Gender is a social construction, and it needs to not exist. No matter if someone is a boy or girl, they will have a gender pushed on them from birth. Some might argue that gender roles are biological, but they have actually become archaic in today’s society. Gender roles are prescribed as an ideal or appropriate behavior based on social and cultural norms.
Even as a young child who doesn’t understand these things, they have to stand face to face with or blue or pink reality. Even at baby showers, they either have all blue stuff or all pink. Why? Because that’s the way that society has taught everyone they should be. Taking a look at baby clothes in stores, it is noticeable that all the female targeted clothes are pink or purple with feminine, delicate patterns. Male targeted clothes, however, are blue or green with trucks and cars or dinosaurs. The reason being is because society tells everyone that females should be girly, sweet, and sensitive. Meanwhile, males should be wild, carefree, and reckless. It starts out at a young age with toys and clothes. Then, when kids get older, if they are a girl then they have to wear makeup and have long pretty hair but no body hair. If they are a guy then they have to be strong and protective and be the breadwinner. If someone were to visit a childcare program, they might see that the environment is arranged to promote gender identity. The “girls” side will have a housekeeping corner and dolls. The “boys” side will have building blocks and trucks and cars. This is used to direct kids into a certain group and make them interested in it because those things are targeted exactly for them. This is supposedly supposed to be appropriate or the norm for their sex.
Society seems to think that women should be the ones staying at home, clean, take care of the kids, etc. And/or that they love shopping and doing hair and makeup. But men have to dress in “boys clothes” and like sports and cars or something. It seems like a common theme to think that women are the accommodating, sensitive, and/or weak ones of the two sexes. Men are expected to be self confident, protective, and aggressive. If someone were to look at any tv show or watch any commercial there will be some sort of gender role within it. Whether it be a woman cleaning something, men fixing something that broke, women making food or taking care of a baby, etc. There are a ton of things that show people those things. Commercials for one. In That 70s Show one of the main characters is a girl who is obsessed with shopping and doing makeup and is super girly. But it isn’t all about girls either. It’s supposedly not acceptable for men to look feminine or wear makeup. And it doesn’t help to hear things like “be a man” or “grow a pair”. People should take a good look at the world around them, and look at the way most older males speak to younger ones and comments seen on social media. Men are judged just as harshly as females for their lifestyles. Regardless of how a male identifies or their lifestyle, they are judged harshly by other males. They could be straight, white, and they could have everything in their favor. Yet, they could still fall short by being “too sensitive” or “too feminine”. It is unfortunately culturally acceptable across the world and males are held to a very specific standard in the majority of cultures and religions.
Other views on this topic say that biology has to do with how boys and girls act. They say that males are exposed predominantly to male sex hormones in the womb and females were exposed to female sex hormones. These hormones condition play behavior. Traditional people, sexist people, etc. have opposing views on this subject. Some believe that it has to do with biology and not with society, or believe that women and men should be exactly the same and do what < they’re supposed to ̈. People with this view think that this should always be the appropriate thing for genders to be like. Or they think it has nothing to do with the society around everyone but with science.
Men being feminine and/or women being masculine are just the tip of the iceberg to this social crisis. There should be no norm for gender, sexuality, or something as simple as how someone dresses. People should be able to be who they want to be without living in fear of judgement. People should be who they are; no matter if it’s a boy wearing a dress or a girl being a CEO. Today’s generation is definitely more accepting than it used to be, but it still has a long way to go. However, it is still very marginalized and in some countries illegal and punishable by law. As long as everyone’s rights are being respected and being treated as equals, their personal lifestyles should not be a factor in how they are treated.
