Embracing the Unconventional: Defying Gender Norms
Why is there no Jane Bond? Intelligent, charming, sly, ingenious — all words used to describe the notorious James Bond and all apparent traits of a man. How often do you see female spy portrayals in films? The truth is, you are more likely to see the objectified and villainized version of a James Bond, the femme fatale trope than see a woman take on espionage. Due to societal constructs, gender remains to be the line that separates these two relatively similar tropes in movies. The difference being one is an appraised hero ready to save the day, the other, a villain.
Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole have played a significant role in perpetuating these gender stereotypes. Because of these films, it etches into people’s minds that women should act a certain way and play an inferior role in society. While men are more likely to be on a higher pedestal, unable to stray away from the conventional without being labeled too feminine or an outcast.
Gender inequality, though fairly outgrown by society, remains to be a present-day struggle. It goes beyond the realms of on-screen entertainment that even in workplaces, schools, and politics, gender stereotypes are evident. Let us shed light on this issue, and understand its effects on our development as individuals and as for our society.
- Gender in Careers and Industries
Gender dominance in careers and industries is one of the long-endured effects of a patriarchal society. The belief that jobs related to science, engineering, technology, and mathematics should be male-led generates the idea that only men are qualified in such fields. The thought further implies that a woman cannot be analytical, innovative, and a problem-solver. In the same way, a man cannot be creative, expressive, and altruistic due their high self-regard and are therefore not qualified in the fields of arts & design, fashion, and medicine.
. The current wage gap between men and women is 23% globally. Women can expect to earn less in their entire careers because of low-skilled and low-paid jobs. For instance, the apparel industry employs a large number of women both locally and globally, more specifically, in India women comprise 60% of this industry. Despite this, only less than 5% reach the supervisory level and the rest remain in the low-paying sector. Even if you make it into the supervisory positions, unequal pay is still a problem. In Hollywood and the film industry, the annual wage gap of a whopping 45% as of 2019 remains to be a serious concern among actors of different ranks.
. The healthcare field is no stranger to gender-based stereotypes as well. At the start of their career, young male physicians earn $36,600 more on average than their female counterparts. From 1997 to 2017, data published by Health Affairs reported that the average compensation for men was $235,044 and only $198,462 for women. One of the stated reasons was because women prioritize work-life balance in choosing their specialty, which is usually low-paying. However, work-life balance and job performance are not the only considerable factors in unequal pay, but the existence of gender discrimination in the aforementioned careers pushes the continuous gap increase and is usually not accounted for. There is also the issue of the difference in emotions, temperament, and traits among the two genders.
- The issue of gender-based emotions and traits.
Emotions and temperament are said to be factors that affect job performance and relationships in workplaces. The belief that emotions have gender creates a restriction in correct self-expression and could generate a barrier between colleagues and family members. In Australia and the UK, most suicides are committed by men. The root cause for most of these? Pent up negative emotions and frustrations.
Men, as boys, often grow up with a narrower perspective of emotions. It is a norm that young boys are aggressive, active, and bold, and when one displays an inch of sadness, they are then most often called weak or unmanly. Cultivating such belief from a young age can create much bigger problems in adulthood, especially in expressing or controlling one’s emotions and forming stable relationships. Research propounds that the experience of “Emodiversity” or feeling a wide variety of emotions, both positive and negative, has psychological benefits. It was revealed that after allowing themselves to express such feelings, adults experience less depression and would spend fewer days in a psychiatric facility.
The issue of gender-based traits in workplaces is also a considerable exemplification of the ongoing prevalence of gender stereotypes. In a company, a man is cunning and smart, while a woman can only be deceiving; a man is assertive, while a woman is aggressive. These double-standards are consequences of long foretold tradition; a tangible effect of the continuous adherence to patriarchy.
- Gender norms from the public eye.
. Social media is where everyone, old and young people similar, get to share their concerns and opinions on various topics. However, the different instances can often create unwanted disputes. Recently, a controversy between several Twitter users and an old-fashioned, American author broke out on Twitter. The feud was about the author’s stance on a famous singer’s choice of self-expression. She believed that men in dresses are unacceptable and inappropriate and to quote, “bring back manly men.” which was then supported by co-conservatives. Meanwhile, the younger generations opposed this idea saying that self-expression has no limits and that we have come a long way to continue absurd concepts as to what a man can and cannot be.
. Though the current generation, and the generations before us, have gone a long way to take down the barrier that divides men and women, there are still people who refuse to accept our progress. There is a need to accept the fact that as a society, we should be able to work as one despite our differences to maintain societal progress.
. Stereotyping genders to act a certain way based on conventional beliefs limits us of our true abilities. Society has come a long way and by now, it should be a fact that gender is not a constraint, should not even be a significant factor in pursuing a career, nor is it a reason for discrimination. The same goes for how emotions are not gender-based and opinions that should not be invalidated. At the end of the day, everyone has their own distinct beliefs and judgments on various social concerns. You may perceive other people’s opinions as immoral, but it is still unreasonable to create unnecessary feud and hate, especially in an online platform where people get to express themselves 24/7.
. Defying gender norms is not taboo. In order to progress as individuals and as a society, the imposition of these gender norms should be abolished in order for our children, or maybe our children’s children to benefit from a truly equal society. Let us continue to take action until there is nothing but a fine line between the gender spectrum. It is time that we think of each other as complex individuals instead of him and her.
Robyn Jornadal, Article Writer.
