Gender Aspects Of Gender Stereotypes

Gender can be a hot topic within cultures; a male or female does not want to be told that they can or cannot do something based on their gender. Every culture views gender roles differently, and some cultures are more serious about gender than others. Many times, male and female actions are determined by what a person has been taught is right; furthermore, gender roles are a set of societal norms that are the behaviors that a sex is generally known to do and what is considered accepted of a person based on their sex; gender roles can also known as stereotypes (“Gender”). Many times men are associated with masculine and logical ways in the United States, whereas women are associated with nurturing and passive ways.

In her essay titled “Toxic Masculinity is Killing Men: The Roots of Male Trauma,” Kali Holloway uses scientific data to and evidence to state that gender stereotypes and roles are killing men. Holloway’s essay is a wake up call to today’s society that says we as parents, siblings, teachers, and anyone else who comes into contact to children who are young and impressionable, need to raise boys and girls the same way to prevent and eliminate gender roles and stereotypes.

From gender roles, we, the people of society, are able to determine whether someone identifies as a male or a female. Both biological and social factors tend to determine what gender roles a person takes on. However, there are also gender stereotypes, which are “the fixed and oversimplified beliefs about the ways in which men and women ought to behave” (Rathus, 2010). Often times, gender stereotypes are related back to the traditional beliefs of when women were responsible for staying home and being the caregivers and men were responsible for going out to work and bringing home the food, supplies, and money that the family needed (Rathus, 2010).

Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Sexual stereotypes are deeply imbedded into today’s society. Ideals of the gender roles are passed down from generation to generation, creating a gap between what is socially acceptable for a woman to do and what is expected of a man. One thousand years ago humans chose dominance by physical capability, simply because it was essential for our survival, but the world has evolved. One thousand years ago physical strength was the most important part of survival for human beings. Men in general are physically stronger therefore it made sense to have a man lead. The world humans live in has evolved and is no longer run by the physically entailed, but by the most intelligent or creative(Adichie). Though this world has evolved, the gender expectations and stereotypes have stayed the same. Sexual stereotypes in America limit men and women to abide with,by the expectations of masculinity and feminism, create a sense of shame for women, and create a gap in today’s job industry.

In today’s society, men and women are confronted with gender stereotypes daily. In the texts Ten Things I Hate about You, The Big Bang Theory, I’m Glad I’m a Boy! I’m Glad I’m a Girl! By Whitney Darrow and ‘Stupid Girls’ by Pink, the roles of men and women are perceived in different ways. Some characters in each text challenge the typical stereotype whilst others accept it.

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of a women begins when the doctor says, ‘It's a girl!’” Women are forced to conform to a set place in society, and the pressure they feel to conform starts when they are born.

Living in 21st century United States, being a much more liberal and inclusive environment than prior decades, gender “roles” and their normalities are being severely questioned and challenged. Americans have defined and established gender stereotypes that have become a critical part of how we look at gender roles and create biases about each gender. Stereotypes assume people who 'belong ' to a group will appear, behave, look, speak or sound like others from that group. The values, norms, practices, behaviors and traditions associated with the group are shared by all members of the group. For example, gay men are promiscuous, women are maternal and men don 't show emotions. Stereotypes are often dismissive, negative, and they are sometimes

A women who have been batter by men often talk about the heightened sensitivity they develop to their partners’ moods. Being able to anticipate and avoid the men’s rage is important to survival (Adams, M 2010). Survival sometimes means not responding to oppressive behaviors directly (Adams, M 2010). To do so could result in psychical harm to oneself, even death (Adams, M 2010). Woman have been viewed as less emotionally secure than men, however rather than seeing gender as extending from sex, Butler argues that sex is produced by gender. That is, the discursive formations of masculinity and femininity require the belief in a naturally bifurcated structure or biological sex (Chinn, S. 2010).

Since the dawn of time, gender has had a big place in society. In many countries, people believe that they can only do what their gender stereotype says they do. A stereotype is can be defined as a “widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” For example, stereotypes for women include women do not play sports, women are not as strong as men, women are supposed to be submissive and do as they are told, and so on. Men, on the other hand, have the opposite stereotypes such as men play video games, men do not cook, sew, or do crafts, men are in charge, etc. In Richard Wright’s story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man, the main character Dave Saunders is suffering from one of these stereotypes where

The author also explains some of the other stereotypes associated with women. These include the ideas that women are the caregivers and men are the warriors. Tavris stresses this point throughout the entire book. This is a stereotype against both men and women. Tavris counters these stereotypes by bringing in facts from scientific studies. It turns out that women and men are generally the same in these two areas if they have to be. It depends on other stimuli such as money, power, and prestige. These stereotypes cause men and women to act in certain ways, and suppress certain emotions in order to comply with societies idea of normal behavior. Tavris points out that women’s inequality has to do with inequality of power and money rather than gender.

Gender stereotypes can have many different effects, but they are oftentimes negative. Utilizing it as a basis, society can create impossibly high standards. Failure of these standards evokes a sense of guilt within people. Such results stem from a bigger societal problem, which is that people live in a patriarchy—a system in which men hold the majority of powerful social and professional positions that shape society. According to Deborah Tannen’s “But What Do You Mean?”, the speech of women and men frequently creates conflict between the two sexes. Likewise in Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, Jim Burden perceives women solely through his patriarchal view of life. Lastly, through “Kim Wilde,” Marjane Satrapi reveals that women are often bound within the gender roles set by society. While many lenses can add to one’s perspective, gender has a stronger influence; therefore, people must actively attempt to view life beyond the single lens of gender.

Males are often generalized in regards to how manly their attributes are considered and if their role in society is associated with masculine ideals. Generalizations that exist are such of men should; be athletic and strong, be in charge, be the head of the family, to make the money, to want sex, and not show emotions. These generalizations are portrayed and instilled in our lives from media influence to even the adults in our lives telling us so. Males all over the world grow up trying to abide by the set limits society deems a male should do. The mindset of today’s society is tainted with these stereotypes that wrongly push males to conform to society’s generalizations as they grow up.

Crying, getting emotional, expressing hurt – these displays are forbidden for boys. Boys must be the strong ones, and girls must be the weak ones. If traditional gender roles are to be believed, girls can display these emotions because they simply do not possess the self-control that is required to hold them back. Children learn to exhibit the emotions that are acceptable for their gender from the beginning of childhood; it is made clear to them the role that men and women play in society, and the role that they each must fill. However, the repression of certain emotions in children based on gender can be detrimental to a child’s emotional health and development, because doing so does not allow

However, people’s perception of gender due to society ignores these findings. Women who exhibit agency, or assertiveness in the workplace, are considerably less likely to be hired for a job than a man who has the same traits or a woman who is sensitive and motherly (Shibley Hyde). Gender stereotypes also affect young men in an even harsher way. Society believes that girls are more sensitive and more likely to have self-esteem issues. However, in Shibley Hyde’s meta-analysis, she found that there was almost no difference between adolescent boys’ and girls’ issues with self-worth (Shibley Hyde). This could potentially lead to boys not getting the help they need because society expects them to “take it like a man”.

How women are perceived by others, and how women perceive themselves, impacts their leadership roles in the work place. Stereotypes and gender biases are themes women have been dealing with for centuries. How women are perceived by social medial and television have been influencing how they are treated by men, and how they view themselves when it comes to taking a leadership role in their organization. According to Omega Institute (2012), “The rapidly shifting landscape of new media and technology, including reality television and celebrity culture, continue to reinforce gender stereotypes” (p. 1). This leads to men still growing up viewing women as home makers versus bread winner. With more women entering leadership roles in the work place they lack the respect from men due to how these men have grown up to know the typical role of a man and woman. Men tend to feel belittled due to the gender stereotypes seen on television, and this leads to women struggling to succeed as a leader with the lack of support from their male counterparts. Lack of confidence with women in the workplace is also influenced and effected by how women are perceived in social media and television. According to Steele (2005), “Exposure to stereotypic commercials persuade women to avoid leadership roles” (p. 276). As young women grow up seeing the typical gender stereotypes they lack ambitions to break the mold and