Gender Stereotyping

Examples of Gender Stereotyping in the following topics:

• Gender Discrimination

  • Gender discrimination refers to prejudice or discrimination based on gender, as well as conditions that foster stereotypes of gender roles.
  • Gender discrimination, also known as sexism, refers to prejudice or discrimination based on sex and/or gender, as well as conditions or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on gender.
  • Sexist mindsets are frequently based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of gender roles, and is thus built into many societal institutions.
  • Gender stereotypes are widely held beliefs about the characteristics and behavior of women and men.
  • A poster depicting gender stereotypes about women drivers from the 1950s

• Gender Socialization

  • Gender is included in this process; individuals are taught how to socially behave in accordance with their assigned gender, which is assigned at birth based on their biological sex (for instance, male babies are given the gender of "boy", while female babies are given the gender of "girl").
  • Gender stereotypes can be a result of gender socialization.
  • As children get older, gender stereotypes become more apparent in styles of dress and choice of leisure activities.
  • Boys and girls who do not conform to gender stereotypes are usually ostracized by same-age peers for being different.
  • Gender fluidity also shows how gender norms are learned and either accepted or rejected by the socialized individual.

• Gender and Sociology

  • From birth, children are assigned a gender and are socialized to conform to certain gender roles based on their biological sex.
  • The attitudes and expectations surrounding gender roles are not typically based on any inherent or natural gender differences, but on gender stereotypes, or oversimplified notions about the attitudes, traits, and behavior patterns of males and females.
  • Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism, or the prejudiced beliefs that value males over females.
  • Every time we see someone riding a motorcycle and assume, without looking closely, that they are male, we are engaging in gender stereotyping.
  • This particular gender stereotype assumes that women are too timid or weak to ride a motorcycle.

• Gender Socialization

  • In regards to gender socialization, the most common groups people join are the gender categories male and female.
  • Even the categorical options of gender an individual may choose is socialized; social norms act against selecting a gender that is neither male or female.
  • Children in preschool classrooms where teachers were told to emphasize gender differences saw an increase in stereotyped views of what activities are appropriate for boys or girls, while children with teachers who did not emphasize gender showed no increase in stereotyped views.
  • Research has found that adolescents encounter stereotypes of gendered performance in the workforce in their first jobs.
  • Analyze how the process of gender socialization has an impact on the lifespan development of a person, specifically related to stereotypes between men and women

• Gender Messages from Peers

  • Peer groups can serve as a venue for teaching gender roles, especially if conventional gender social norms are strongly held.
  • Division of labor creates gender roles, which in turn lead to gendered social behavior.
  • If a peer group strongly holds to a conventional gender social norm, members will behave in ways predicted by their gender roles, but if there is not a unanimous peer agreement, gender roles do not correlate with behavior.
  • These gender differences are also representative of many stereotypical gender roles within these same-gendered groups.
  • The stereotypes are less prominent when the groups are mixed-gendered.

• The Social Construction of Gender

  • Social constructivists propose that there is no inherent truth to gender; it is constructed by social expectations and gender performance.
  • Who benefits from the way that gender is constructed?
  • Gender is never a stable descriptor of an individual, but an individual is always "doing" gender, performing or deviating from the socially accepted performance of gender stereotypes.
  • In other words, by doing gender, we reinforce the notion that there are only two mutually exclusive categories of gender.
  • Gender is maintained as a category through socially constructed displays of gender.

• Gender

  • When one uses less inclusive or stereotypical language, the following can occur:
  • The rights, opportunities, and freedoms of certain people are restricted because they are reduced to stereotypes.
  • Stereotyping is mostly implicit, unconscious, and facilitated by the availability of pejorative labels and terms
  • When labeling is a conscious activity, the described person's individual merits become apparent, rather than their stereotype.
  • One must guard against gender discrimination and stereotyping members of the audience.

• Gender Messages in Mass Media

  • In mass media, women tend to have less significant roles than men, and are often portrayed in stereotypical roles, such as wives or mothers.
  • Gender socialization occurs through four major agents: family, education, peer groups, and mass media.
  • This is particularly true with regards to gender.
  • Television commercials and other forms of advertising reinforce inequality and gender-based stereotypes.
  • Discuss the types of gender socialization people get from viewing various types of media

• The Psychological Perspective

  • One crucial psychological finding is that members of stereotyped groups internalize those stereotypes and may suffer as a result.
  • Stereotype Threat is a potential contributing factor to long-standing racial and gender gaps in academic performance.
  • Since most people have at least one social identity which is negatively stereotyped, most people are vulnerable to Stereotype Threat if they encounter a situation in which the stereotype is relevant.
  • Individuals show higher degrees of Stereotype Threat on tasks they wish to perform well on and when they identify strongly with the stereotyped group.
  • The opposite of Stereotype Threat is known as Stereotype Enhancement, which entails an individual's potential to confirm a positive stereotype about their social group, and a subsequent increase in performance ability in the related task as compared to their ability prior to their exposure to the stereotype.

• Prejudice

  • ., race, class, or gender).
  • This information, however, often is based on stereotypes.
  • We may have different expectations of strangers depending on their race, gender, and age.
  • Stereotypes become overgeneralized and applied to all members of a group.
  • Whether or not you agree with a stereotype, stereotypes are generally well-known within in a given culture.