The Universe Revealed

What are gender stereotypes?

What are gender stereotypes?

Thanks to @skruffa for this subject idea.

I wish to concentrate on gender stereotype behavior, but first I want to discuss the idea of stereotype.

Stereotype is a subject for social psychology. Basically, it labels certain types of individuals with beliefs, actions or choices that do not reflect reality. It's equivalent to an improper inference in formal logic as in: all boys like action toys, all girls like dolls; therefore girls don't like action toys and boys don't like dolls.

In almost all cases, gender stereotypes are the result of social bias, and it has been a staple of our society for a very long time. Gender stereotyping starts with young children, and most of it has to do with gender role assignment. As I've said before our dystopian society values males more than females even though there is no reason for it in our modern society.

Some psychologists believe that gender stereotypes are the result of our brain's limited perceptual and memory systems. Basically, they're saying that it's just easier to accept stereotypes rather than to challenge them. Well folks, my limited brain must be broken. I like to challenge biased thinking be it gender, religion or race.

Gender stereotyping shows up at an early age, especially when children enter school. Boys show a preference for math as early as six years old. This is not based on actual performance in math, but rather on gender bias. All of this is a bi-product of girls and boys being isolated to specific types of toys in infancy--the so-called 'boy-toys' vs 'girls toys' labeling. Boys are supposed to be interested in military weapons like guns and tanks because they are the gender that goes to war. Girls are supposed to be interested in baby dolls because they're going to be wives and mothers. Think about how many more boys like violent first person shooter games.

Of course, gender stereotyping extends into adulthood. Men are supposed to be more interested in contact sports and more masculine interests like hunting, car maintenance, drinking beer, and sex. Women are supposed to be interested in children, sewing, social events, and watching romance movies, and women are not as interested in sex. These stereotypes are used as labels to stigmatize people.

I say that this stereotype labeling goes even further. Girls have long hair and boys have short hair. That was not the case a few centuries back. Men often wore their hair long in the 18th and earlier centuries. In fact, men wore clothes that would be considered feminine by today's standards. This perception of what women and men should look like is in fact a gender stereotype. Our brains have been conditioned to see the world in a specific manner, and this is one case where this type of bias is obvious. Our perceptions of masculinity and femininity are wired into our brains, but it doesn't have to be that way. Society constructs our ideas of gender and it is expressed in education, employment, housework, childcare and decision-making. Women's education is aimed more towards these gender specific society mandated jobs, positions and attitudes.

Much of these gender specific concepts were built up over our evolutionary span. Ancient cultures relegated women and men to specific roles as a survival method. For example, men were stronger and more able to conduct war. Therefore, women were relegated to caring for children and the home. In today's modern world where muscular power is not really needed to fight wars, this is no longer a legitimate excuse for gender bias.

Fortunately, these gender stereotypes are beginning to fade, but it will take time for them to go away completely just like slavery did. The slavery bias is still around, but it's not as overt as it once was. I'm sure this will eventually be the case with gender bias.

Thanks for reading.