Gender Stereotypes And Normalization

Fixing Gender Stereotypes and Normalization One of the biggest problems today’s society has is change. Society fears the oncoming storm of liberal ideas as well as the ever changing mass of people who aren’t afraid to speak up about topics like “gender”, which is arguably as broad and debatable as they come. The amount of people educated in this topic, however, is not so extensive. Many people only have knowledge of what a man and woman should be based on their society’s rules. Others understand and accept that “gender only exists as a comparative quality” and choose to not divide “certain types of behaviors … as masculine or feminine” (Scantlebury). The problem of gender stereotyping and normalization has become more recognized over the
By doing this, it is not an individual deciding how they should act but rather the community deciding. This is how the normalization starts. Communities, with a large push from the more mainstream religions like Christianity, start to expect people to behave how their sex is supposed to. For example, girls should play with dolls while boys should learn a sport. Media only furthers these stereotypes by marketing weapon-like toys towards boys and pink dream houses towards girls. The marketing alone is teaching small children that they need to act a specific way and want specific items to fit in with other children. These taught standards can and will affect the children later on, causing them to become more close-minded to the preferences of others if they differ from the norms. The teachings of what it means to be a boy or a girl will “always (be) there, influencing perception and communication, always being reinforced by popular media” (Smith 148). These kids grow up to become role-fitting parents, and pass the same ideas on to their children. The cycle will continue through generations and the communities will succeed in establishing an overall normal woman and man complexion for its members to abide by. These societies have no clue what to do with people who don’t fall into one of the two
Religious values should never prod a parent to disown their child for being who they want to be. Works like the Bible are taken too literally or out of context. Nowhere in the New Testament of the Bible does it say to punish your child for choosing their pronouns or getting a sex change. Close followers of a religion do not have to give up their belief or disown their child due to gender, because no religion clearly states to do so. People who value religion enough to reject or abuse their child should do research before letting words be put into their mouth and making a terrible mistake. This leads into the wisdoms of earlier generations and how it affects the new