Young Writers Society

Well, that escalated quickly. At least I have a better grip now,

It all depends on what society you're talking about, I guess, since culture differs all over the world. In Arab societies, for example, gender roles are more enforced, although they are more relaxed than they were in the past.

However, there are several examples of society where the traditional gender roles of men and women have been reversed. Take the Tchambuli tribe of New Guinea, for example, where women were aggressive and practical, taking over male roles such as trading and heavy carrying, and basically dominating the society. Males, on the other hand, were passive and quiet -- the gentler sex. I read this in some book, and though the fact stuck I cannot for the life of me recall what that book was called. I did find this, however:

"And the Tchambuli were different from both. The men 'primped' and spent their time decorating themselves while the women worked and were the practical ones – the opposite of how it seemed in early 20th century America."

from here.

Gender roles are not extensions of the biological differences between men and women. At least, I don't think so, anyway. Women are thought to be "natural" mothers, you know, responsible for the upbringing of their children because of this "biological inclination." But if this concept of biological inclination held true and the traits of child-rearing and housework were in-born, then society would be the same everywhere, which it is not.

So, basically, it depends on the place you're talking about, the culture of that particular area. (and remember, culture is always changing. Women weren't even given the right to vote a century ago, and most women were barely educated! That's quite a different scenario to the one observed in most industrialized countries today, isn't it?) So, yes, time is a great factor as well.

If you're writing about Britain, you need to know whether the time period you're writing in is Elizabethan, Victorian, modern or whatever. Gender roles are forever changing, although the change may be slow, from time to time and from place to place.

[Basically what @Rosey%20Unicorn said. ]

Gender roles are not extensions of the biological differences between men and women. At least, I don't think so, anyway.

@Pompadour
You're bang on! Anthropologists define gender as "the socially constructed differences between men and women" (roughly. As with everything anthropology, the words are different; that's the gist). Biological sex never comes into it at all.