Gender Stereotypes Throughout History

In the 1900’s it was a social accepted practice to believe one’s gender restricted what an individual was cable of doing. During this time period and going back further in the past the main ideology of society was males were there to lead, provide and protect the fairer sex. Susan Glaspell uses stereotypes to disprove the notion that women are less superior than their male counterparts by having the women solve the murder of Mr. John Wright.

In the world today, women have a say in what they want to do and things that they desire to do. Back in the day, before the 1800’s, women had to be submissive to their male counterparts and do according to what was required of them. In the end, this led to the demeaning of the woman and the concept that women were inferior to men. Even though this concept and perception changed, there have been some countries and regions of the world that have not yet recognized the equality that women deserve. Such areas do not allow women to vote, attend school, have a say in the community, and the women are at the mercy of their husbands, fathers or male superiors (Hartmann, Susan M).

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.

Women have virtually the same rights as men. However, the fault needing to be recognized in today’s society is the way that women are treated. Even in simple areas, such as jobs, women are put on the back burner. A woman is able to become a CEO of a company, nonetheless, she will struggle twice as hard as a man would. Even as an employee, women are statistically paid less than men are.

For centuries women had had to bow to men they were taught never to speak unless called upon or spoken to. That their sole purpose in life was to be a homemaker; a servant to the men in their lives fathers, brothers, sons. As time progressed women began to fight for their right to receive equal rights, education and vote. But that wasn’t enough in the year 2013 women still made eighty cents to every man’s dollar but that all changed one day. Women who were sick of being oppressed had risen up against the male chauvinism within society of the united states.The first measure was to take all men out of all positions of decision-making power immediately, and of any kind of social, professional position whatsoever. The men of society were

In today’s society, people believe women have the same rights as men, especially after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, which outlawed “discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin” and was amended in 1975 to include the word “sex”.(“Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”). The word “sex” was added at the last moment. America does not promise an equal outcome for everybody, but America was founded on the idea that everybody should have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams. America is the home of freedom, the home of many opportunities, and the home of equality, but we are not where we should be? Many citizens of America are unaware of the unequal

On the basis of gender, women continue to be paid less for the same work as men; however, women are outnumbered by men in the highest-paying jobs and dominate in the lowest-paying jobs.

“We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons…but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.” (Gloria Steinem) Gender equality has come a long way, however, this topic is a constant theme many individuals, to this day, seem to dismiss. Women have addressed equality issues around the world to help broaden views on things that should be equal rights and equal opportunities, regardless of gender. In recent years, women specifically have shown the importance of gender equality through Woman’s Equality Day, the push for equal pay for equal work, and most recently, the creation of The United State of Women.

For an immense period of time, society deemed women as inferior to men. However, through many protests and the growing acceptance of women, society continues to increasingly close the gap between the two genders. The differences in the societal expectations of women in the early 1900’s and 1970’s compared to the expectations of women in modern society demonstrates this improvement. Although women’s oppression dramatically improved over the past century, it persists as an apparent issue in today’s society.

Over the year’s society has developed tremendously; especially when it comes to gender equality. There was once a time where women were not allowed to vote or even leave the house because they were viewed as the people whose job was to stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the kids. It is 2017 now and we’ve come a long way at fighting for our rights. Although we have come a long way, there are still issues we face in society. We are constantly struggling to break these standards that women should look a certain way to be considered beautiful. Along with this there are still many things that in a way state women aren’t as great, strong, or as smart as men. While we’ve succeeded in some aspects to have equal rights, there are many more things

For thousands of years, established gender roles have been a part of our society. Women are commonly known as sensitive, emotional, or passive. On the contrary, men are described as rational, competitive, independent, or aggressive. Believing women are more emotional than men is stereotyping. However, the stereotype is not entirely untrue. Development of gender roles is often conditioned more by environmental or cultural factors than by hereditary or biological factors. The development of gender roles between men and women involves the inference of peer community of each gender, the communication style of male and female and the intimacy or connection level of men and women.

Gender stereotypes are things that have been around for a very long time. But they are not always the same. Over time, they will change and evolve, either for better or for worse. The gender stereotypes in the past were very different than the ones that now revolve around people today. A stereotype that used to be for women was that they should wear dresses, cook and clean, raise the children, maintain a great figure, and remain pure. This is different than today’s stereotypes in many ways. The first way is that women today are not required to wear dresses, or are even always expected to wear them. Women have a choice. But in the past, that was part of the image of a woman. It was nearly a rule that women could not wear pants because then they would not be like other women. Another way the stereotypes were different was because women had to do all of the housework alone. The men were not expected to cook, clean, or always take care of their children. They were allowed to, but it was unheard of back then. So the way that women were expected to maintain things in the past is nothing like it is now.

For centuries women have always strived to be as equal and superior as men. From shifting themselves as the careful house wife attending to the children, to helping out in factories and serving in war during the early 1900’s. Then eventually women received the right to vote. Women then began to receive and further their education, becoming professionals like men were. The past century has been a century where women have been catching up to men proving to be just as superior as men.

Stereotypes, whether about a race, gender, or ethnicity, have continuously been created and destroyed with the evolution of society’s thoughts. Movements of all kind have fought tirelessly to break down barriers that confine certain groups of people. The Women’s Rights Movement forged against immense repression to acquire the right to vote, work and have true independence. While they achieved their goals, women are still treated as an inferior to a more “dominant” male. Women are classified as lesser, more emotional and weaker than men.

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