Gender & Identity

Gender stereotypes have an impact on a persons identity because it affects who they
become. Identity is how a person behaves, what they like, or even who they are as a
person. Gender is an important aspect of identity, mostly because of the stereotypes and
standards society has created. In Shakespeare's classic play Romeo and Juliet characters
are forced into following gender stereotypes. Romeo dislikes violence although he cant
defy. Juliet doesnt want to marry Paris although it is not up to her, she exists mostly as her
fathers property. Both, Romeo and Juliet are required to act in ways they truly dont feel.
Not following gender stereotype expectations can be detrimental to a person because of
society's narrow point of view. Societys expectations for gender are and were very strict.
In Romeo and Juliet, there are a lot of characters being forced to conform to gender
stereotypes. Juliets father and mother both are aware that she does not want an arranged
marriage with Paris. She even says Paris whom you know I hate (3.5.) Juliet hates the
idea of marrying Paris but has no ability to rebel. Juliets father, Capulet, was being very
cruel about her opposition. He was very angry she was rebelling against them. I tell thee
what: get thee to church on Thursday(3.5.) Juliets father told her when she was to marry
Paris (he did not know Juliet was already married). Her father seemed fine with her
hesitance to marry at the beginning of the play. It is only once she refuses that he becomes
infuriated. He treats her as his property; he will not be challenged by her, considering she is
just a girl. Juliet was in love with someone else but because of the gender expectations in
their time period she wasnt allowed to choose her marriage. Juliet is being forced to
conform to the gender stereotype here and eventually leads to her and Romeos death.

Defying gender stereotypes can be detrimental in modern day too. In a recent article,
Parents Keep Childs gender secret. It seems that keeping a child's sex a secret can lead
to bad criticism to the child or even their family. They made their announcement that was
met with a stony silence then the deluge of criticisms (Jayme Poisson, pg.1) which goes to
show that society is not okay with a child's gender being a secret so that they can give the
child him or her toys or colors. Considering that baby Storm has two older brothers that
are both stereotyped as girly their parents chose to keep Storms sex a secret to allow him
to choose his or her own identity regardless of what society thinks, although this could lead
to a more difficult life for Storm. Keeping a child's gender a secret has its positives, although
it really has its negatives too. It can have a negative impact on the child's identity, it was a
good idea to make the child be more comfortable with however it chooses to dress or what
toys it chooses to play with. (Poisson, baby storm article)
Defying to gender expectations can negatively impact a persons life. What is detrimental
is not the conforming or defying but the stereotypes in the first place. Maybe society needs
to open up its definitions of gender expectations. Perhaps if more families could take a
similar stand by not revealing their child's sex, society will begin to loosen up on its gender
expectations. Being forced to conform to gender with gender expectations can cause a
person to rebel. Society is very judgemental. Most people follow the gender stereotypes just
to please society, however, it will not lead to their happiness.