Question

Define sex and gender and discuss how the two terms are related. Next, explain what gender stereotypes are, how people tend to use them and how they can sometimes prove to be detrimental to individuals trying to non-conformists. Do you ever use gender stereotypes about men or women? Please give examples and explain.

Answer 1

• The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are closely linked, yet they are not synonyms.Sex refers to biological differences while gender refers to socio-cultural differences. This will become clearer by way of examples. Sex and gender have different characteristics.
• Some features related to sex are – while males have testicles, females have ovaries,males tend to weigh more than their female counterparts; generally, males have deeper voices than females etc.
• Some features related to gender are – women have long hair and men short; women contribute more to household chores than men do ; some cultures expect their women to cover their heads when they step out of the house while there is no such injunction for men etc.
• This means while sex is a natural or biological feature, gender means a cultural or learned feature – the set of characteristics that a society or culture defines as masculine or feminine.
• While a person is born with a sex, gender is dictated by socio-cultural norms in which he or she finds himself or herself.Some people are transgender which means their gender identity is not aligned with their biological sex.
• Gender stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes, differences, and roles of individuals and/or groups. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they rarely communicate accurate information about others.
• Traditionally, the female stereotypic role is to marry and have children. She is also to put her family's welfare before her own; be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing, and sympathetic; and find time to be sexy and feel beautiful.
• The male stereotypic role is to be the financial provider. He is also to be assertive, competitive, independent, courageous, and career‐focused; hold his emotions in check; and always initiate sex.
• These sorts of stereotypes can prove harmful; they can stifle individual expression and creativity, as well as hinder personal and professional growth.
• And,yes,subtley we all use certain gender stereotypes,like for example,in terms of appearance especially.A woman needs to look "lady-like" and not "manly" and a man doesnt need to look feminine in the way they appear.
• 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.Subconsciously,we all use these stereotypes when we talk about a woman or a man.
• Magazines, TV, film, and the Internet are full of negative gender stereotypes.Like for example,an advertisement about a detergent powder will always showcase a woman but never a man since she is more "domestic" than a man. Similarly,a car advertisement mostly shows men driving them instead of women.
• For young audiences who absorb ideas from the media on how to behave and what to become, these characterizations can lead to false assumptions and harmful conclusions.
• These oversimplified characterizations play out in many ways over and over. According to the report, a lifetime of viewing stereotypical media becomes so ingrained it can ultimately affect kids' career choices, self-worth, relationships, and ability to achieve their full potential.
• And yes,gender stereotypes is till very much present in pay scales as well,wherein women are still paid less than men despite working doubly hard than them because they "have to" in a man's world.Eventhough,times are changing but destination has still need to be reached wherein a woman is considered at par with a man professionally as well.