It's Time To Put An End To Gender Stereotypes

Gender roles put an idea into children’s brains about the way society dictates how men and women should or should not act. These stereotypes can be harmful, as they often lead to sexism and misogyny. While gender roles may deem what is appropriate for each gender, they can also set expectations of people in society, some of which can be unachievable. This can put a pressure on young children that can follow them through their education and career. Gender-based stereotypes are also dangerous in the sense that if someone refuses to conform to traditional gender ideals, most of the time, they are ridiculed and harassed.

Gender roles are categories that characterize what it means to be feminine and masculine in society, on how people think about gender as they relate to one another (Adams et al., 2013). For example, women are expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive, this shows how men and women are to behave in society. However, these sayings were taught to individuals based on norms, or standards created by a society which is called Gender Socialization (p. 318). Growing up as a child, we were taught as girls to play with dollhouses, pretend kitchen sets, cleaning supplies and play dress up. Whereas boys are taught to play with cars, sports equipment’s, action figures, and weapons. However, if a boy was playing with dollhouses, or playing dress up, he would be considered gay, or not masculine and looked down upon by society, and families. The same goes for girls who play with boy toys, or dresses as a tomboy, this is what we are taught to play with at a young age. Our families tell us how to behave, our schools tell us what

“My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals.” In 1890, when Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, the attitude towards women was nowhere close to positive. Men did not look at women with much respect and only thought of them as domestic trophy wife. According to Oscar Wilde, they lacked intelligence and the ability to substance. These ideas were at one point a social norm. Everyone believed in them. Times have changed and these ideas seem too ridiculous to be real. In our society now we

Study on gender role stereotypes has shown that there are several negative effects of stereotyping. The study on how gender role stereotyping effects children is not as prevalent because most believe that it doesn’t matter, since children are just forming their stereotype so children do not care. However, some psychologists have done some research on it, and from their research found out that children used a mixture of moral and social conventional reasoning

When thinking of gender roles in society, stereotypes generally come to mind. Throughout history these stereotypes have only proven to be true. Major historical events have had a huge impact on the way men and women are seen and treated. In this way, women have always been secondary to males and seen as the fragile counterparts whose job is to take care of the household and most importantly, be loyal to her husband no matter the circumstance. Gender roles throughout history have greatly influenced society. The slow progress of woman’s rights throughout humanities led to an explosion of woman’s rights throughout the 20th century and that trend will only continue on into the rest of the 21st century.

Gender roles govern the way that most of the world’s population interact with one another. Many African cultures uphold deeply patriarchal gender roles which dictate how women and men interact with one another. Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie, a staunch feminist, gives readers a look into Nigerian gender roles in her short story Birdsong. Her writing in Birdsong and her TEDtalks explore and expose how these gender roles are harmful and how important it is for many stories of young women of color to be heard.

The society we live in today has expectations for everyone from birth till death. These expectations can make us become a person we never thought we would be, or a person we are glad that we became. You can call these many expectations your gender role which is a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable or appropriate for a person based on your actual or perceived sex. Everyone living in society today has them to fill. Gender roles do not always have a positive impact on a person. When you are growing up your parents always told you to be who you wanted to be and to chase your dreams. The requirements your suppose to fill while perceived as a male or a female make

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a short story contained in her collection of stories written in 1983,“At the Bottom of the River.” This story is about a mother giving advice to her daughter on how to survive and succeed in the society that they are living in at about 1950-1960. The story portrays a mother’s urgent repetitive voice to save her daughter from sexuality, by teaching her how to become a good woman in the society of Antigua, a British Island. The setting of “Girl” affects the relationship of the characters by the mother dictating a way of life to her daughter and reinforcing the gender roles in society.

From birth, people are told what they should like, act like, and become based on the gender of their body. These preset ideas start off by expecting young females to like pink or pastel colors and young males to like blue or darker colors. It teaches young children that females are nurses and males are doctors, that the mom stays home to clean the house, cook, and take care of the children while the dad goes off to work to make money and provide for the family. Society has come to call these ideals gender roles since they are basic roles and ideas that a certain gender should conform to and accept. In the essay “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, she discusses in one paragraph how the traditional woman is supposed to act. Michael Kimmel writes in the essay “Bros Before Hos” the same ideas, but he discusses how men should behave. Both authors do not like the roles placed upon men and women. Their attitude towards the roles is very negative. While these stereotypes and ideal roles may seem innocent and harmless, they have a dramatic effect on the everyday lives of people. From personality development to careers and education, gender roles have set boundaries that cause a negative effect on both genders.

In his book Work in Progress, Connor Franta claimed, “Girls can be athletic. Guys can have feelings. Girls can be smart. Guys can be creative. And vice-versa. Gender is specific only to your reproductive organs, not your interests, likes, dislikes, goals or ambitions.” Gender stereotypes have existed for as long as anyone can remember, but they continue to pose major problems in our society. Everyday, men and women are being expected to fulfill a set of unrealistic gender-specific ideals that attempt to define the way they should act, what they should like, and what they should aspire to do. These ideals have not only created inter-personal problems for those who are “unable” to live up to them, but greater economic and societal problems for

Society today places many ideals when it comes to proper behaviours regarding gender roles. These are considered societal norms that are widely debated and controversial. Society has created a norm, which encompasses specific expectations and rules that change the daily lives of men and women, giving them specific tasks and behaviours to abide by. These standards are known as gender roles, which are defined as distinguishing actions, thoughts, and feelings of males and females. Gender roles are said to be a result of nature, which is a natural process, every male or female is to follow. On the other hand it can be a result of nurture, which changes ones way of thinking and adapting their lifestyle to fit their environment. Either way gender roles are a part of someone’s life from the moment of their birth, as they develop, and long after that, this proves that gender roles are influential to a person’s life and development. This essay examines how media such as music, family life, and different parenting styles encompass gender roles and teaches behaviours regarding them. Therefore, gender roles define males and females are a result of nurture and not nature.

People can be impacted negatively by the society in which they live due to the social constructions which are formed within that culture. Gender roles, the roles that society sets for both males and females, is an example of a social construct that can have a damaging effect on the people subject to these roles. These people feel obligated to conform to these roles, as that is what society has told them to do in order to be accepted by others. Accordingly, the adverse effects of gender roles are explored by many authors in their works. In the short stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and, “The Curse” by Andre Dubus, the effects of this social construction are displayed through the characters of Louise Mallard and Mitchell Hayes.

Due to my minor in Woman and Gender Studies, I have particular interest in gender roles, assumptions, and practices. Gender is such a performing art that we as people seldom recognize the behaviors we exhibit that are manifested through societal norms. In example, the typical assumptions and norms we have created about the difference between men and woman is this: Men are strong and aggressive, woman are softer and better at empathy. People argue passionately that these differences in the gender are innate and natural.

A civilization is a group of societies that rely on farming in a stable place. A civilization must be able to produce food and goods, enough to sustain the civilization, trade with others, and have people that aren’t farmers.

Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, "All men are created equal." While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards