Gender Roles: What are they good for? Absolutely nothing.
Gender roles teach girls from a young age that they are inferior to men and that there are limitations to what they can do in life because of their gender. But I’m here to call bullshit.
What are gender roles? Gender roles teach girls that they aren’t as good as boys. Gender roles say: girls aren’t as smart as boys, girls are not as strong as boys, and that girls are not as brave as boys. Gender roles teach girls to give up before they can ever get the chance to try. Gender roles, and/or sexism, victimizes and oppresses women.
Here’s the problem with gender roles: it’s a made-up concept constructed by society. It’s not real!
These social constructs have brainwashed our communities around the world. In most societies around the world women are told to listen to the men and to “sit down, shut up, and look pretty”. Gender roles shape our societies. Both girls and boys are taught these gender roles, and both men and women help enforce gender roles.
We teach our women to be safe. Women are taught to never do anything risky because they might get hurt. While girls are growing up they are told they can’t do the “dangerous” activities that people let boys do. Girls are told not to climb trees, or skateboard, or play certain sports (i.e. football) because they are girls and they could get hurt. Parents and society have been taught to believe this. Society has taught us that girls are fragile and breakable. Girls shouldn’t be allowed to take risks. However, it turns out that taking risks is actually good for helping form risk analysis skills, being less fearful, and for building leadership skills. If a person is taught that taking a risk is too dangerous, they can never succeed in a leadership position.
Sexism and gender roles also try to turn women against each other. Sexism doesn’t want women to form bonds with each other because then women could have power, and there is no room for women to have power in gender roles.
Females are taught to be the victims. They are taught that they need a man in order to be successful or have anything good in life.
In my early life, I was a victim of gender roles. As a white female in a very conservative community I was taught to fit into gender roles my entire life. I was told there are things that men can do that women cannot and that a woman needed a man. I was also taught to never take a risk. But as I grew up, I was lucky enough to find strong female leaders and I realized that gender roles were bullshit! Taking risks opens doors for you. I took a risk and travelled to Europe alone when I was 20 because I didn’t have anyone who wanted to go with me. Before I left (and even after I came home) so many people asked me if I was scare to go alone because “it’s dangerous for a woman to travel alone”. But it ends up traveling alone is exhilarating and it helps build your independence. You can’t rely on somebody else to save you because there is nobody else. Due to this trip I was able to take more risks in my life which included, living alone sans a roommate or a man. When I made this decision I was once again asked if I was scared because “it can be dangerous for a woman to live alone”. I have never once heard anyone ask my male friends who live alone if they were scared or tell them it was dangerous for a man to live alone.
Breaking out of gender roles in my own life has shown me first-hand how ridiculous and stupid gender roles are. Women are just as capable as men to take risks and succeed in life. Women are just as smart, as strong, and as brave as men, we’re just taught not to be. It’s time society stops teaching these ridiculous limiting teachings to our children. We need to teach our children that the it doesn’t matter what gender you are, success is built on hard work and calculated risks.
