Views of Male University Students About Social Gender Roles; An Example From East of Turkey

Social gender roles refer to the roles that are traditionally associated with women and men. Social gender role includes the
personal attributes and behaviors which are culturally assigned to women and men. This study was conducted to determine the
views of male students at Caucasian University Health School on social gender roles at work, social life, marriage, and family
life. The study was conducted on male students studying at Kars Health School, Nursing and Health Officers Department during
2007–2008 academic year. The students were given 24 statements relating to work life, social life, marriage, and family life
to determine their views on social gender roles. Results indicated that 30.2% of the male students stated that women could
work in a paid job, 56.9% believed in equality of women and men, 44.8% approved honor killing, 40.5% said the girls should
receive education as far as they can go, 54.3% said the role of the women was to “provide moral support to their husband and
children”, 37.1% stated that husbands could beat their wives under certain circumstances, 52.6% said they witnessed violence
in their family at some stage of their lives, 51.7% said the women’s environment should be decided by the spouses together,
25% said the women should engage in sexual intercourse with their spouses even if they did not want to. Men who thought the
role of the women was to do housework/giving birth to children/looking after the elderly members of the house, and who approved
honor killing and disapproved working of their spouses, and who did not believe in equality of women and men, were found to
support violence to women by men. Moreover, the students who witnessed violence at some stage of their lives supported this
view as well. It was considered that the students should be educated on the definition of violence and situations involving
violence, and directed to consultant services.