think men are realizing they can be vulnerable without being looked at.”

It is becoming more socially acceptable for men to be emotional in public.

TV shows such, as “Smallville,” have aired episodes in which men lose their emotional control.

Others like “The Fosters” and “Awkward” have allowed women to lead the show in both strong and humorous roles.

The traditional qualities that have been attributed to one particular gender are now being applied to both.

Corpus also acknowledged women like Maya Angelou, who spoke about equality for women, give females stronger role models to identify with.

“[There are] a lot more women figures we can look up to,” said Corpus.