Sharks and Jets Gender Roles

In West Side Story, it is important to notice the different roles that men and women play. For the most part, traditional gender roles of the mid-20th century are embraced; the women are expected to wear dresses and play housekeeper and the men are expected to be tough and protect their women. They are supposed to be the decision makers. I think it is interesting to contrast the women of the Sharks with the women of the Jets. There are no prevalent female characters in the Jets, except for Anybodys, and her function is to demonstrate that she is not a "typical" women, and therefore not accepted for it. The men are constantly trying to get rid of her and telling her to go "put on a skirt." The other women seen with the Jets are portrayed as followers of the men. When they appear, they are dressed up, and don't add to the plot, besides to be present.
The Sharks have Maria and Anita, both who represent different stereotypical women. Maria is seen as a pure, polite, young woman, while Anita is more assertive; despite this, she still stands by her man, regardless.
The song "America" is interesting because it portrays the Puerto Rican women as excited by all the opportunities in America, whereas the men are not as excited. I think this could be because of the sense of equality the women have by being in America. They feel they have more rights and can be treated like they are "American." The men see this as a loss of control in their personal lives, and also in their jobs--in America, they are never the boss, they are often working for someone in low-paying jobs.
Only Tony seems to break the typical male code portrayed in this movie. He does not appear macho, or tough. He is content being apart from the gang, and seems to have moved on from that.
Overall, traditional gender roles of the 1950s-1960s seem to be at work in this film. It is interesting to note how the Sharks and the Jets contrast in this way and how they are alike--I suspect this could be a comment on the similarities between the two gangs, even if they won't admit that.