We saw last week that the female role can be very difficult and comes with certain disadvantages, but we should also look at the challenges and disadvantages of the male role. It's true that being born male comes with it's advantages such as higher wages, greater social prestige, better self-image, and less harassment and discrimination; but the male role also comes with its own set of challenges and societal pressures. For example, just as women are traditionally charged with the role of wife and mother, men have traditionally been expected to financially provide for the entire family. Our society encourages us to believe that a man who makes 50,000 a year is somehow more valuable or more masculine that a man who makes 10,000 a year. In other words, his worth is calculated by a number that may well be out of his control. Another paradox of the male role is illustrated by something as simple as housework. A man who helps around the house may be seen as weaker or less masculine for his contribution to housework, while if he abstains from the work all together, he may be seen as chauvinistic.