Gender stereotipes

One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman (Simone de Beauvoir).

Men are ambitious, courageous, aggressive, energetic, playful, rational, enterprising, independent, cruel…
Women are prudent, dreamy, sweet, capricious, delicate, dependent, loving, nervous…
Here are some examples of widespread gender stereotypes.

How many times have we heard them… and even uttered them!

Gender Identity

Let’s start from the beginning: what does “gender identity” mean when we talk about human beings?
The term “gender identity” refers to a profound sense of self as male, female, or “other.”
It may correspond to the gender assigned at birth, or it may not correspond.

Cisgender or transgender?

There are men who feel comfortable with their masculine identity and women who identify as women (cisgender).
It also happens that females feel more comfortable with their masculine identity (for this reason, they often wear men’s clothing, prefer to be referred to using masculine pronouns and adjectives, etc.).
It can also happen that males feel more represented by their feminine identity.
Still others feel they fit into a feminine gender—neutral—or more masculine—neutral.
All these categories of people tend to define themselves as transgender.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is the physical and/or romantic attraction to other people.
Those who are attracted to people of the same gender are called homosexual, those who prefer people of the opposite sex are heterosexual, and those who are attracted to both males and females are classified as bisexual.
Those whose attraction transcends the other person’s gender are called pansexual, and finally, people who are not interested in sexuality and do not engage in intimate relationships with anyone are called asexual.

Gender Role

This term refers to the set of behaviors and attitudes typically attributed to a particular gender (male or female), both socially and culturally.
These are social norms that define what is more “appropriate” for a woman and what is more “appropriate” for a man.

What gender stereotypes are
Gender stereotypes are rigid sets of beliefs that are socially transmitted and concern people’s behaviors, roles, attitudes, preferences, traits, and physical appearance, in relation to their gender (male or female).

Based on gender stereotypes, a person, whether male or female, is expected to have certain physical, psychological, and social characteristics and to behave in a certain way.
To facilitate understanding, I offer further examples, in addition to those cited at the beginning of the article: women do more housework than men, men are aggressive, and transgender people are more likely to engage in prostitution.

Thinking through Stereotypes

Gender stereotypes depend on various factors, including cultural, familial, generational, and political ones.
Thinking through social stereotypes is very common and widespread for “economic” reasons: these “pre-formed” classes save time.
Unfortunately, however, thinking this way fails to grasp the infinite variety of ways in which individuals can express their appearance and feel.
Is there a way to eliminate this paradigm from our minds?

The path of awareness

Of course not, there is no magic formula to untangle the knots of the psyche. The first step, however, is, as always, awareness: being aware that we have a tendency to proceed in this way is the beginning of a possibility.

Being aware of our tendency to think through gender stereotypes can help us confront the issue and try to question our preconceptions.
We must always keep in mind, in fact, that every individual is a world unto themselves!
As the saying goes, “don’t tar everyone with the same brush”! Knowing who we are, rather than rushing to label someone else, can make a difference for ourselves and for others.

Enjoy your life!

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