Angela Shackelford

April 18, 2016Authored by: Angela Shackelford

Gender Roles

Identifying and Analyzing the Effect of Stereotypes in our Society from Adolescence to Adulthood

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Table of Contents

Synopsis, Introduction…………………………….

…………………………………………………2

Stereotyping in

Adolescence………………………………………………………………………3

Women in the

Workforce……………………………………………………………………………6

Women Pull Double

Duty……………………………………………………………………………9

Sexism in Relationships…………………………………………………….…………….....

…..10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………

……….11

Annotated Bibliography……………………………………………………….

……………………12

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Angela Shackelford144 Interstate 45 North Apt. 1201 Huntsville TX. 77320 | ads047@shsu.edu

281-797-6882

Gender Roles: Identifying and Analyzing the Effect of Stereotypes in our Society from Childhood

to Adulthood

SynopsisIn this paper, I go into detail regarding the different stages of life which contain the most

sexism. These stages include infancy, adolescence, workforce, and relationships. By focusing on

these stages of growth, the idea that gender stereotyping is cyclical is a prominent theme. It is

quick to see before reading, that this world is indeed a man’s world. Women must work twice as

hard if they want to be seen as respectable and capable. While I am focusing on the struggles that

women face in society, I will also comment on the hardships that plague men in the dating world.

With all this in mind, I will make the case for a less stereotypical society in that children should

be free of influences that could serve to pigeon-hole them into roles that do not allow them to

grow, nor to be all that they are capable of.

IntroductionIn recent years, gender stereotypes have taken a backseat in favor of campaigns to

recognize the rights of transgender and homosexual individuals. However, gender roles are still a

major problem because they negatively affect the way people view each sex and their roles

within society. Gender defined is “a social construct that expresses the non-innateness of the

differences between the sexes and affirms the central role of culture in socialization processes

and the learning of masculinity and femininity” (Biemmi 129). As an extension, gender roles

serve to pigeon-hole members of each sex into distinct categories that society believes to be

correct. By catering to that mentality, gender stereotypes serve to discriminate against those who

do not fit into the mold that our culture has set. Stereotypes that limit each sex continue to be a

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major setback and, if steps are not taken to lessen the harsh views on gender differences, they

will continue to affect family life, the work place, and relationships with others.

Differentiating gender from sex has proven to be a difficult task for individuals to wrap

their minds around. This stems from the belief that the two words are more similar than distinct.

However, the divide between the two was called into question as early as 1949, when Simone de

Beauvior asked the question, “is woman born or does one become a woman?” (Biemmi 129).

From this question, gender studies developed to guide the debate.

Perhaps the largest reason for why gender and sex are lumped together, is because gender

stereotypes occur before children are even born. As Irene Biemmi points out in her article, “the

formation of gender roles occurs so early that its effects are already manifested in the first years

of life, precisely because of this there is a risk of their mistakenly being considered ‘innate’”

(130). At every baby shower, guests are encouraged to bring gifts that are specific to the gender

of the child the couple is having. This usually correlates in a plethora of pink bows or blue sailor

outfits. Once gender roles are accepted by parents, they will then pass the knowledge they

attained through society onto their children. This produces a vicious which stunts the possibilities

each child possesses to achieve more than what their given stereotypes has allotted.

Stereotyping in AdolescenceAlthough the earliest form of gender stereotyping occurs in infancy, it is particularly

impactful around adolescence. Children are taught from a young age which characteristics are

appropriate for their gender. Parents are not helping the situation by dictating the things that their

child is allowed to play with or watch depending on his or her gender. For example, fairy tales

warp a child's view of the world in harsh ways, including the way in which young girls view

dependence on a man. In “Gender Roles and Degrading Women in America”, the author points

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out that a woman in a classic fairy tale is often in need of help which is usually because she is

either oppressed by a man, or needs a man to save her. The idea that women cannot do anything

for themselves and need a man to succeed in life darkens the view of women who desire to be

independent and take care of themselves. By forcing the idea of dependence into a little girl’s

mind, she will grow up believing that her place is to be a

homemaker rather than a business woman. To go along

with that notion, “parents’ socialization practices, in turn,

may influence their children’s beliefs about their future

work success and whether or not they value gender

atypical work” (Lawson et al. 27). Lawson’s argument is backed simply by analyzing the

traditional family dynamic everyone has come to recognize and accept as the rule. Mothers have,

more often than not, been the primary caretakers while fathers go to work to financially support

the family. Women raise the child so that the man’s only responsibility is to “bring home the

bacon”. In the article, “The Census Bureau Counts Fathers as ‘Child Care’”, Dell ’Antonia

quotes a statement from Lynda Laughlin that says, “regardless of how much families have

changed over the last 50 years, women are still primarily responsible for work in the home”.

Gender roles do not only affect the child but also carry influence in the way that a father and

mother raise their child. No matter who is the designated caretaker, parents feel the need to tell

the child how he or she is supposed to act depending upon his or her sex. Parents teach girls to be

“delicate, beautiful, and nurturing, while boys learn the need to be tough and athletic” (“Gender

Roles and Degrading Women”). Gender roles are drilled into the minds of children instead of

allowing children to develop their own personal character traits. The impact parents have in

adolescence directly impacts the goals and aspirations of their children in the future.

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In order to demonstrate the harm these stereotypes have on children, I have called to

mind important events in my life that have molded my self-worth and role within our culture.

From the time I was a child, I was dressed in frilly clothing who preferred to play with Barbies

rather than play with Nerf guns. In adolescence, I was placed in gymnastic classes, horse-back

riding, and swimming; traditionally female dominated sports. My brother was placed into

basketball and was given a skateboard to learn how to ride. From the start, our parents catered to

what society expected us to be interested in.

As my brother is eight years older than I am, he entered high school first and was

pressured to do well in school. When he graduated from high school, he was encouraged to

choose a major which truly challenged him, such as engineering, mathematics, or science.

However, once he declared his major as Communications, our parents were highly disappointed.

They thought that he had not applied himself enough and that he would struggle financially for

the rest of his life. My brother took the criticism rather hard and, after he graduated with his first

degree, he went back to get a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Fast forward eight years to when I was in my last year of high school, my parents had

been fairly easy on me as far as grades were concerned. However, they did try their best to

engrain in me the manners that every lady should possess in order to impress the opposite sex.

As for my goals after high school, I was encouraged to go to college in order to get a better

education. However, my parents suggested I strive toward a degree doing something that I find

easy or something that I enjoy doing. Since I have always been a voracious reader, my chosen

major has been English from the start.

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Perhaps the only event that truly gave me a push in order to avoid falling into typical

gender norms was in my earlier childhood. From the age of five to ten, I went to work with my

dad on Bring Your Child to Work Day at Anadarko. During those eight hour days, I would learn

all about what my dad did for a living and why petroleum engineering was so important to our

community. Although men far outranked and outnumbered the women who worked at the

company, those special days in which I could learn more about my dad’s career impacted my life

in ways I only recognized once I went to college. Many children do not get to see how hard their

fathers work in their careers. For that reason, the role fathers play in the family dynamic can be

rather vague, possibly even unimportant to little girls. Due to my exposure to my father’s second

life, so to speak, I gained a respect for his hard working mentality that has transferred over to

how I live my life. In the same way that my dad tried to climb the corporate ladder, I aspire to

achieve more in my academics and future career. By sharing my personal experience with gender

norms within the family dynamic, it is clear to see that they are an issue which is rarely

recognized or acknowledged within the home but can have lasting effects on children.

Women in the WorkforceAfter adolescence, gender stereotypes also have an impact on the work place. For

example, men generally advance in the corporate world far more quickly than women do. Given

the same time period, men are promoted much more quickly than women are. In “Gender Roles

and Degrading Women in America”, the author states that “men in a predominately female field

are usually promoted faster, while the opposite is true of women in male dominated fields”. The

stereotype of men is that they are more hardworking and more determined to get ahead in the

corporate world than women so, of course, a man gets promoted more quickly than a woman

does. Also, as more women decide to go into a field of work, the average salary decreases

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(“Gender Roles and Degrading Women”). This sends another harsh message to women that they

are still inferior to men and will continue to be overshadowed.

In response, and as a way to avoid being overshadowed, women in the workforce have

begun to fight back in subtle but interesting ways. In an article published by The Leadership

Quarterly, it is mentioned that “even though in the last few decades, women’s participation in the

workforce has increased substantially and women have even started to outperform men in higher

education, around the world women are still underrepresented at higher organizational levels”

(Derks et al. 1). Due to the lack of women holding prominent spots within companies, they have

started to sabotage one another in order to

keep what valuable titles they have been

able to attain.

The most recent evidence of this is

thought to be the Queen Bee

Phenomenon. Although many experts in the

field still vouch for the concept of the glass ceiling, recent studies have moved toward this new

phenomenon to explain why women are still not achieving the same level of success in the

business world as their male counterparts. The label associated with the phenomenon is “given to

women who pursue individual success in male-dominated settings by adjusting to the masculine

culture and by distancing themselves from other women” (Derks et al. 2). By doing so, women

are thought to have a better chance of fitting in with their male colleagues and stand a better

chance of keeping their much desired positions. With the apparent sexism that is still evident in

our culture, these savvy women have learned to adapt to their environment. These Queen Bees

have learned to adapt in three ways; “by presenting themselves more like men, by physically and

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psychologically distancing themselves from other women, and by endorsing and legitimizing the

current gender hierarchy” (Derks et all 2). The most interesting way these women adapt is

perhaps that they distance themselves from other women. By limiting their contact with the same

sex, they secure their role as dominant female in the company while also severely decreasing the

chance that another woman will be able to take that role away from the Queen Bee. To outsiders

as well as junior women, the lack of compassion given by their superiors may be seen as passive

aggressive, even unfair. However, in the United States, 19.2% of corporate board seats and only

4.4% of CEO positions are held by women in the 500 largest stock listed companies (Derks et al.

2). With these statistics in mind, women who manage to attain the coveted positions strive to do

whatever they have to in order to stay on top. This has proven to be an effective strategy for

Queen Bees but it also perpetuates the gender stereotypes that exist in office settings.

Once women have embraced the queen bee mentality, they lose the ability to separate

themselves from the persona they take on in order to be respected in the male-dominated

environment. In fact, a study found that “women leaders described themselves as more

masculine and ambitious than junior women, but as comparably masculine and ambitious as their

male peers” (Derks et al. 2). Women in higher power than other members of their sex begin to

degrade those who have not achieved their same status. In fact, senior women often sabotage

junior women in order to protect their highly coveted power within the company by refusing to

promote younger women or even mentor women who are in the same field as they are. To further

explain the Queen Bee Phenomenon, an analysis of the situation “clarifies that senior women

show this response pattern as a way to assimilate into male-dominated organizations in which

men are valued over women, and that their reluctance to help other women to achieve similar

career success is a consequence of this assimilation strategy” (Derks et al. 3). This being stated,

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the idea that women should be helping members of their sex climb the corporate ladder is,

perhaps, sexist in itself. Why should women strive to help junior women get ahead when men

very rarely go out of their way to help junior men? The queen bee phenomenon explains why

women are able to get ahead in predominantly male environments but also has underlying tones

of sexism in itself.

Women Pull Double DutyEven though women struggle to be up to par with men in the work place, women still do

more work on average, when taking into account the mothers who work and also take care of

families. Not only do these women have to put time in at the office, they also have to take care of

their family when they get home. In a report that the Census Bureau released, most mothers

provide care for the child while the dad is at work but she is also caring for the child 24 hours a

day so that the father can go to work at the drop of a hat (Dell ‘Antonia 2). This report is a

shocking realization that women are still

primarily seen as the child bearers and

caretakers in the family dynamic while men

continue to be seen as the protector and

provider for the family. Women must sacrifice

their own career goals to take care of their

families but men are only expected to

financially support his household. If a family

decides to have children, it is usually the

woman who has to put her career on hold to raise the child (“Gender Roles and Degrading

Women” 3). It is ironic that it takes two to conceive a child but society thinks that women are the

most qualified caretakers of the sexes. Our culture has ideals in place to mold men into strong

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bread-winning roles and women into submissive, nurturing roles. Regardless of these

longstanding ideals, Irene Biemmi possess the question, “are the differences between males and

females innate or learned?” (128).

Sexism in RelationshipsIn addition, sexism takes a large toll on relationships and dating. Stereotypical women

desire masculine men who can be their protector. Conversely, if a woman notices that the man

can be sensitive, she plays on that “weakness”. A woman emasculates a man if she feels he is too

in touch with his emotions. In “The Social Roles of Men and Women”, the author says that

“’Real Women’ may regard him as less than a ‘real man’ and therefore reject him as a sexual

partner”. Dependent women want a man who will always be able to provide for them. Therefore,

the woman who strives to be taken care of will appeal to the more capable man because she has

more submissive characteristics (“The Social Roles”). Independent women are rejected as

partners because they have their own goals and aspirations. Similarly, men who are more

sensitive are rejected by women as possible mates because they cannot be protective or

masculine.

To break down these stereotypes in the simplest way, men must clearly be entirely

masculine while women must be entirely feminine. It is proven that most men, on average, desire

a woman who is more submissive and bends to the desires of her partner. In the book, Marriage,

A History, Coontz describes the subconscious need of men for women to be subservient (135).

Men want a woman who will do the work around the house while his only task is to keep a roof

over his family’s heads. These roles that men and women follow somehow seem rewarding. In

“The Social Roles of Men and Women”, a point is made that “the male social role is designed to

reward masculine men, while the female social role offers its relative advantages only to

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feminine women” (1). Men and women are rewarded with acceptance from their peers and the

possibility of finding a sexual partner. However, “we have shaved the idea of manhood [and

womanhood] down to an unrealistic definition that few can fit in to” (“The Social Roles” 2).

ConclusionGender roles are a major issue in today’s society that affect all aspects of our lives

including family life, the work place, and relationships with others. The problem of gender roles

can be corrected with hard work and above all, understanding. First and foremost, Parents should

allow children to grow into themselves and develop their own personality traits without gender

roles being an issue. Secondly, the idea of the Queen Bee Phenomenon should be researched

further, including taking the same idea and testing if powerful males take on the same roles as

powerful men. Finally, and most importantly, the concept that women and men somehow lack

certain qualities that the other sex possesses should be deemed obsolete. Rather, each individual

possesses personality traits which make them unique and a valuable member of an open-minded

society.

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Annotated Bibliography

Biemmi, Irene. "Gender Stereotypes in Childhood: When Is Difference Born?" Education

Sciences & Society 6.2 (2015): 127-135. Education Source. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

This article ended up being the article I cited most often. I liked how simply Biemmi

stated her content and all of the facts she included. Also, she broke her article up in a way

that made all of the information I wanted to use easy to find. She did not seem to be

biased in the least. Instead, she stated the facts and left the interpretation up to the reader.

She did not try to force her beliefs on anyone else unwillingly. I would recommend this

article to anyone who had a curious mind on the subject.

Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered

Marriage. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

In this source, I did not find all of the information useful to my area of research. The

source mainly consisted of how marriage has changed through the years for both sexes.

However, the best information I got from the book was that women have always been in

a submissive role. The idea that women can be the dominant sex has only come about in

recent decades.

Derks, Belle, Colette Van Laar, and Naomi Ellemers. "The Queen Bee Phenomenon: Why

Women Leaders Distance Themselves from Junior Women." The Leadership

Quarterly (2015): ScienceDirect. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.

I was not planning to go into this topic in my original outline of my project. My idea for

my paper changed drastically when Professor Gaines mentioned this new phenomenon. I

was able to find this source that changed my thoughts regarding gender roles and which

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sex perpetuates the idea of sexism. I am a firm believer in the idea of unnecessary labels

being placed on each sex but this source helped me to see the benefits women have found

in keeping these labels around the work place.

"Gender Roles and Degrading Women in America." Step by Step: A Guide to Everything. N.p.,

02 July 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

This article was found on a site I would not recommend going to for unbiased opinions.

That being said, the information I found to be factual helped my argument in the long

run. The idea that women are still being degraded is agreed upon by feminists but the

degradation is not 100% one-sided. This article does not take into account the women

who allow themselves to be degraded. For that reason, I believe this source is very

outdated.

Dell' Antonia, KJ. "The Census Bureau Counts Fathers as 'Child Care'" The New York Times.

N.p., 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

This source gave me the idea to input my own experience with gender stereotyping.

Although this author did not provide much in the form of factual content other than the

portions regarding the Census Bureau, I found her article a necessary part of my research.

I emulated my content to make the transition from narrative back to research-based

content as smooth as possible.

"The Social Roles of Men and Women." - Democratic Underground. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr.

2016.

This article was a difficult one for me to use in the paper. While I liked small sentences in

the content, I was displeased with the fact that it was a very biased article. The author did not

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detach themselves from the work in a way that made the article at all credible. For that reason, I

limited my use of this source to comments regarding the way women and men are supposed to be

seen by our culture. Other than that, I would not recommend this article to anyone.