Carbett 1

Courtney Carbett

McLaughlin

English 12

18 September 2020

How Gender Stereotypes Influence Behavior

Gender Stereotypes are a dangerous and hidden bias that affect behavior. Gender

stereotypes are a wide belief or generalization about characteristics and behaviors of

males and females (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Common

gender specific expectations are “real men don’t cry” and that women are expected to

look flawless all the time (Sumano). Women have negative stereotypes like being

irrational and men are considered to be insensitive (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect

on Young People"). These pre-set ideas can hold people back as well as push them to

ends such as violence. In the past decade, gender norms have completely shifted from

gender fluidity to all things self-identity and orientation (Sumano). Gender stereotypes

are dangerous and outdated biases beginning from infancy that affect behavior, hold

people back, or push them to do harmful things.

Gender stereotypes start developing from infancy (Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”). Parents of new babies unmeaningly reinforce gender

stereotypes through gender-specific toys, play, language, and environment (“Fawcett

Research Shows Exposure”). Gender Stereotypes come from local culture and traditions

(“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Children learn what makes up

males and females from watching their families, friends, the media, schools, and churches
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(“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). By the age of only two,

children are aware of gender and by the age of six they learn to associate gender

stereotypes (''Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). Gender Stereotypes shape

self-perception, attitudes, and relationships (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on

Young People”). Young kids can be affected by these biases in the classroom which can

sway their academic performance (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young

People”). Girls can learn to become compliant and passive, and boys who have trouble

understanding right away are more likely to drop out of school (“Gender Stereotypes and

their Effect on Young People”). Although boys receive eight times more attention in the

classroom than girls, girls are more likely to be praised for being well behaved, and

disruptive girls may be treated differently than disruptive boys. (“Gender Inequality

Affects Everyone”).

Gender stereotypes occur due to what is called unconscious bias (“Gender

Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Unconscious bias happens when our

subconscious makes assumptions about people based on their background (“Gender

Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). This bias is communicated through

micro-messages like body language and choice of words (“Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”). Everyone has unconscious bias, and anyone can give in to a

stereotype even if they do not consciously believe in it (“Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”). Unconscious bias is more likely to happen in states of stress or

restlessness, which affects beliefs and treatment of others (“Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”).

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There are many effects of gender stereotypes. Children who are given in to gender

stereotypes are shown to have the lowest well-being (“Traditional Gender Roles and

Stereotypes”). Children whose friend group as an entirety value gender stereotypes have

a collective lower well-being than others (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”).

Compared to children who do value gender constructs, children who value gender neutral

traits as being the most important characteristic have a significantly higher well-being

overall (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). School aged girls are far less likely

to participate in organized sports compared to boys the same age (“Gender Inequality

Affects Everyone”). In girls’ later years of high school, they are rarely enrolled in

advanced mathematics subjects compared to their male peers (“Gender Inequality Affects

Everyone”). Pop culture, especially in the teenage years has a large influence on kids

which projects the expectations of masculinity and femininity (Sumano).

These harmful stereotypes are notorious for holding people back from expanding

on their life, particularly females. Sam Smithers, Fawcett Society Chief Executive, said,

“Gender Stereotypes hold us all back. We have boys who cannot express their emotions,

become aggressive, under-achieve at school and go on to be part of a culture of toxic

masculinity which normalizes violence” (“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). He also

added, “We have girls who have low self-esteem and issues with their body image with

one in five fourteen year old girls self-harming” (“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”).

A secondary school girl said, “I feel judged all the time based on what I wear. It’s like

girls are expected to fulfil certain ridiculous expectations” (“Traditional Gender Roles

and Stereotypes”). Ninety five percent of young people said they have heard detrimental
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jokes made about others’ bodies or looks (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”).

One harmful way gender stereotypes hold girls back is by calling them quiet and passive

(Sumano). Child psychologists say that girls become increasingly less vocal as they grow

for reasons like low self esteem, which leads girls, for example, in a sexual assault

situation to not speak out about it and to stay quiet (Sumano). To battle this harmful

stereotype, parents can teach their children from a young age to express their thoughts,

emotions, and to be independent (Sumano). A majority of young adults all agree that

stereotypes have an effect on childrens’ subject choices at school (“Fawcett Research

Shows Exposure”). Fifty four percent of women said these stereotypes had an effect on

who cared for their families, while only thirty eight percent of men said the same

(“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). Sixty nine percent of men said gender

stereotyping of children has a damaging effect on what it means to be a man or a woman

(“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). A demographic extremely set back by gender

stereotypes are disabled women (“Gender Inequality Affects Everyone”). Women with

disabilities are more likely to experience family violence and sexual assault (“Gender

Inequality Affects Everyone”). They are more likely to be unemployed and are paid less

than men with disabilities and women without disabilities when they are employed

(“Gender Inequality Affects Everyone”).

Violence is an unfortunate outcome that has a lot to do with gender stereotypes.

Most men are accustomed to and hold power in relationships with women, and do not

even think twice about it (Sumano). One in three women over the age of fifteen has

experienced physical violence (“Gender Inequality Affects Everyone”). Men are more
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likely to commit violent crimes and to be victims of a violent crime (Pirani). Men giving

in to traditional masculinity may limit a males’ psychological development, negatively

influence mental health, and result in gender role conflict (Pirani). Men are more likely to

drink too much and take unhealthy risks which often leads to violence (“Gender

Inequality Affects Everyone”). Men are less likely to seek professional mental help or to

share their emotions with a trusted one, because of this, men are far more likely to

commit suicide than women (Gender Inequality Affects Everyone”). Gender Stereotypes

held by adolescents have had links drawn between violence against women and girls

(“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). There is a crisis of self harm especially in young

women that correlates with how their friend groups embrace gender stereotypes

(“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”).

Some may say that gender stereotypes do not actually have an effect on people,

and might only just be jokes. These stereotypes are detrimental to mental health, even if

they are made in the format of a joke (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”).

These jokes break down self esteem, especially in girls which leads to poor mental health

and a lower well being (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). The more young

girls are exposed to jokes about body or self-image, the unhappier they are with their

appearance (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). “Girls get told to look a certain

way and if you don’t you get told you are ugly, fat, and flat-chested and that makes you

not feel good enough for anyone.” (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). When

children were told to choose a stand-out characteristic as being the most important, ‘being

good-looking’ was the top choice in both boys and girls with forty four percent from girls
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and thirty two percent from boys (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”). One out

of eight boys said ‘being tough’ is important while only three percent of girls said the

same (“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes”).

Another false idea about gender stereotypes is that they do not affect career

choices. Forty five percent of people said they experienced gender stereotyping in their

behavior as a child, and out of those same people, more than half said it affected their

career choices (“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure”). Only seven percent of engineering

apprenticeships are girls (Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Ten

percent of primary school teachers are men (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on

Young People”). Out of a demographic of young women, eighty seven percent said they

think they are judged more on looks than their ability (“Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”).

Gender stereotypes are dangerous and outdated biases beginning from infancy

that affect behavior, hold people back, or push them to do harmful things. Gender

stereotyping is harmful and affects everyone. These ideas start polluting people from the

time they are children, and follow them throughout life causing unnoticed chaos

(“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Unconscious bias is within

everyone, whether they agree with the stereotypes or not (“Gender Stereotypes and their

Effect on Young People”). From causing low self esteem to violence and self harm,

gender stereotypes should be a concept of the past.

Gender Stereotypes can be undone by acknowledging unconscious bias and

learning to dismiss them (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). These
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stereotypes need to be brought to light and the forefront of the mind so that they can be

shattered as a whole, which anyone and everyone is able to do to put an effort to stop

these stereotypes (“Gender Stereotypes and their Effect on Young People”). Society

should reject how we think men and women should behave based on their gender

(Sumano). Gender stereotypes at the moment are so deeply embedded in society that we

hardly notice it or think about it (Sumano). There are ways to undo gender stereotypes in

young children through literature that challenges gender norms and whole school

approaches to the subject that have shown to have positive results (“Fawcett Research

Shows Exposure”). If everyone comes together to battle these stereotypes, a better, safer

future is ahead for sure.

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Works Cited

“Fawcett Research Shows Exposure to Gender Stereotypes as a Child Causes Harm Later in

Life.” Fawcett, Fawcett Society, 7 March 2019,

fawcettsociety.org.uk/news/fawcett-research-exposure-gender-stereotypes-child-causes-

harm-later-life. Accessed 8 September 2020.

“Gender Inequality Affects Everyone.” Vic.Gov.Au, The Victorian Government, 25 June 2018,

www.vic.gov.au/gender-inequality-affects-everyone. Accessed 9 September 2020.

“Gender Stereotypes and Their Effect on Young People.” Institute of Physics, Institute of

Physics, 2018, iop.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/IGB-gender-stereotypes.pdf. Accessed

3 September 2020.

Gilbert, Paula. “Discourses of Female Violence and Societal Gender Stereotypes.” Sage

Journals, Sage Publishing, 1 November 2002,

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/107780102762478019. Accessed 9 September

2020.

Pirani, Fiza. “‘Traditional Masculinity’ Officially Deemed ‘Harmful’ by American Psychological

Association.” Atlanta.News.Now, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, 11 January 2019,

ajc.com/news/traditional-masculinity-officially-deemed-harmful-american-psychological-

association/1Ms4Eq06f1nAYZKJGW0vOP/. Accessed 9 September 2020.

Sumano, Karina. “How Gender Stereotypes Impact Behavior.” One Love, One Love Foundation,

2020, joinonelove.org/learn/gender-stereotypes-impact-behavior/. Accessed 3 September

2020.
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“Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes: How they can Affect Children and Young People.”

Children’s Society, The Children’s Society, 17 May 2020,

childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-blogs/our-blog/traditional-gender-roles-and-stereotypes

-how-it-can-affect-children. Accessed 8 September 2020.