s e p y t o e r e Gender St inions One Issue Two Op
Alise Golovacka It seems unlikely that equality between sexes, free of assumptions, stereotypes and prejudices, has ever existed on our planet. Why do we still strive for it? On a basis of our biological make up, the sexes differs strongly in some points, giving certain advantages for specific purposes. I know it, you know it, we all know it. This, amongst other things, has led to traditional ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ roles being attributed to a specific gender for a long time. This is something we want to change. Traditionally, men have been seen as the ones who do physical work and women take care of children. Men are expected to support their families financially and women are in charge of the household. These stereotypes have been around for centuries. They are not necessarily wrong, after all, we are a mammals and our main aim is reproduction. Hard work and stress can be harmful for the human body, so keeping in mind that one of the main tasks for the female body is to carry out healthy little human beings it
could make sense that women are seen as the ones who do less physically demanding tasks. But this is not the case in this day and age. Nowadays society has developed into a place where lifestyle choices and vocation possibilities seem endless. At least theoretically, as we are still holding on to old views of gender roles. We are at a point where we can enjoy the privilege of freedom of speech and freedom of choice. At least theoretically, as there will always be someone with more power who can restrict your actions. We have to keep in mind that people can be judgmental, prejudiced and spoilt. Those who strive for a different lifestyle to the one our society is accustomed to have to be prepared for criticism and ridicule. To many of us a female construction worker or a stay at home dad still seem weird and unusual. But that is natural, as we have been brought up in this manner and we have been living this way for many years. But we have come to a point where we can identify problems, understand their causes and make changes. We have to educate ourselves, our peers and our children and hope that gender equality in society is possible and part of our future.
Ans Van Gasse As a girl, you have probably heard the phrase 'Are you on your period? Relax.’ more often than you would want to. As a boy, you have most likely been brainwashed to believe that you cannot be vulnerable. Although there might be a small core of truth with some of these stereotypes, many of them are gross exaggerations and worst of all generalisations. Although many studies have proven that popular gender stereotypes are largely false, they are so established in our society that it is a struggle to identify them as such. As said before, some of them have a small core of biological truth, but many stereotypes endure simply by being passed on by generation to generation as an ingrained part of our culture rather than an actual truth. Present a gender specific toy to a baby, and it will love – no matter the sex. It is only later, when we try to identify ourselves with what is between our legs, that we discover the world of gender, mainly because our parents have decided – long before we do – how we will present ourselves to the outside world. Girls will start wearing pink ruffly frocks and acting sweet, whereas boys are encouraged to play in the dirt and be obsessed with cars. Girls will be expected to excel in languages, whereas boys are often seen as effeminate when they are not straight
A students in science and mathematics. The world seems to think that the female and the male brain are structured completely differently – which is simply not true. Yes, hormones and body structures differ between sexes, but most stereotypical characteristics are caused by the conditioning we experience through our social system rather than biological differences. An argument often used to defend the idea of gender personalities is that collaboration between men and women is often seen as difficult. This argument however is invalid for the very reason that bad communication is often merely a consequence of not regarding men and women as equals. We have been conditioned throughout most of our history to believe that women need to stay at home and men should go out and hunt or work. This eventually resulted in a general belief that women are incapable of certain things that are best left to men. A comparable example is that boys are often seen as troublemakers who do not understand stern talk and need more severe punishment. This belief leads to supervisors such as caretakers and parents not considering other options for defusing situations, which can often lead to boys overreacting, thus reinforcing the general idea that boys are hard to handle. Gender is a word which is often misused and which has a far wider range than we like to assume. We can not be afraid to break with traditions and fixed opinions, if we are to combat the inequality between men and women.