Gender Roles and Sexism

Gender Roles and Sexism

Tamica Hatchett
Millikin University

Gender Roles and Sexism

From the moment a woman discovers she is pregnant, one of the very
first questions she is asked is are you having a boy or a girl? The answer to
this question will determine how the baby will be treated, and how the baby
will be expected to dress and behave as he or she gets older. These
expectations are called gender roles. In this paper I will examine gender roles
further. I want to show how from birth to adulthood people are socialized to
conform to these roles. I hope to spotlight the relationship between gender
roles and sexism and show how conforming to these roles we have been
assigned based on our biological sex has perpetuated the cycle of sexism we
face in our world today. I also want to show the way sexist attitudes about
gender roles and gender norms affect how we as a society perceive rape and
other acts of violence towards both men and women.
According to Julia T. Woods (2013), gender roles are the set of social
and behavioral expectations that society considers appropriate for a man or
a woman in their social lives and interpersonal relationships. Gender roles
play an extremely significant role in shaping the way we think of men and
women in our society. Male members of our society are encouraged to be
independent, non-emotional, aggressive, dominant, loud, strong, and active.
Sexual aggression in male members of our society is seen as a positive
attribute. Women are encouraged to be dependent, sensitive, emotional,
passive, quiet, weak, and nurturing. Women are often objectified by men and
this objectification is seen as a positive quality in our society. This is the
reason many women spend so much time focusing on their looks.

Gender Roles and Sexism

Even before we are born, gender roles affect us. When a family is
expecting a boy, they paint his room blue and if they are expecting a girl
they paint her room pink. Once the child is born, gender is imposed upon us
even further. The hospital puts blue hats and blankets on baby boys and pink
hats and blankets on little girls. As the child grows older, parents and other
family members socialize the child both verbally and nonverbally on how
they are expected to behave. According to Charles H. Zastrow and Karen K.
Kirst-Ashman (2010), parents tend to be more accepting of boys who are
active and girls who are calm and passive. Parents verbally encourage boys
to act more masculine than feminine. If a little boy falls and cries, he is
chastised and discouraged from showing emotions. As the child grows older
this stays with him and he begins to believe that showing any emotions is a
feminine characteristic. Parents verbally tell little girls that they need to play
nice and take turns while little boys are not encouraged to do the same.
Nonverbally, gender roles are communicated through the toys children are
encouraged to play with. Boys are encouraged to play with things like trucks,
guns, and action figures because they are more aggressive while girls are
encouraged to play with toys of a more nurturing nature like baby dolls. They
are bought makeup kits and vanity mirrors which teaches them grooming
skills. Boys watch their fathers and other men in society do mostly outside
work like mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, fixing the car, and building
things. Boys are asked to help in these types of activities. Girls see their
mothers and other women in society do inside work like cook, clean, take

Gender Roles and Sexism

care of the kids, and do the laundry. Girls are urged to help the adult women
in these chores (Woods 2013).
According to Charles H. Zastrow and Karen K. Kirst-Ashman (2010), as
children become adolescence, the pressure to conform to gender roles
intensifies. Pressure to conform is put on adolescents by family, peers,
media, and even teachers. Girls begin to wear makeup and tend to become
overly concerned with their outward appearance. They start plucking,
waxing, and shaving every part of their bodies. Attractiveness begins to
become more important than academic performance. Boys too are affected
by the pressure to conform to gender roles during adolescence. They are
expected to be involved in sports, and do well in them, because being active
and competitive is considered masculine.
As adolescents grow into adulthood, gender roles are reinforced.
Women are encouraged to get married and have children. If a woman does
not marry or have children, people may assume that something is wrong
with her. This is because getting married and having children is expected to
be a womans ultimate goal. When women do have children, they are
expected to be the primary caregiver of their children. Women are also
expected to do all the household chores. Even if they work a full time job,
women are expected to do these things. This stems from the gender roles
they learned as children. Adult men are affected in adulthood as well. Men
are expected to be the breadwinners of the family. Because they were

Gender Roles and Sexism

taught to be aggressive and competitive growing up, they are pressured to

succeed in whatever line of work they are in (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman
2010).
The belief in traditional gender roles contributes to sexist attitudes
towards both men and women. According to the Women's International
Network News, sexism, or gender discrimination, is defined as oppression
that dictates what a person can or should be capable of based on their
gender. Ambivalent sexism is the theory that states sexism has two
components: hostile sexism and benevolent sexism.
According to Duran, Moya, and Megias (2011), hostile sexism refers
to the stereotyping and overtly negative views of a particular gender. An
example of hostile sexism would be the belief the women are inferior to men.
This type of sexism may stem from the gender roles we are taught from early
in life. The idea that women should fit into the gender role of being
dependent, passive, weak, and submissive to men perpetuates hostile
sexism because any woman who is more assertive or independent than what
is seen as normal may be discriminated against and ostracized. Any man
who doesnt fit into the stereotypical gender role of being strong,
independent, and aggressive is subject to hostile sexism as well. If a man
deviates from these traditional gender roles he may be called a fag or a
sissy.

Gender Roles and Sexism

Hostile sexism contributes to occupational sexism in our society.

According to Donna Sayman (2007), occupational sexism is any
discriminatory action, practice, or statement in the workplace based on
someones sex. The most recognizable forms of hostile, occupational sexism
are wage discrimination and sexual harassment. Wage discrimination
happens when a woman is paid significantly less money than a man for an
equal amount of work. This happens because women are seen as inferior to
men and not as valuable. Sexual harassment is the unwanted advances and
obscene remarks made toward an individual in the workplace or other social
settings. Because men are taught to be sexually aggressive and that women
are meant to be objectified, women are most often the victims of this type of
occupational sexism.
Benevolent sexism according to Duran, Moya, and Megias (2011), is a
chivalrous attitude toward women. Benevolent sexism originates through
the idealization of traditional gender roles. It is viewed more positively than
hostile sexism but it is still damaging to the pursuit of gender equality
because it casts women as weak, fragile creatures who require the help of a
man to function. Benevolent sexism also casts men as macho and
competitive. Benevolent sexism can lead to sexism in the workplace just as
hostile sexism can. Preferential hiring and/or promotions of one sex over
another, and the attitude that one sex is better at a particular job than
another are examples of benevolent, occupational sexism. . Preferential
hiring and/or promotions of one sex over another, and the attitude that one

Gender Roles and Sexism

sex is better at a particular job than another are ideas that go hand in hand.
Some employers may only hire men as construction workers because
construction is seen as mans work due to the difficulty and physical labor
of construction work. Other employers may only hire women to be
housekeepers because it is seen as womens work because traditionally
women take care of household chores. When men or women go into
occupations that are not cohesive with the gender roles they have been
assigned, they are often looked down upon.
Because our society adheres to these strict gender roles and allows
these sexist attitudes to remain prevalent, the way we perceive rape and
other acts of violence toward both men and women are affected. Rape is
somewhat normalized because of societys views about gender and sexuality.
According to Maxwell (2014), the term rape culture explains this
phenomenon. Rape culture was coined in 1993 by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela
Fletcher and Martha Roth, and according to Maxwell (2014) is defined as "a
complex set of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports
violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and
sexuality as violent. Women perceive a continuum of threatened violence
that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself." Rape
culture is excused through the media and popular culture. It is maintained in
the sexist language used toward women, and the continued objectification of
womens bodies. Women are expected to accept this language and
objectification because gender roles encourage them to be passive and

Gender Roles and Sexism

submissive as well as objectified. Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2010) state

that rape is the logical reaction of men who are socialized to dominate
women. As a result, both rapists and their victims are raised to believe that
rape is a natural occurrence. Socializing women to believe that they are
weak manifests the idea that women are naturally victims.
Traditionally, male rape is not talked about often. There are a number
of reasons for this. According to Davies, Gilston, and Rogers (2012), male
rape often goes unreported. Men may be embarrassed because rape makes
them seem weak and unable to protect themselves. This challenges their
self-concept of their own masculinity. In our society, there are three common
myths about rape: it is impossible to rape a man, male rape is the victims
fault for not fighting back, and men would not be traumatized from rape.
These myths stem from our views on masculinity. If men are all sexually
aggressive then they should want to have sex all the time rendering rape
impossible. If a man truly does not want to have sex, then he should be
strong enough to fight the rapist off. Lastly, because being non-emotional is
a masculine trait, men should be perfectly fine mentally and emotionally if
they are raped. These views of masculinity cause our society to see male
rape more like a joke than an actual societal problem.
Domestic violence is another serious problem in our society that has
roots in gender role conformity. As stated earlier, feminine gender roles
include being weak, passive, and submissive; masculine gender roles include

Gender Roles and Sexism

being aggressive and dominant. Often times, when women are unwilling to
stick to the gender role assigned to them, they are victims of violence.
Fernndez, ngeles Quiroga, Escorial, and Privado (2014) believe that many
instances of marital and spousal violence are caused by this. They say that
when women are more aggressive and are not submissive, their husband or
significant other may feel like the woman is challenging his dominance. In
order to regain that dominance, many men resort to violence. Violence
reestablishes their masculinity. Exerting that control over a woman shows
how strong and macho they are. Men can be victims of domestic violence as
well but like rape it is very much underreported for all the same reasons.
Society has a tendency to believe that men cannot be victims of domestic
violence because their masculinity dictates that they should be strong and
able to protect themselves.
In order for these sexist attitudes and beliefs to change, we as a
society have to change the way we view gender roles. Women do not have to
be weak and dependent on a man all the time and men do not have to be
strong and aggressive. Gender is not binary. It is okay for a man to show
emotions and it is okay for a woman to be independent. To believe otherwise,
we are ensuring that sexism, rape, and domestic violence will become more
and more prevalent. We will continue to raise females to believe that they
are inferior to males and raise males to believe that they are superior to
women.

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10

References
Davies, M., Gilston, J., & Rogers, P. (2012). Examining the Relationship
Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance,
Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2807-2823. Retrieved September 24,
2014.

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11

Duran, M., Moya, M., & Megias, J. (2011). Its His Right, Its Her Duty:
Benevolent Sexism and the Justification of Traditional Sexual Roles.
Journal of Sex Research, 48(5), 470-478. Retrieved September 27,
2014.
Fernndez, J., ngeles Quiroga, M., Escorial, S., & Privado, J. (2014). Explicit
and Implicit Assessment of Gender Roles. Psicothema, 26(2), 244-251.
Retrieved September 27, 2014.
Maxwell, Z. (2014). WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAPE CULTURE.
Essence, 45(7), 78
Sayman, D. (2007). The Elimination of Sexism and Stereotyping in
Occupational Education. The Journal of Men's Studies, 15(1), 19-30.
Retrieved October 16, 2014, from Academic Search Complete.
Women's International Network News. Autumn93, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p6. 1/7p.
Wood, J. (2013). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture (10th
ed., pp. 20-29). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub.
Zastrow, C., & Ashman, K. (2010). Understanding human behavior and the
social environment (8th ed., pp. 370-408). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.