Gender Stereotypes: Still there or being buried?

"It's a girl thing."

"It's a guy thing."

"Is one gender really better then another on a biological scale or is it solely a socially influenced idea?"

Are the biases about being a certain gender still a dominant/deciding factor of society or are they slowly being buried on a global scale?

State your views and possibly include a factual example if it is not a commonplace reference.

Some examples of gender stereotypes if you are confused:
"She's only acting that way because it's 'that time of month'."
"Guys aren't supposed to cry, thats what girls do."

"Guys are idiots because they only think with their pants*."
"It's because you're a guy you don't understand! Guys don't listen!"

"It's ok because you're a guy/girl."

(Yes I know this was a little rhetorical, but it has to be done for general debate purposes. I should also mention that it was harder to think up of some NEGATIVE gender stereotypical lines for the guys side than the girls. No idea why, but I thought I'd throw that in.)

 

It's still here, but it's fading away gradually.

 

I think they're still there to a certain degree but we don't really realize what we're saying.

The one that I think is still there is the 'Guys don't cry' one. Because light forbid a guy be sensitive enough to not want to shoot guns all day. Because we all know what happens if a guy gets emotional...-rolls eyes-

Another one is the 'Oh she's just angry because it's that time of the month.'

What? Women can't speak up about something for once without it being blamed on Aunt Flow?

I think the whole gender stereotype thing comes from how we are raised. Guys playing with dinosaurs, trucks, etc while Girls have their dress up, dolls, and tea parties. If a girl plays with a dinosaur she's often labeled a 'Tom boy' and often has a little more slack than a boy playing dress up.

But then again if a kid has three sisters and no brothers what's he to do? Or if a daughter has nothing but older brothers? Parents want them to get along but what to do when your son comes out in Mommy's heeled shoes and a dress? Or if your daughter comes out dressed in your son's play army fatigues?

Another stereotype I can think of is when a woman gets into a high ranking position at work

'Oh she got that way because she slept with the boss.' or 'She got to where she is because she's a {insert word that rhymes with 'witch' here}'

Doesn't matter how long she went to school or how hard of a worker is. But if a guy gets into that same position 'Oh he's such a hard worker to get promoted so quickly.'

 

I think that we went down the wrong road once we started dressing boys in blue and girls in pink. Think about it: you see a little girl wearing a blue dress, awww how cute. But people still get confused when they see a little BOY wearing PINK. This is where it begins, and it gradually grows...to what they play with, to their leisure time, to sensitivity. Like many of you said, boys are looked down upon for crying. Not only does that deprive a male of his emotions, but wouldn't you say it works as a girl stereotype as well? I'm sure there are girls out there who choose not to cry.

Remarkable, though...my friend at one time saw the apron I had to wear in a school musical. I said "It's a bit feminine, but that's okay..." and he said to me

"I don't really believe in masculinity."

I found it interesting and relieving that there are those who think like that.

 

I am not to happy about it, especially the one my gym teacher says in class all the time :"It's a fact that guys have a stronger built body than girls". Blabalala. That is so XD It's not all guys just some and it's just stupid! It's a fact but a very bad one because there are so many cases and different factors in it.

But it is starting to fade a little and it should, guy or girl whatever live and have fun.

 

Well I understand the irony when I say this, but statistically and evolutionarily speaking the muscle mass potential is higher in men than women. Since men have more testosterone in they're systems their able to build more muscle.

 

"Guys are idiots because they only think with their pants*."
xD I think that. But yea you are right it is a sterotype.

 

They're totally still here, unfortunately...and Health and PE teachers seems to be the ones that bring it up most often. They're always saying how evolution has made it so that males are stronger than females, even though there are plenty of women who could beat plenty of guys senseless.

And if you think about it, the whole "female presidents would bring disaster" bit is just a giant stereotype in itself.

 

Haha, I actually DO somewhat agree with that stereotype =P Guys can be way too promiscuous.

Female presidents would bring disaster? Ouch, that must hurt a woman's pride. o-o

 

It isn't about who can beat who up really or even fitness or stamina. It's about the ability to build and accumulate muscle. Any woman with biceps that are the size of my head got them because she used testosterone and male hormone supplements along with working out. A normal woman could go to the gym every day for a billion years (hypathetically speaking of course) and never acquire as much muscle as a male body builder. A woman can be as strong as a man, but only for so long. Yes equality is important, but there are few boundaries that it can't over come without altering our biological engineering. Since the dawn of humankind men have played the role of the hunter in the majority of tribes (there have been some instances in areas like Micronesia where the role has been reversed) due to their innate ability to produce muscle more efficiently. But stronger doesn't mean better-- that's the true root of the sterotype.