Gender Stereotypes Are Bullshit
That’s pretty much my thoughts on this whole concept. They are an outdated mindset from a time when women were treated as property, couldn’t vote, and couldn’t have a bank account. (Note: Sadly, in some parts of the world, all of that is still the case. 😔)
What exactly are gender roles? Please click here for your more in-depth explanation.
There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes (and I am copying and pasting for those who did not want to click the link):
- Personality traits — For example, women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive.
- Domestic behaviors — For example, some people expect that women will take care of the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs.
- Occupations — Some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women, and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men.
- Physical appearance — For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up).
These stereotypes help no one. Gender roles/stereotypes just serve to hold everyone back.
For men, it leads to a life of inadequacy and failure. If you are not living up to your role, then you have somehow failed as a man. If your wife makes more money than you then you have failed. If you are single, you have failed. If you are not assertive or overly confident, you have failed. If you have an equal part in raising your kids, you are somehow both an amazing husband for being willing (which is some extra bullshit that there are men who are unwilling) to parent your own kids and whipped. All the male gender stereotypes do is vilify anything that is perceived as anti-male. And if it’s anti-male, what is it? Female. So, to re-write that, all the male gender stereotypes do is vilify anything that is perceived as female.
I would go as far as to say that there is no way for men to meet all the traditional male gender stereotypes and still be a decent spouse/partner, father, or human being.
For women, it is SOOOOOOOO much worse (not surprising since everything female is awful). It forces them into a no-win scenario. If you are being “strong” and defying stereotypes, you have an education and a job which is awesome. However, the world still somehow expects you to have full responsibility for all the unpaid physical & emotional labor of the “second shift“. What’s the second shift, you ask? It is literally everything most people take for granted: Cleaning the house, cooking the meals, buying the groceries, doing the laundry, scheduling the doctor’s appointments, and the list goes on. And heaven forbid the woman has kids. I know so many married women who have said, “If I had known I was going to be doing everything by myself, I would have never had kids.” Last I checked, parenting was a two-person job, and yet, it’s women who end up doing the majority of this. This is why it was women who ended up quitting their jobs when the pandemic made things unbearable versus men. Because it is expected that they’ll be the ones to put themselves on the line. AND, as a woman, you are expected to do all this and still look amazing and never age while all this is going on. All on account of this outdated (was it ever really “in date”), bullshit nonsense.
No one, let me repeat, NO ONE is supposed to be able to do all of this. It is actually impossible since, last I checked, aging is a mandatory part of life. Most of the women you know are at their breaking point right now. (And this is without getting into the parts of gender roles that lead to a culture of sexual assault because, if I have to go in that direction, I WILL lose any semblance of control I have left to continue writing this.) All female gender stereotypes do is groom & gaslight women into thinking that they are supposed to do ALL the work and be happy & quiet about it. Why? Because the men (at the time) couldn’t be bothered with it.
All in all, gender stereotypes are harmful bullshit, and we need to let them die. Let people just be people who like what they like, do equal work in the household, and be decent human beings.
1 thought on “Gender Stereotypes Are Bullshit”