Date: 7.11.

2021

Gender Stereotypes

Safaa Tatou

The global issue I will be discussing is the importance of identity latitude and gender inequality. This global issue falls inside the

inquiry field of ‘culture, identity and community’. I have chosen this topic because it is a negative concept that is so very

normalised in today’s society and should be assigned more importance and attention. I hope to highlight the negative effects

gender stereotypes have on one’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-acceptance. The literary text is the novel “Elijah of

Buxton” and was written by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is a historical fiction published in 2007. The purpose of writing this novel

is to not only convey what daily life was like for freed slaves in settlements like Buxton but to also indicate how the so called

“free” protagonist, Elijah, is although not owned by a white man, still unfairly owned by his society’s expectations on how a boy

is expected to act. It touches on the idea of freedom from different perspectives and contexts. The non-literary text is an article
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written by Anna Targonskaya. It was published on the 14 of April 2020 and discusses the issue of gender stereotypes. The

author’s purpose of writing this article is to educate the audience on how effortlessly gender stereotypes are incorporated in the

media and our lifestyle. From examining Gender Stereotypes, effects of insensitivity and societal and community expectation, it

is clear that all aid in disturbing and halting one’s self-esteem, confidence, and self-acceptance journey.

Society has been forming gender stereotypes for centuries and it is time we look at these gender norms and make a change

because they are negatively affecting more people than we think. Examples of some common stereotypes present currently are

that girls like to wear pink and girly clothing and should oversee childcare and housekeeping. Guys cannot be too emotional and

should be super strong and tough. Now simply stating these norms is not what effects one’s mental health. It is when situation

like young boys is bullied for being tender, emotional, and vulnerable and girls being mocked for wearing “male” clothing arise.

A realistic example of this is present in my literary text where the protagonist, Elijah, is called fragile by both his parents and

community because he is afraid of rattle snakes and insects. It ought to be mentioned that Elijah has more pressure from his

community as he is the first black boy born free in the Buxton settlement. This can be noted on page 25 of the novel “Mr

Douglass is an excitable man when he gets talking and bouncing me up and down and swinging me ‘round with joy, saying I was

a “shining bacon of light and hope for the future”. He is seen and perceived as the face of the struggle African Americans went

through during the slavery period in the United States. Therefore, he is expected to be extra brave, strong, and tolerant. By

writing the novel in the first-person perspective, specifically from the view of the protagonist, the identity and emotions of the

character are very well explained and justified. This can be noted as pronouns such as I, me and we are used. This perspective
assists in building a stronger connection to the character and thus leaves a stronger impression on the reader. Feelings are often

kept private so for the feelings of Elijah to be exposed or unveiled per say will create an emotional connection between the

reader and character. In my belief even the creation of this book fights stereotypes. Often when one thinks of oppression or

injustice, one looks at the female gender and population. This is because it is true that women are treated more unfairly than

men but that does not strip men of the right to speak about unfair treatment or lessen the effect of stereotypes on them. This is

recognised in page 28 of the novel when Elijah’s mum dismisses the fact that he was afraid to enter the woods. “She smiled and

said, “Lijah don’t be silly...” The adjective silly has a negative and mocking connotation here meaning weak -minded or lacking

good sense. The choice to make the protagonist male, and black may I add, introduces a different outlook on the inquiry field of

identity.

The flo article justifies many of the stereotypical events occurring in the novel with instances that are more relatable to the

reader. Acknowledging the target audiences of this article are readers between the ages of 15-25, topics like social media,

television shows and culture are heavily discussed. Generation Z is much more influenced by these factors than other age

ranges. “One study showed that the more television people watch, the more likely they are to support the gender norms that are

presented. These traditional gender roles can lead to sexism, self-harm and sexual aggression.” (Targonskaya, 2020). Many may

argue that because today’s world is becoming much more liberal, gender norms are inexistant but that is very false. There are

still many cultures conserving their beliefs on a woman and man’s responsibilities and many who still very much acquire

patriarchal beliefs and expectations. One ought to also mention that overthinking stems greatly when one has issues with their

self-esteem and self-doubt. Returning to the literary text, “Why my brain is so powerful amazing that some of the time it leaves

me dumbstruck” (Curtis 329). This quote shows Elijah suddenly realising exactly what he should have done to help free the

slaves. This sentence is an example of a paradox that says that Elijah overthinks everything, and his powerful brain left h im

dumb.

Another factor to be mentioned is the connection the protagonist makes with being older or “mature” and being a brave person.

During a conversation with one of the characters ‘Mrs. Chloe’ he is 11 but tells her that he will turn 12 in 10 months portraying

that utmost desire to appear mature. From the reader’s perspective maturity is a goal of Elijah’s from start to finish of the novel.

At the start of the novel, Elijah is called fragile by numerous people particularly his family and he goes through numerous e vents

where he almost proves himself as not fragile yet later names himself fra-gile something that brought him a lot of pain and

embarrassment in the past. This can be noted at many stages of his journey to self-acceptance and confidence. “- and I was a

fra-gile boy all over again. Seeing someone strong and tough as Mr Leroy crying made me feel like everything was turned topsy-

turvey. “(Curtis 220) This quote adamantly supports this extract the non-literary article “It’s equally hard to believe how, in these
modern times, it’s still considered unacceptable for men to cry or show emotion (Targonskaya, 2020). Zooming into the quote

taken from the book (Curtis 220), the connotations of how Elijah describes himself and how he describes Mr Leroy are of two

different worlds. The adjective ‘Fragile’ holds a negative, disappointed connotation here as it used to describe something (or

someone in this case) who is easily broken, shattered, or damaged. On the other hand, the adjective of tough is quite literal the

antonym of fragile meaning strong and durable. Hidden behind this thought is the gravity of how little confidence he has and his

self-doubt.

Through two different yet so very similar texts, one can come to understand the effects of gender stereotypes on a person’s self-

esteem, confidence, and self-acceptance journey. The literary text follows a young boy who is hit with difficulty after difficulty

leading him to grow and mature immensely. His community and family discrediting his fea rs leaves him with little confidence

and great insecurity until he surprises all with his bravery and kind heart. Invalidating a man’s ability to feel scared and get hurt

and its effects are often mentioned in a not so direct fashion. On the other hand, the flo article discusses thes e same gender

stereotypes but in a much more relatable way incorporating day to day aspects of our lives. Including topics like tv shows,

media culture and much more, it has a much more direct approach to the audience. Both discusses issues and solutions that lay

under the global issue of Culture, Identity and Community successfully.