In the Republic of Panama, male and female gender roles vary. The female gender roles consist of child care, cooking, household chores, minimal farming, making clothing for family and making bead-art by hand to sell at local markets. Some of the male gender roles consist of fulltime employment outside of home, making items by hand to sell at local markets, working in the fishing or forestry industry, farming, and maintaining heavy household work.

According to my cultural friend, the theories of strength, economy of effort and compatibility-with-child-care all fit the gender roles in Panama. The strength theory expresses the man's ability to perform certain task by lifting heavy objects and exerting bursts of energy in order to accomplish work in or outside of the home. The economy of effort explaines [sp?] the theory that men are responsibile for collecting hard materials and they are more knowledgable about their physical properties. The compatibility-with-child-care- theory expresses the tasks that women are the primary care givers when it comes to taking care of their children. The women devote their time to breast-feeding and caring for their children in or close to the home environment. All of these theories fit the male and female gender roles in Panama because of there [sp?] compatibility.

When it comes to the question of who provides the food and who prepares the food in Panama, the answer is very easy. The men are mainly responsibile for providing the food for their family. They work hard on their farms or work outside of the home in order to be able to provide for their family. The women on the other hand, take pride in preparing the food for her family. Cooking is an activity in which the panamanain women enjoy.

In Panama, both sexes are equal because of the activities and responsibilities each one performs. In order to maintain a successful household, each member knows their tasks and both the male and female need each other in order to do so. The women need the men to help with heavy activities and provide for the family. And the men need the women to take care of the children and the home. Therefore, it is very important for both the men and women to perform the activities required by them.

In conclusion, the male and female gender roles in Panama vary, however; both genders need each other in order to survive successfully.