gender stereotypes Gender stereotyping presents a serious obstacle to the achievement of real gender equality and feeds into gender discrimination. Gender stereotypes are preconceived ideas whereby males and females are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their sex. Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex..For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. Every society, ethnic group, and culture has gender role expectations, but they can be very different from group to group. They can also change in the same society over time. For example, pink used to be considered a masculine color in the U.S. while blue was considered feminine. gender stereotypes A stereotype is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group — even though it’s overly simplified and not always accurate. Stereotypes about gender can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person’s gender. This is called sexism. There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes: 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 in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and women wearing dresses. Hyperfemininity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be feminine. This may include being passive, naive, sexually inexperienced, soft, flirtatious, graceful, nurturing, and accepting. Hypermasculinity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be masculine.. They believe they’re supposed to compete with other men and dominate feminine folks by being aggressive, worldly, sexually experienced, insensitive, physically imposing, ambitious, and demanding. These exaggerated gender stereotypes can make relationships between people difficult. People who are hyperfeminine are more likely to endure physical and emotional abuse from society, while, people who are hypermasculine are more likely to be physically and emotionally abusive within society. Extreme gender stereotypes are harmful because they don’t allow people to fully express themselves and their emotions. For example, it’s harmful to males to feel that they’re not allowed to cry or express sensitive emotions. And it’s harmful to females to feel that they’re not allowed to be independent, smart or assertive. Breaking down gender stereotypes allows everyone to be their best selves. https://www.plannedparenthood.org Give a definition for the following words: Stereotype is an immutable image, idea or notion that one social group has over another, to which behaviors, qualities, skills or distinctive traits are generally attributed. Prejudice is a strategy that uses racism to stigmatize certain social groups and maintain the power levels of the dominant group. Bias When a position is taken in favor of another person or a cause without objective and rigorous criteria, one is being biased. Who acts in this way, has an interested behavior, arbitrary and, therefore, unfair. If we want to be fair in our decisions, it is necessary to avoid partiality. Cliché Refers to a phrase, expression, action, or idea that has been overused to the point where it loses novelty, especially if it was originally considered notoriously powerful or innovative Discrimination is the unequal treatment of a person or community for reasons of race, religion, physical, political, sex, age, physical or mental condition, sexual orientation, etc. Sexism: Sexism, sexual discrimination or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender. It also refers to the conditions or attitudes that promote stereotypes of social roles established in sexual differences. Define Gender roles: Refers to the set of social and behavioral norms generally perceived as appropriate for men and women in a given group or social system based on the social construction of masculinity and femininity. According to the text, what factors determine gender role expectations? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ A stereotype is a widely accepted fact about a person or group. True False ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Give two of your own examples for each kind of gender stereotypes Personality traits Domestic behaviors Occupations Physical appearance According to the text, why can extreme gender stereotypes be harmful within society ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Can you think of another example of how extreme gender stereotypes can be harmful within society ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
