Of all the confusions in which these modern times are embroiled, there is one thing of which I am certain: the worth and validity of good, gender-based roles. Americans often think that they have been forced by social pressure to conform to roles established millennia ago. It is not so. The recognition of proper gender roles has always been a central aspect of any social order worthy of the name. The truth is that every society throughout history has failed when its members stray too far from their proper roles.