Femininity and Masculinity

The most typical gender stereotype is that men are regarded as more masculine than women and women are more feminine than men. In this mid-term paper, I will explain the differences between the most common gender stereotypes that are femininity and masculinity. There are several ways to measure different aspects of masculinity and femininity that this short essay will explore further.

Before looking deeper into the stereotype which I stated in the introduction, one must be able to distinguish gender from sex. Sex indicates the biological differences between human beings and is evaluated on a reproductive capacity. However, gender is a spectrum that is socially constructed in order to define the characteristics of women, men, girls, and boys. If sex is studied in the field of natural science, gender is studied in humanities and social sciences. Therefore, sex is cannot be altered (Birke, Lynda), but, gender is fluid and it changes according to social structure.

Gender stereotypes are under constant alteration due to society’s cultural value and their shifts. The most prominent factors that construct gender stereotypes are socio-cultural codes and conventions (Glover.D, Kaplan. C). Hence, gender is one of the social practices that society members acquire through the internalization of social norms.

Stereotypical traits that are associated with males are ‘Instrumental Traits (roles)’ which describe individuals who act on the world and influence it. Prominent traits that are associated with females are ‘Expressive Traits (Roles)’ that donate to individuals who value interpersonal relationships. Male socialization traps men in a ‘Man Box’. Man box denotes suppressed emotions, aggressiveness, dominant characters, independence, and etc. Consequently, man box can lead to a ‘Toxic Masculinity’, which can cause violence, crime, rape/sexual assault, absent fathering, homelessness, and male sexual misconduct as a group norm. Due to this crisis of masculinity, men are struggling to cope with life and men are keeping their problems hidden from others. Therefore, men are becoming more vulnerable than women to suicide. Characteristics that are mainly associated with females are that women should be emotional, home-oriented, kind, cry easily, considerate, devote themselves to others, excitable, and, etc. Therefore, gender stereotypes kill women’s self-confidence, thus leading women to be less self-assured than men in the work field, politics, and the other sectors of society.

Gender stereotypes between men and women are polar opposites and they are very dependent on society’s values and socio-cultural codes. The traits that are associated with males are instrumental traits and the females are expressive traits. Both of the stereotypes, masculinity, and femininity, can be harmful to men and women. For males, masculinity can be manifested into toxic masculinity and for females, femininity can make women less self-assured, which leads to small involvement of women in politics, high-position roles, and etc.

Resources:

• Birke, Lynda (2001). “In Pursuit of Difference: Scientific Studies of Women and Men,” Muriel Lederman and Ingrid Bartsch eds., The Gender and Science Reader, New York: Routledge. p. 320.
• Glover, D, and Kaplan, C (2000) Genders, Routledge, New York ISBN 0–415–44243–5, p. xxi.