The History Of Gender Stereotyping

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.

Throughout history, men and women have been viewed in utterly different spheres. Men have been, and still are, believed to be the hard working individual who is in charge of “bringing home the bacon” and supporting the household finically. On the other hand, women are expected to have little to say, the house spotless, supper on the table, the children bathed, fed, in bed, and educated, all while maintaining a flawless hairdo and makeup. These stereotypes seem a bit offensive nowadays, but if you really consider it, it has been and most likely will be this way for our entire existence.

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.

Avoiding the Norm In our society men and women have not always been equal, and even today we still strive for equality. Traditional stereotypes for both genders have been around for decades. Traditionally men were the breadwinners, financially taking care of their families.

Over the years gender roles have changed for both males and females. The duties, behaviors, and activities we perform on daily basics are different from which male and females would have performed years ago. Male gender role or there stereotypes in the United States consist of being muscular, independent, and athletic. Female gender role or there stereotypes are being caring, sensitive, and the caregiver. The gender roles for male and female have changed over the years, originally men’s duties included working all day for their family. They were the family member that brought in the income in for the family. As for the female roles/duties they would stay home, clean the house, take care of the family, and at the end of the day cook dinner.

When I think about gender roles in the past I automatically think about men and how they were more powerful than the women. The men could not do anything wrong in society’s eyes but women had to walk on egg shells to make the men happy. When I think of the men and women in the past I automatically think about how the men went out and worked while the women stayed at the house had children and stayed in the kitchen. The men could go out and cheat on the women all they want but if a woman even thought about talking to a man they would be punished.

Stereotyping is something that occurs daily. This occurs frequently in television advertisements. Many of these stereotypes are involving gender and gender roles. This can affect the way perceive others and view themselves. People may see advertisements and not realize gender roles are implied. These gender stereotypes have been occurring in television and advertisements since the 1970’s.

This is only a small part of the gender roles and stereotypes that have been embedded into men and women throughout history for a long time, but these chains are being broken through the changes in our society today. Gender roles have changed since the Medieval period because today, women can speak on the same level as men, and women are now able to work, which contributes to the increase of

“The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “It’s a girl.” Shirley Chisholm. Despite the statistics, being half the world’s population are in actual fact women. Nowadays in society woman are faced with many challenges, some being discrimination, margination and gender inequality. Though regardless of many attempts to eliminate these problems there are still many social media, advertisement and more indicating that woman are still extremely marginalised in today’s civilisation. Woman are still being marginalised in society through crude or sexist advertisements in the media; this needs to be readressed and changed. I will identify how woman are marginalised in current society through various advertisements where woman have been illustrated as sexual objects, sexist annotations and much more.

There are a lot of things constant in life; like education, family, and work. In all of these constants there is a constant of there own; gender stereotypes. These standard based on gender that can be seen as far back as shakespeare and is clearly noted in Shakespeare's Macbeth, which emphasize on how males should act. The ideas of how women should act and presented in Judy Brady’s “Why I Want a Wife”, From the time of Shakespeare of the late 1900s you can see a distinct way men and women are portrayed. Even though women can now hold a job and can vote there was a time where the stereotype was that women couldn't do any of these. As times change so do the stereotypes of each gender.

When a person is born, they are either male or female. Before they are born, their parents are going to set goals and expectations for them. Sometimes parents will name their child after a famous celebrity hoping they will be just as great as them. Each gender will have different ways they should live their life in order to stay within their gender role. Some will meet the expectations and other will not. That does not make them look less of their gender, they will just be expected to meet them. Over the years, some gender roles have submerged and others have risen above. They will be able to show how the gender roles are supposed to be in jobs, education, and marriage and also how they can benefit from stepping out of the gender roles.

Gender stereotypes are present in the United States today. Women are only supposed to act in feminine ways while men are only supposed to act in masculine ways. Women and men have different standards when comparing one another. Men and women have different roles that society says is more feminine or masculine. Gender stereotypes are present throughout any race. Race stereotypes are also a problem today and still have their own gender stereotypes with in their culture. When people act outside what society says those gender roles are, they are seen in a negative way. Society has determined what we consider to be acceptable definition of feminine or masculine. Throughout history, gender stereotypes have played a significant role in peoples lives.

Life in the 1960’s consisted of many deep cultural changes; especially when it came to a change in gender roles and stereotypes. For woman, society was set on a believing that a their overall goal in life was to be married, have lots of children, and devote their life to be 100% dependant on their husbands. On the other hand, men had to be the provider and the rock of the family. This all changed when The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ensured that people of all colors, races, and gender could not be discriminated against in employment thus females were entering the paid workforce head on. Men also started to learn more about being a caregiver and became stay at home dads. Both Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler help convey this representation of gender roles, gender as a category and gender stereotypes in the 1960s through their written works.

The United States of America has taken great strides to shrink the gap between African Americans and white Americans, but have they taken the same measures in regards to gender equality? Women worked tirelessly for suffrage in 1913 and since then have made an effort to become equivalent with men; however in recent years, there has been a pushback from the radical conservatives to put women back “in the kitchen.” For centuries, women have been placed into these caregiving roles in which they are to be seen and not heard – always being dominated by the men they have been told to cook and clean for. Even now, in our Congress, women are being put down for standing up for this “great cause,” a cause that wouldn’t exist if people were all treated

As I walked out of my nine-story apartment complex, I saw an interesting array of faces. Mixed genders, some male, some female, all very different deep down inside. I study their faces, wondering what it'd be like to walk a day in their shoes. Some people are like open books, you can look at their facial expression and instantly guess what their emotions are, yet others are like locked diaries. You can't tell what they're thinking and you'll probably never know. I shake the thought out of my head as I rummage through my pathetic excuse of a handbag, pulling out my most recent bank statement. Thirty-two cents to my name. How do I live like this? My train of thought is lost as my mind ponders elsewhere. Do you think people can tell I'm a broke