Ever noticed how you rarely see a male nurse or female technician? Well that is the result of gender stereotypes that have been deeply rooted within our society as far back as second century BCE. Gender stereotypes have had a momentous effect on how society has been perpetuated. As quoted from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “These attitudes may be so widely and deeply held within the community that they are almost invisible - except in their effects”. This article will explore how gender stereotypes are formed and its impact on society.
(Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2015)
What are gender stereotypes?
First catalogued and popularised by the feminist movement in the 1970s, gender stereotypes are over-generalised and preconceived ideas about attributes, characteristics and differences that women or men ought to have. For example, women are thought to be better caregivers while men are natural leaders. Gender stereotypes can be classified into two different categories, descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive is the belief of what the supposed gender is like while prescriptive is how they should behave.
How were these deep-rooted Gender stereotypes formed in the first place?
Contrary to popular belief, we are not born with these biases and stereotypes. Instead, gender stereotypes vary and originate from our local culture and traditions. We learn to constitute women and men through repeated influence around us during early childhood which has a direct effect on our unconscious biases whether it is deliberate or not. One of the many ways that this is enforced in our childhood is how parental figures dress children, with the majority of females being dressed in traditionally feminine clothing and vice versa.
What are the impacts of gender stereotypes in our society?
Gender stereotypes play a critical role in shaping our society. Since they have influenced our biases unconsciously, the effect it has on individuals mostly goes unnoticed. In school environments, they can influence subject choices and career aspirations in children as young as 6, as found in a study conducted in 2017 where children were seen to associate varying cognitive ability with a particular gender. This also plays a part in the workforce where female dominated occupations are often paid less than their male counterparts. Additionally, it can affect self confidence, physical health, gender-based violence and more.
Works Cited
Action guide for early learning and child care centres • Action guide for primary schools • Action guide for secondary schools. (2017). Available at: https://www.iop.org/sites/default/files/2019-06/Improving-gender-balance-intro-schools-early-learning.pdf. |
European Institute for Gender Equality. (2020). Where does sexism come from? [online] Available at: https://eige.europa.eu/publications-resources/toolkits-guides/sexism-at-work-handbook/part-1-understand/where-does-sexism-come?language_content_entity=en [Accessed 1 Sep. 2024]. |
Gender Equality. (2014). Combating Gender Stereotypes and Sexism - Gender Equality - www.coe.int. [online] Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/genderequality/gender-stereotypes-and-sexism [Accessed 1 Sep. 2024]. |
Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2015). Breaking Gender Stereotype. [online] Available at: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/hgse100/story/breaking-gender-stereotype [Accessed 1 Sep. 2024]. |
Institute of Physics (2018). Gender Stereotypes and Their Effect on Young People. [online] Available at: https://www.iop.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/IGB-gender-stereotypes.pdf. |
OHCHR. (2020). Gender stereotyping. [online] Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/gender-stereotyping. [Accessed 1 Sep. 2024]. |
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