Gender Bias

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Looking at gender as a construct.
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Goldeniangel
Goldeniangel
12,560 Followers

Blue is for boys, pink is for girls. Boys play with Matchbox cars and G.I. Joe while girls get My Little Pony and Barbie. Boys want to grow up and be astronauts, scientists, firefighters; girls want to be ballerinas, secretaries, and teachers. There are so many stereotypes inundated in society that pertain to gender that it's ridiculous, especially since they have been proven over and over to be false. History is rife with examples of women and men overcoming stereotypes, showing that they can do whatever they want no matter what society thinks they should or should not be able to do, and yet many gender-related stereotypes still persist.

One of the most interesting stereotypes today is the "feminine" stereotype. Any man that is feminine is purported to be gay, but what's really intriguing are the items aligned with being feminine. A "feminine" man has an interest in theater or the arts, he knows how to dance, dresses well, looks nice, knows how to listen as well as talk, and is usually a fairly neat and tidy person. Is this stereotype just an excuse for so-called "manly" men to be lazy? It seems like it to me. Real men lately apparently work out a lot, have no interest in much beyond sports, smell, don't always bathe regularly, and wear t-shirts and ripped jeans. How is that supposed to be attractive to women? Thankfully there have been those ardent men who go against this stereotype, refusing to accept the title of a "feminine" male, and are blatantly heterosexual. These pioneers now have a new name as well, the "Metrosexual". Unfortunately, many men still seem to be avoiding this label as well.

Labels are very interesting things. Homosexuality is an easy label to be applied when someone steps out of their gender's boundaries. Now when a man is more feminine that culturally acceptable he's apt to be labeled gay, just as a strong and opinionated woman is apt to be labeled a feminist or a lesbian (if not both.). In "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady, she lists the reasons why she wants a wife for herself. Most of these reasons have to do with taking care of the kids, doing the laundry and housework, cooking meals... basically everything that is expected of a stereotypical housewife. In the 1950's most women stayed home to be housewives, today we have single mothers and working mothers, often who are still expected to be a full time wife as well. These women go to work, come home, make dinner, take care of the kids, do the laundry, clean the house, and often yell at their husbands who can't understand why on earth they're expected to help. After all, the man has already don't everything he's expected to do, he's already worked his long eight hour day to bring home the bread. But in a society where men are no longer the staple breadwinners, women are often struggling to get the men into the home.

What most stereotypes about gender come down to is "feminine" and "masculine". The question is, what is feminine and what is masculine? The answer ten years ago will be different from the answer today. Just two years ago Snoop Dogg made the color pink acceptable for men to wear, any time before this a boy would have been teased mercilessly for being a "wuss" or a "sissy" for wearing pink. Pink was exclusively female. With Snoop Dogg's influence on the hip hop scene, all of the sudden all the guys are wearing pink. And you know what? Some of them are not ones I would walk up to and say "You're wearing pink? You girl!", even though ten years ago that's exactly what would have happened. But now? It's ok! I walked into a Hot Topic a few months ago and saw a bright pink shirt that said "Real Men Wear Pink". Well they do now.

Less than a century ago women could not be involved in politics. There was no woman's vote, there were no women politicians. It was not thought seemly, women didn't have the emotional strength to be in politics... and today? Ha! Try to keep them out of it! Those fragile delicate flowers have broken out of their homes and are on the town as police officers, firefighters, astronauts, judges, Senators, etc. etc. All of things that were once thought unsuitable for women. What it leads to is a merging and redefining of gender. There are constant changes in the stereotypes depending on the culture. People are constantly changing their personal styles and ambitions based on these stereotypes. You still almost never hear a seven year old boy say "I want to be a ballet dancer when I grow up" or a girl say "One day I'm going to be a general in the army". But things do keep changing. It is now acceptable for a boy to say "I want to be a teacher" and a girl to say "I want to be President." Although I will make the point that as yet, we still have never had a female president... some stereotypes cling without anyone really even realizing it.

The biggest impact of these stereotypes is prejudice. Assumptions are made against people when they shouldn't be, or for people when it's unjustified. For women there is a glass ceiling in business, they can only go so far or earn so much; medical and technology schools are still overwhelmingly male. Few male teachers can be found in elementary schools, and when they are it's usually as Physical Education teachers. What it all leads to is yet another generation with the same assumptions, the same biases, the same stereotypes, and the same prejudices. Some things will slowly be fought against, but for the most part people are going to go with the flow of the culture. The question becomes, will little boys ever stop being teased for wanting to be ballet dancers? And will we ever have a woman president?

Goldeniangel
Goldeniangel
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DarkAurther6969DarkAurther6969about 1 year ago

I Agree Specially when it comes to Fiction. Because Typically In Fiction Men are usually Betrayed as these Overly Muscular Heroes and or Knights with an Alpha Personality to match. And all the while Women are Usually Betrayed as Princesses and Girlfriends whom are also usually the Damsels In Destress usually with this Shy Submissive and often at times Innocent Personalities, so much so they started feeling like nothing but Trophies and Objects to me Personally. And it doesn't stop there as in Sci Fi Men are usually the Protector and Soldier Bots while the Women are usually the Servant and on occasion Care Bots. And on the Erotic side of things Both Genders are all of that in addition to Males having Overly Unrealistic Sized Dick, and I say the same for the Women and their Overly Unrealistic Breasts. But of course there are a Small and I Mean a Very Small Hand Full Of Exceptions to everything that I have said. Such as in all of her Appearances which includes the show of 'Once Upon A Time' I'm so Glade that the Character of Elsa did not have a Love Interest in Jack Frost like most wanted her to have Apparently. And I'm Hoping that they would keep it that way for her as it shows that not all Disney Princesses need to have a Love Interest in a Prince of some sort. And that is just one Small Example that I was talking about.

bottovarnisbottovarnisover 1 year ago

Definitely all true! Things have changed over time but very slowly. Hopefully there is no back slide but there is pressure lately in some circles to go backward. We need a groundswell of more progressive thinking for the future. Thank you.

AnonymousAnonymousover 4 years ago
Globalisation sucks more than it benefits.

Barring women in professional fields but worse labeling half of planet's population (that solely begets earthlings, hinting at far complex biological makeup, birth and creating life in body that western science has not understood in completion) as having mental capacity akin to monkeys as recent as Victorian era is plain whimsical and stupid. Reflects about the political-religious-scientific institutions that allowed it, orgasm as hysteria and rapes a favorite pastime, worse even a female God is blasphemy! But those in Eastern part of the world who have male-female equality with ferocious, strategic and gentle males and females in all fields, rulers, warriors, goddesses, since millennia - this globalisation is proving a deathknell for Eastern culture as unfortunately these same issues in the writeup are now noticeable in south east asia, indian subcontinent, east asia.

TJSkywindTJSkywindover 9 years ago
There is some credence to the physical differences

having an impact on choices. That said, you can have the entire spectrum of results with children. Most societies gear women to child-rearing and focus their training and enculturation on being nurturing and maintaining relationships. Deborah Tannen has done some remarkable work regarding the differences in how men and women communicate. Many things come to play in just setting things into motion with a child. Genetics, parental education and health, wealth (which can have a huge impact on nutrition and vocational/professional opportunities), technology, and then we get to the child itself. Talents, how the child organizes, processes and retrieves information. Is their focus visual, audial, kinethestic, tactile? Are they linear or global, meaning do they need to see the big picture before they can proceed or can they work with just pieces of the pie? How are they on the concrete/abstract and sequential/random tables? (Gregorc's work there.) What are their predispositions on the various intelligence scords? (Howard Gardner). I even allow for personality modifiers from both western and Chinese astrology. And still there is place in the birthing pool -- are they an only child, and if not, where on the ladder are they: eldest, second, middle, baby of the family? Tendencies and strengths can be inherited - which brings us back to genetics. But there is also is reeling all that in so that the personality can make choices. Does the child choose homework tonight? Or sneak in some computer games? Read a book? Be obedient or take it on the lam and play hookey. Names mean things, too, so picking a name is another reason to consider things before they get out of hand. In between it all - religious or secular focus for upbringing? Public school or private? And with all the things at play, the child still has their own preferences. Climbing trees, playing with dolls, whatever. Gender is a social construct and it is becoming less static. More freedom and choice I think leads to happier people, which I believe is a good thing.

talldarkfellowtalldarkfellowover 10 years ago
Wow. So much PC boilerplate in one article.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with your basic premise. A great many "gender" roles don't come from societal constructs, they come from real physiological differences between the sexes. Anyone who has observed little boys and girls, even raised with the most fascistic "gender-neutral" methods, sees considerable differences in how they relate to others and their environment. And, sorry, but no, the occasional exception does not disprove the general rule.

With colleges, political parties and traditionally "male-dominated" professional groups like law enforcement, firefighting companies and the military spending millions of dollars recruiting women over the past couple of decades, it might be time to look a little further than doctrinaire feminist rhetoric for why women don't have anything close to parity in numbers in these pursuits.

When women CHOOSE what they will study or what jobs they will pursue, statistics show they opt in large numbers for the"soft" sciences, and they try to seek out positions that give them more time and flexibility to nurture a family. Concurrently, they also don't tend to go into professions that involve nearly as much physical risk or travel as men do.

Pay gaps, the differences in the awarding of promotions, and the different amounts of energy that the sexes bring to work "in the home" can, for the most part, be adequately explained by this phenomenon.

In the end, someone is going to have to provide the largest part of the financial support for the family, and it's a little absurd to make that person equally responsible for the family's emotional and developmental well-being, as well. And this "division of labor" is something families have to work out in homes, not courtrooms or legislative committees.

Equality before the law is a generally achievable concept. A total sexual egalitarianism, with everyone carefully dividing up every responsiblity in their diverse and complex lives is a utopian fantasy that could devolve our society into a farce, if government tries to enforce it.

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