Harmful Effects of Gender Stereotypes: Women's Exclusion from Superior Roles, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Sociology

Download Harmful Effects of Gender Stereotypes: Women's Exclusion from Superior Roles and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! Surname1 Name Instructor Course Date Effect of Gender Stereotypes Introduction Every society has norms that assign specific traits to gender. There are those that ascribe to men, while there are those that ascribe to women. These norms are held as vices, even though they may be derogatory to the subjects or a violation of human rights. These norms are known as gender stereotypes, and the act of practicing them is known as gender stereotyping. The United Nations Human Rights defines gender stereotype as a predetermined idea where males and females are arbitrarily given traits and roles limited to their genders (United Nations Human Rights). This makes gender stereotyping as holding or practicing generalized perception that certain attributes, characters, and doings are a possession to either men or women, and it’s an obligation that they do it or get done to them. Just like any other form of stereotyping, gender stereotyping is harmful because it limits the ability of both males and females to develop and exhibit their attributes to optimal levels. Gender stereotyping thrives on traditionalistic perceptions about males or females, perceptions that support inequality and justify unfair treatment. Traditionally, the vice targets women more than it targets men. An example of much would be normalizing marital rape because women are stereotyped as sexual property to men. Another example would be Surname2 victimizing sexually assaulted women on the grounds of indecent dressing; the stereotype here, it's an obligation of women to always dress decently. Gender stereotyping is among the leading causes of uncultured and socially unacceptable practices such as rape, domestic violence, workplace discrimination, and gender discrimination. Gender stereotyping is a harmful vice. This paper examines one common gender stereotype—women do not deserve top/superior positions—and its effects. Discussion The effect of Masculinity This stereotype has escalated the rate at which society encourages and empowers masculinity. The gender stereotype that disguises women as inferior beings who are undeserving of top positions has existed for millenniums. This stereotype is steered by masculinity. Masculinity is a base term of manly conformity. It is a term that defines robust men and contains a suitcase of traits that society expects every man to wear. The National Democratic Institute defines masculinity as a symbol unit of societal roles, behaviors, and trait appropriateness for boys and men (NDI). Masculinity is not something gained biologically but incorporated into a boy or a man as he grows. Society expects that a boy or a man who exhibits masculinity should appeal to manhood. Society's need for boys men to become masculine has become important to the point that it is embraced media, religion, and education. The traditional understanding of masculinity is that a boy or a man is a lion in his jungle. The opposite of masculinity is femininity. However, society stereotypes femininity as a hierarchy under masculinity; thus, masculinity is considered to be superior to femininity. The National Democratic Institute writes, “The roles, behaviors and Surname5 frustrations of managing people who believe that they are superior to you, even though you are superior to them. I am a victim of this stereotype. I never believed that a woman could be my superior in any avenue. I have often shunned down women in leadership positions because I do not believe that they genuinely earned them. I think it's out of the stereotype because it was planted in my head at a young age when my father used to tell me, "Don't let a woman top you in anything." Conclusion In conclusion, the stereotype that women are undeserving of superior positions is cemented deeply within every society globally. The effect of this is that it has encouraged and normalized the demeaning of women and discouraged them from exhibiting their full potential. Stereotypes are hard to do away with. Such a stereotype is a futuristic stereotype in that it is here to exist as long as the society remains chauvinistic. In my opinion, gender stereotypes, like this one, can be changed if people take individual stands against negative perceptions of gender. Personally, I changed my perception about women as soon as I matured and disguised my father's statements as soon as I found they were limiting gender equality. Works Cited Surname6 Dudden, Faye E. Fighting Chance: The Struggle over Woman Suffrage and Black Suffrage in Reconstruction America. Oxford University Press, 2014. NDI. The Meaning of Masculinity; National Democratice Institute, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/ACFrOgAZ9X_S2Bl- K9iPv3XhiQ140Fw6QWeUNSQwJwuNXzShO1b_Wv9-Vbsw1KX0rkmdxRZ- nlwzPhL-WIQLh1agPgzn5s70jFg- wYO0cIafAvyfqfNvFQQX_UYSZKGjzuPLlyl2J_UFqRjaCxNs.pdf Mazzoni, Mary. Women CEOs are Breaking Records in the Fortune 500, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/women-ceos-fortune-500/723736 Serano, Julia. Whipping girl: A transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity. Hachette UK, 2016. Shabbir, Hira, Muhammad Ashar Shakeel, and Rana Ahsan Zubair. "Gender stereotype, glass ceiling and women’s career advancement: An empirical study in service sector of Pakistan." City University Research Journal (2017): 236-246. Unatted Nations Human Rights. Gender Stereotyping, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/women/wrgs/pages/genderstereotypes.aspx