Gender Roles

Pink and Blue. Dolls and Trucks. Dresses and Suits. All of these things are characteristics that are often used to define a gender. However, the issue of gender roles is much bigger than assuming girls have long hair or that boys like sports. These small stereotypes are symbolic of the large-scale pressures placed on each of the genders to act in a certain way.

Women are often seen as the “damsel in distress”, in constant need of a man's support. They are taught to be submissive and not to speak out against others. While a man is seen as “assertive”, a woman is seen as “bossy”, in the same situation. Women claim leadership opportunities far less often than men because they don’t wish to be seen in that light. It can even affect their choice in professions, because they are expected to be in certain fields. It is also difficult to join a career in which people like you are very underrepresented. People like to see themselves in the career that they choose because it feels good to be around people that are similar to yourself. Although some women may want to be stay-at-home-moms or nurses, expanding the societally accepted options for women is very important.

While women are seen as fragile, men are seen as the strong counterparts who must always remain tough. Men are looked down upon for showing emotion, as they must always remain strong for women. They are often criticized for breaking from the norm of outdoor-loving kids and athletes. Although they debatably get criticized more than girls, they are not allowed to express their feelings and usually have to bottle it up inside. Many experts think that this is why male to female suicide rates are close to 3:1 at this point.

Constantly attempting to change yourself in order to obtain approval from others can have very bad effects on people. This video shows how gender roles can make people feel like they don’t belong and how defying these roles can cause feelings of exclusion. Kids can be made to feel like their feelings are not legitimate and that faking is their only option to receive acceptance.

Each of these individual factors are not very important in themselves, but they show a rather twisted big-picture. They help to create a society in which people don’t feel comfortable being themselves, based on their gender. Most of the stereotypes we hold do not have a real reason for existing, and are just all we have ever known. It is up to us to show that looks, roles, and interests are not affected by our gender.