Gender Stereotypes In Ancient Greece

Introduction
Gender stereotypes play a huge role in many societies throughout time; from Ancient Greece up until present day Egypt. In the past, societies stripped women of basic rights, such as the right to speech and the right to vote. Interestingly, the laws against women in Ancient Greece closely resemble those of present day Egypt. Even though these two societies are roughly 2,500 years apart, women in both societies were not allowed to vote. It was not until 1956 when the legislature passed Article 61 of the Egyptian Constitution, that granted women in Egypt the right to vote. While societies today have become more progressive towards the acceptance of women, they still face major setbacks. Stereotypically, women are responsible for household
chores and taking care of the family, while the men work and bring in the family income.
Women in the past were rarely educated and were often controlled by their husbands. Today, women are seen putting their careers and education first, becoming successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, and challenging men in what used to be male-dominated fields. Alongside these great achievements, women are leading countries, winning gold medals, and speaking out against what they believe in (i.e. The Women’s March on Washington in 2017). While men and women are becoming more and more equal, women are still stereotyped as weaker and less competent than men. Societies stereotyping affects women in various aspects of their lives, may it be in athletics, education, or in the workplace. Although society has progressed towards a more positive outlook on women, there are still many problems that women face in the world because of gender stereotypes; women today are still viewed as sex objects, deemed less competent and weaker than men, and expected to have
maternal instincts.
Main Point 1: Sexualization of Women Media today often focuses on a women’s beauty, and portrays women as sex objects, which ultimately plays a role in the general stereotype that women are supposed to be sexy. For example, covers of popular magazines, such as Vogue or Marie Claire, airbrush and photoshop their models into completely unattainable figures. Likewise, in movies, women are constantly shown as “sexy secretaries” or “dumb hookups”. Media and society rarely admires women for their diligence, hard-work, and intelligence. Rather, media looks at women as simply sexual beings; and while this sexualization can be implicit (subconscious and often not realized), it is also explicit (it is a known fact and deliberate).
Consequently, sexualization in social settings is common for women.
In Răzvan-Paraschiv Seceleanu’s article, “Gender Stereotypes and their Effects in Social Situations,” he states that “...Americans categorize women, as: housewives, career-oriented, athletes, feminists, and sex objects.” (Seceleanu 3). The idea that women are sex objects casts a shadow over every other stereotype that Seceleanu states. Housewives, athletes, and feminists are often sexualized in the media; they focus more on their bodies than their intellect and achievements. The stereotype does not fall short, even when it comes to being career-oriented. Ioana M. Latu’s findings in her study, “Gender biases in (inter) action: The role of interviewers’ and applicants’ implicit and explicit stereotypes in predicting women’s job interview outcomes,” explored the role implicit and explicit gender stereotypes on interviewers and applicants. In her findings, she states that “[w]ithin the realm of mixed-gender interactions, female applicants behaved more flirtatiously when interview by a male interviewer who was lead to believe that she was attracted to him...” (Latu 540). Most of the time, a woman will be sexualized, despite her job, her status in society, or her intellect and internal beauty. In Latu’s conclusion, she states that “[w]hether it is in the implicit gender stereotypes of male interviewers or female applicants, these relatively unconscious and hard-to control associations can have negative
consequences for women’s outcomes in the workplace” (Latu 550). Women are constantly sexualized by both men and other women, who tend to base a female's self-worth or qualification for a job on her appearance and sexual nature. Evident in Latu’s study, these implicit stereotypes affect women in their ability to be hired by job interviewers.