People naturally differ from one another.other - they have different skin and hair colors, they belong to different nations and speak different languages, but the most striking and striking differences are gender differences - the traditional difference between men and women. These differences affect our lives and our ideas of due. But even sexual, biological differences are only the foundation of other frameworks, norms and standards formed by culture and society. These standards - gender stereotypes - take on a stable appearance as the generally accepted beliefs about how to behave and what men and women should be.
Similar representations exist in eachsociety, but depending on the type of society, historical period, or geographic territory, established opinions about the social role and purpose of “real” men and women vary greatly. The generally accepted, stable perceptions in a particular society about the proper "female" and "male" behavior, their purpose, social roles and activities are determined by the sociocultural environment and, accordingly, are subject to change. Although our differences can both help and prevent us from living, gender stereotypes most often hinder personal development because they form gender expectations, according to which other people judge us and our behavior and dictate to us what we should and should not do to to meet expectations.
Human culture has historically evolvedso that differences between the sexes played a larger role than individual differences. Moreover, attitudes were fixed in the public consciousness and psychology, when certain generalized features and characteristics inherent in a certain part of men and women (not necessarily more) extended to the whole female or male gender. Thus, a gender stereotype is formed, which transfers biological features to behavioral features and social norms in men and women, as well as the relationship between them, and fixes these features as obligatory. For example, if sex differences dictate such behaviors that women can breastfeed or give birth, and men can conceive a child, then these signs, due to psychological stereotyping, are transferred to social behavior. Most of the famous philosophers of the ancient world claimed gender stereotypes, saying that the masculine is something initiative, active, logical, dominant, and the female - passive, passive, accepting, intuitive.
Such views have led to traditionalperception of social roles of men as bold, strong, aggressive, ambitious, reasonable, and women as emotional, weak, submissive, incapable of deep thinking. This imbalance, often given off by the natural balance of the sexes, in fact gives rise to gender inequality. First of all, women were considered incapable of rational thinking, management and calculation, alien to science and order, as well as everything related to self-control. Secondly, these beliefs justify the imbalance of power, subordinating a woman to a man, both in the family and in society. After all, they describe a woman as submissive to a strong and active man and giving his love to him as a gift for patronage, and at the same time as a creature who can neither manage a household, nor a state, nor manage money independently.
Gender stereotypes are often used inas an excuse for violence against women, because they form a distorted view of the psychology of a woman - that she allegedly likes being bullied, beaten, humiliated, and even raped. Even Sigmund Freud wrote that masochism is a sign of feminine essence. Stereotypes in this area give rise to serious social problems - they cause discrimination to the fair sex, they deprive women of their dignity and force them to get used to their humiliated role, and as a result, to endure violence and not fight for their rights.
