Masculinity Vs. Femininity

Gender relations - Do stereotypical mind-sets around gender relations lead to gender inequality in this workplace? Do work structures disadvantage women? Is there an alignment of managerial attributes with gender stereotypes, such that male attributes of competitive spirit and technical competence are given

“Stereotypes are categories that constrain and shape what a person believes about, and expects from, other people” (Bartlett 1910). The workplace is one of the most active environments for women to be stereotyped against. Women are judged in ways such as being weaker than, and not as active as a man. This can be a problem for a woman in a male dominated occupation by making them feel, or seem, not as valuable as a man. For example, women in the police field will face the struggle of being seen as weaker, gentler, and to submissive to fight crime compared to men. This type of behavior leads to women not receiving much earned promotions, and having more struggles applying to male dominating jobs.

In the fight for equality, it is obvious to defend against forms of sexism that are used for antagonization. However, chivalrous attitudes that cast women as weak and in need of men are often ignored. Social psychologists have studied the effects of benevolent sexism using experiments testing one’s performance shortly after being labeled as incompetent. Benevolent sexism is not a series of compliments, but rather a threat to one’s ability to think, learn, and perceive information. The workplace is an environment of which benevolent sexism occurs most often and one of which most are familiar with. Benevolent sexism in business does not allow men and women to achieve the same goals within the work place. Forcing an individual into a social role can limit them to only specific simple tasks that do not allow for maximum personal growth.

For several decades now, women have struggled with equality in the workplace. “Men are told to think like a woman and women are told to act like a man” (Valian, 1998). However, this advice often reinforces gender schemas and stereotypical qualities such as sympathy for women and assertiveness for men. While these pigeon-holes are often exaggerated, research shows that gender characteristics do indeed exist, and they play a very powerful role in the workplace.

Modern day sexism can be a very delicate topic, but people need to recognize that it 's still a problem in the workplace. Before jumping to the conclusion that this is another extreme feminist perspective, it 's important to understand one thing. Although significant progress has been made in the past few decades, women are not treated as equal partners to men in the many job fields. Freida Pinto, the leading actress in Slumdog Millionaire was interviewed recently. She did an excellent job clarifying a common misunderstanding of feminism. "Feminism to me is equality. There is no man over woman and vice versa. Feminism is a very misconstrued and misunderstood topic. "As soon as we say feminism, it does not mean all men should become subordinate and women should be the ones who rule the world. The only way we can have a progressive and successful country or world is when men and women treat each other as equals." It 's sad to think that a term for someone who is in support of gender equality is now a negatively viewed thing. An important thing to remember is that gender equality means equality for both genders, and reverse sexism is not the solution. Once you grasp that it 's easier to understand modern day sexism.

their opinion about the woman in the workplace. “Yet when asked whether they want a

To begin with three should be an examination of how “the persistence of gender ideologies” has affected equality in the workplace. As Kimmel states, “Since the early nineteenth century, the workplace has been seen as a masculine arena, where men could test and prove their manhood against other men in the dog-eat-dog marketplace” (Kimmel 249). This is still occurring

Everyone who does not fit the idea of masculinity has been placed in the other category. Kids have a hard time to self-identify themselves because of all the masculine role moles that present themselves in the media. Masculinity has created a structured binary that makes their role the ideal role for society to be. That ideal role is traced back to a long history of old traditions, that society cannot look past. This ideal of masculinity has created complications within gender and sexuality that have made people hold onto heteronormative ideals. The heteronormative ideals have created a privilege society where the white males dominate the world and place everyone who does not fit in their binary into the other people category.

According to Brescoll et al. (2012), mention the issues men come across when trying to enter a feminized occupation like preschool education, or nursing. These occupations are viewed as less masculine, thus the penalty is being viewed as lower status individuals (Brescoll et al., 2012, p. 354). If we reflect on the norms of masculinity, our common understanding is that men are high achieving individuals that must sustain their family and most importantly their status within an organization is profoundly viewed upon. Brescol et Al (2011) puts forward that males, who work for gender deviant supervisors, are subordinate thus having a diminished status and respect to their gender identity. This is to say that within organizations there is an

She’s the Man (2006) is a film about Viola Hastings, a girl whose passion is to simply play soccer. When her women’s team gets terminated due to lack of players, the discriminatory men’s soccer coach states, “It isn 't me talking, it’s scientific fact: girls can 't beat boys. It 's as simple as that.” Infuriated, Viola decides to impersonate her twin brother at another school in order to make the team and play soccer. She does this in order to prove that “she’s the man” and to demonstrate to the men’s coach that girls can play just as good as boys. This romantic comedy is noted for its contrasting elements between masculinity and

231). While women have come a long way from the days that they were expected, and frankly only allowed, to just take care of the home, sexism in the workplace is not something that should be tolerated whatsoever. After years of advocating for women’s rights in the workplace, why is this still happening? A study done by Vala and Verniers (2018) found that the reason why sexist remarks are made in the workplace could be due to that fact that naturally people think that if women are spending their time at work, their families and home must consequently be suffering (p. 1). Surprisingly, belief in these myths, and furthermore sexist remarks, are more like to come from the “decision makers,” (Song Hing & Starmarski, 2015, p. 1). Therefore, the initiative to completely abolish the ill treatment of women in the workplace must start with those higher up in the companies (Song Hing & Starmarski, 2015, p. 13). Song Hing and Starmarski (2015) concluded that “…if organization structures, processes, and practices clearly communicate the importance of gender equality then the discriminatory behavior of sexist organizational decision makers should be constrained,” (p.

Out of the whole list of current global issues, gender inequality is one of the concealed matters, either to the public or for the most part men made work environments. Masculine society categorized men as dominant, careless, angry, and egoistic. On the contrary, Feminine society is customarily thought of as having common characteristics, like being caring, supportive, fragile, and relationship oriented. By examining masculinity and femininity through the lens of performing gender on socially constructed gender codes, Rosalind Barnett, a social researcher and analyst in her text, “Women and Work: Where Are We, Where Did We Come From, and Where Are We Going? ” aims to dismantle socially assigned gender

Gender inequalities are evident in today’s society. In recent years there has been an increase in identifying the existing disparities among genders, especially in institutions. The workplace is a common institution in which gender roles are highly distinctive. Whether it be an office environment or elsewhere, women have higher social expectations than men. This regards the way in which women physically present themselves through professional dress and behavioural expectations. Women work in a male-dominant industry, which has created gender inequalities. Through the use of Erving Goffman and Dorothy Smith’s theories, one can attempt to understand the true impact of gender inequalities in the workplace.

     The well-known concepts of masculinity and femininity run rampant in our society. We live in a world where men are told to be masculine, women are told to be feminine and those who do not do as they are told, will suffer the societal consequences.

Unlike the majority of men, women are often over sexualized by their male coworkers and end up being treated in ways that are degrading and disrespectful. The sad truth is that if these women were in fact male they would have to put up with next no harassment, proving the unequal treatment of women in their places of work. Sexual harassment in work place first gained national attention in 19191 when President Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to US Supreme court. Thomas’s former assistant testified that he had sexually harassed her by making a series or sexually inappropriate comments, overtures and solicitations while acting as her supervisor. (Issues and Controversies) This is not the only sighted case of sexual harassment in the work place. It is reported that 81 percent of women are verbally harassed and 44 percent have encountered unwanted toughing and sexual advances (__) This form of harassment is degrading to women, putting them in a place that men perceive to be below them and shows the inequality that is present in the life of an everyday working