From a biological standpoint it's becoming more and more apparent that there are real ingrained psychological differences between the sexes at the mental level. When you enter into this argument it must be realized that one is speaking of averages always. For example the portion of the brain which bridges the left and right halves, aiding in tasks which require both creativity and systematic processing, is on average larger in the female. This means that something like translation, which requires a creative understanding of language and a systematic knowledge of the syntax and meaning of millions of words in several languages comes more naturally to females. This does not mean that no man can be a good translator, but rather that there will be fewer male translators than female.
Similarly, an argument for the roles of men and women being somewhat biological can be made from an evolutionary standpoint. We enjoy a lot of freedom today that we did not enjoy in our past. Written history records but a blip in the whole history of "man" and though we may enjoy the ability and right to transcend stereotypes today, this may not have always been the case. Women as the caring mother and keeper of the home may seem chauvinist today, but it was an absolutely crucial role for early man, while the male had to hunt and bring in food.
The argument for why it had to be the man hunting and the woman being the homekeeper is a matter of biology. Average muscle mass and the fact that women were pregnant for the majority of their lives during early history are just two of the reasons for this role being the default for early man. Thousands and millions of years of these roles being vital and essential may well have led to a predisposition for the human race to fall into these roles.
I feel as if I'm playing devil's advocate here, I hope this doesn't ruffle too many feathers.
My opinions on crossing gender stereotypes today is that I am wholeheartedly in favor of it. Now that we have the freedom to make such choices I think it's best for a person to do whatever makes them most comfortable in life. If it blows their gender stereotype out of the water good for them, and if it conforms perfectly then that's equally awesome. I'm not sure how much I conform or defy my gender stereotype. I can almost always be seen in boots and jeans and my hobbies include aluminum and steel, but I do love to bake and Ani DiFranco is a goddess.
Wherever I stand between the archetypes, I would argue that there is a predisposition on the biological level for men and women to conform to their traditional archetypes, but that it is stronger in some and weaker in others, and that this doesn't mean that one cannot buck the trend and be a statistical outlier if it makes them happy.
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