Individuals tend to live up to behaviors and roles that their culture and society has identified. The media also plays a significant role. Often, images of women and men tend to be stereotypical.
Women are shown to be less aggressive, skimpily dressed, emphasising their role as sex objects. Confident women are often labelled as “difficult”, while men with the same qualities are described as “leaders”.
People often expect girls and boys to behave stereotypically; eg. Many messages in books highlight mothers cooking while fathers read newspapers. This does not encourage male involvement in sharing of household chores.
For example:
Women are shown to be less aggressive, skimpily dressed, emphasising their role as sex objects. Confident women are often labelled as “difficult”, while men with the same qualities are described as “leaders”.
People often expect girls and boys to behave stereotypically; eg. Many messages in books highlight mothers cooking while fathers read newspapers. This does not encourage male involvement in sharing of household chores.
For example:
‘Boys shouldn’t wear pink clothes, it’s a girl color’
‘Girls shouldn’t play football; it’s a boy’s sport’
‘If a boy cries in public, then he is a pussy’
‘girls are weak and boys should be brave’
...and the saying goes on.
What other examples of stereotyping can you think of?
What other examples of stereotyping can you think of?
- Who takes care of children when they are sick?
- Who does repair work at your home?
- If a boy cries at school, is he treated in the same way as a crying girl?
- Do boys and girls do different types of classroom jobs, eg sweeping the floor, cleaning blackboards, ringing the bell?
- Are girls and boys sports teams considered equally important in your school?
- Are boys and girls equally encouraged to do exciting jobs, especially jobs that require technical expertise eg robotics?
Do you think there is a difference in the way we treat genders? (Disparity)
Do you think we treat one gender with more advantage than another? (Discrimination)
Do you think we treat one gender with more advantage than another? (Discrimination)
Accepting stereotyping can limit a person’s life and achievements. For example, girls are associated with domestic work like sewing while boys with electronic work. In certain communities, women are not allowed to drive.
Gender roles become more intense in your teenage years. Boys tend to turn their aggression outwards, while girls are expected to be passive followers. How do you think gender roles impact sexual behaviours?
Gender role impact one’s behaviour including sexual behaviour?
Gender roles become more intense in your teenage years. Boys tend to turn their aggression outwards, while girls are expected to be passive followers. How do you think gender roles impact sexual behaviours?
- Girls are subject to sexual harassment at home, school and public places.
- There is an imbalance in power in relationships when the boy demands, the girl is expected to follow.
- A girl is expected to be highly sensitive, gentle follower of the man’s request.
Gender role impact one’s behaviour including sexual behaviour?
‘A man is a ‘man’ if he has sex’
‘A woman is devalued if she has sex before marriage’
Men and women are expected to behave in such a way so that they are being accepted and approved by society. This also includes sexual behaviour and how they feel about their own bodies.
In some community, a man is expected to be naturally dominant as opposed to woman. Hence, the men will take control of the relationship. A woman is subjected to oblige to the men’s sexual desire as it is their beliefs that a woman’s body belongs to a man. This can lead to unwanted sexual behaviours and rapes as woman are forced to be a subject of a man’s sexual desire.
Both man and woman have equal rights to play a part in a sexual relationship.
Girls and boys, given equal opportunities, are just as capable as one another. There are no personality characteristics that are only exclusive for girls or for boys. Can you give examples of people going against stereotypes?
One example of gender stereotypes
