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Gender Stereotypes

How are they harming us?

By Ace MagnoliaPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Today there is a focus on the stereotypes of women and men respectively and how that affects children into their adulthoods. Many professionals and community leaders speak out against what we are teaching children from the moment they are born. The stereotypes and portrayals of men and women in the media cause self destruction across the chromosomal divide and is designed to keep the social structure in America unchanging.

The Social Structure of a society is the interrelated statuses and roles that guide human interaction. Status is someone’s socially defined position in in a group or in a society. A role is the behavior expected of someone occupying a particular status. Every culture and society has a different way of defining certain statuses and roles. For example, in American culture, masculinity is defined by size, strength, skill set, intelligence, athletic ability, economic success, power, possessions, sexual conquest, and stoicism that only gives way to anger, while femininity is defined by beauty, emotion, sexuality, silence, and submission. In this society men are portrayed as being better than women in every way save empathy and house chores, especially in the media. According to this same media, masculinity and femininity never overlap. Based on these descriptions, no complete human being could fall under only one. It becomes dangerous to not stray from these stereotypes, especially since they are ingrained in children from the moment they are exposed to any media, whether it is books, the radio, or television. Children grow up believing they must fit perfectly into a box, and if they do not, they must do their best to force themselves to at least appear as though they do, which can lead to depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide.

The media communicates these ideas in everything they do, from news to entertainment to advertising. Cleaning supplies and appliances are marketed towards women, while power tools are marketed towards men. In a time with personalized advertising, this difference becomes larger as men and women will not be exposed to the things that society does not think they should see. This type of marketing also has an adverse effect on minority groups. The media has more power than ever to shape society into what it wants and never allow exposure to the other side.

The media sets youths up for abusive relationships. Males are taught to cut off emotions other than happiness and anger, so they have a harder time recognizing other emotions in their partners or within themselves. Confusion and frustration can lead to violence or neglect of the emotional aspect of a relationship. They are taught to be in control, and as such may feel threatened by anyone who is perceived as more dominant. Women are taught to expect this and be submissive, and may never stand up for themselves as a result. With depression being seen as feminine but having a large presence in the male population, men are misdiagnosed or misjudged and never get the help they need which can lead to even more violence. Even in friendships or familial relationships this plays a role and can create many toxic relationships that may shape their expectations for others of that nature. If a child has an abusive parent, they may become the exact same with their own children because they think it is normal. This is especially worrying with males who are taught to be violent by their fathers because that is what society has taught is normal. Women are also less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD because they often present symptoms differently and struggle as well.

Stereotypes from the media shape what both men and women feel they should be attracted to, and what they should value in that attraction. Women should be beautiful, sexually appealing, empathetic, and be looking for a strong, stoic, successful man to take care of her. This contributes to homophobia, transphobia, and sexism in the United States, as femininity is seen as less, while masculinity is seen as wrong and undesirable in those who are not born with XY chromosomes. This type of thinking impedes the progress towards equality that LGBTQ+ and women’s groups are seeking. Any relationship that doesn’t fit the model is questioned or looked down upon. The definition of what is masculine or feminine is created by the society, but in America it only reflects the extremes of either side, and not the 90% of people that heavily overlap in both.

In some small towns, “gay” is considered a swear at the public schools, and many students don’t even know transgender people exist. Children are taught homosexuality is a bad thing and you must fit your gender role or be cast out, because otherwise it does not fit the female with male model. Girls and boys cannot be friends without others harassing them and saying they are dating. As a result boys and girls do not hang out with each other and are forced farther into these predefined roles ascribed to them based on what the doctor saw on the day they were born.

Stereotypes portrayed in the media severely limit men and women and the ability for equality and comradery between the genders. Men are not allowed to show emotion, which causes them to hold everything in and leads to aggression. This comes from the idea that anger is masculine, and all other emotion is feminine. Men are shamed for seeing feminine because women are seen as less and are not respected. Since that is such a strong belief, empowered woman are rarely seen in the media unless it is to diminish them or their accomplishments. Women in positions of power are constantly questioned in ways that men never are, and have to work much harder to get into those positions. The oppression of women has changed with the times when certain tactics stop working, but the oppression of men’s ability to feel has been under attack for centuries. Because of these stereotypes, neither men nor women are able to be seen as completely human. How many times have you heard a man say women are confusing or a woman say men are bull-headed?

With these stereotypes we create a double standard. If a man were to scream at someone, he is defending himself, but if a woman screams at someone, she is an emotional “bitch”. If a man delivers a speech at a conference, he is intelligent and respectable, but if a woman delivers that same speech she is intelligent “for a woman” or too opinionated. If a woman is hurt and cries she is just a woman being emotional, but if a man is hurt and cries, he is a “fag”, “pussy”, sissy, or wuss, once again showing the opinion of femininity and homosexuality that is widely accepted. Some claim that women and men are now equal, which legally they are, but a double standard is proof enough that they are not treated the same way in the same situations even where gender and biological sex have nothing to do with the issue.

Many cite biological 'facts' to support their bigotry, but often don't understand what exactly a study says if one was conducted, or may be quoting someone who made up the statement. Biology is confusing and not in the least bit binary. Chromosomes don't always determine what genitalia a person will have, and some don't even have a standard XX or XY. There are rare but present cases of people having YY, XXY, or XYY. There are also people who are often ignored who are intersex and have physical characteristics of each sex.

The portrayals of men and women in the media are outdated and serve to harm more than help. The double standard and portrayed mutual exclusivity leads to depression, anger, violence, hatred, fear, suicide, and many other issues. Relationships between men and women are set up to fail because they are not taught to understand each other. The media needs to change its portrayals for the good of the country.

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