Analyzing Gender Stereotypes in Modern Culture: A Detailed Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of gender stereotypes in contemporary culture, examining their origins, manifestations, and societal impact. The essay begins by defining key terms such as gender, sex, and heterosexism, laying the groundwork for a discussion of how social constructs and cultural norms shape perceptions of masculinity and femininity. It delves into the role of patriarchy and heteronormativity in perpetuating stereotypes, exploring the concept of hegemonic masculinity and its influence on social expectations. The essay also addresses the emergence of the 'New Man' concept and the ongoing fight for gender equality, emphasizing the need for educational reforms and the strengthening of laws to combat discrimination and promote social justice. The essay concludes by reiterating the pervasive nature of gender stereotypes and advocating for a more equitable and inclusive society through education and awareness.

Running head: STEREOTYPING
Stereotyping
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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1. ‘Our culture is full of gender stereotypes! ’Discuss this proposition with visual examples and
close reference to resources relevant to this module.
Introduction
Human body have certain differences that helps one distinguish the anatomy of the body.
However, since the ancient times, gender has been stereotyped and has been constructed
according to a particular style which identifies the need for man and woman to take up different
sets of assumed roles (Peguero, Popp and Shekarkhar 2015). In the present context too, there
have been significant instances of biasness which has been the primary reason for oppressions. In
this report a detailed analysis will be done on the basis of numerous spectrum which would seek
to explain the rigidity of the society in the contexts of gender (Bauer 2017). The report also seeks
to reveal how stereotyping has affected the development of the society and the influence it has on
the perspective of people that lead to different treatment of people in the society. In this report,
firstly I would like to point out the prevalent heterosexism in the contemporary culture.
Secondly, the role of patriarchal society will be discussed in relation to the heterosexuality
(Retelsdorf, Schwartz, and Asbrock 2015). Thirdly, the concept of hegemonic masculinity plays
a significant role in the shaping of the society. Lastly, the concept of new man will also be
discussed which aims to pave the way for equality.
Discussion
The myths and the social constructs related to genders are massive, due to which many
people face discrimination, social seclusion and gender dysphoria. Gender is a socially created
construct which includes various factors like social, cultural or psychological aspects which

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defines the males and females through social contexts (Shevelow 2015). In this discussion a
comprehensive analysis will be done under different topics that are key factors to gender.
Heterosexism
The term heterosexism is the word originated with the view to include gendered
inequalities in society as a key factor. Moreover, it also focuses on the discrimination done by
the heterosexuals towards homosexuals (Nollenberger, Rodríguez-Planas and Sevilla 2016). The
main purpose of coining this term is due to the need for the gay and lesbian to distinguish their
problem from that of sexism (Steinke 2016). Therefore, it is the prejudices thrown towards gay
people that deny, denigrate and complete disregard for the rights of lesbians and gays.
Patriarchy and heterosexuality
The deep rooted patriarchy that has been embedded in the society is the significant cause
for gender imbalance. The ancient scriptures like Bible narrates the tale of Adam and Eve which
states the importance of men and how its marginal counterpart women are the subordinate to the
superior gender (Matthes, Prieler and Adam 2016). Since then, various allusions and narratives
implicates the domineering nature of men and the submission of women. The social construction
of male and female is responsible for the assignment of gender roles and the expectations one
assumes from the genders. This patriarchy has also resulted in the formation of heteronormativity
which presumes the default sexual orientation to be that of heterosexuality (Endendijk et al.
2017). The patriarchal society does not recognize the males with the behavior that lies beyond
the roles of “masculinity”. This leads to the turning a blind eye to the needs and rights of the
LGBTQ community and the disapproval of their sexual rights. In this context, it can be said that
the masculinity is a socially constructed phenomena which expects the male to follow a certain
kind of roles and behaviors which would describe them to be the “actual man” (Kollmayer,

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Schober and Spiel 2018). This is due to this reason that the effeminate behavior of men is not
considered normal. Not only that, but certain other expectations are demanded from men which
is not “feminine”. These assumptions of behavior and roles are certainly derogatory and plays a
great role in the way it affects the development of the society (Young 2016). The perspective of
the generations are also effected in this way and the normalcy of the ideas where the women
should belong to the kitchen and the men’s job is to fulfil the monetary demands of the family is
the only accepted way of existence.
The idea of masculinity is also promoted by the advertisement and the media which tells
one the particular way to be male (Walton, Lykins and Bhullar 2016). Most of these
advertisements promotes the acting of men where the women is also present but the existence is
limited only for the purpose of objectification. In this way, the social construction of the ideas of
gender have a lot to do with the carrying on of the perspective of the generations to a restricted
sphere (Hyde 2016). The emphasis on heterosexuality also results in the growth of hegemonic
masculinity which is the normal and accepted nature of the inclination of this society towards
domination of men. This leads to the pressure of men by other males and the surveillance
towards them to become more masculine as for instance striving for a high salaried jobs,
muscular figure, etc. (Wasarhaley et al. 2017). In reality, there is no such masculinity or a pattern
of way to behave that would show the real way of being a man nor woman.

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Androcentrism, also, is the evaluation of the society and its standards according to the
male point of view which presents an explicitly negative view towards women and the
presentation of men as the only ideal condition of human beings (Murnen et al. 2016). It inflates
the roles of women and integrates causal sexism in the discourse. Moreover, the historically, the
presence of women has been made limited and submissive intentionally by the patriarchal force
which upholds the idea of hegemonic masculinity. The society is filled up with these ideas and it
dates back to ancient times. Moreover, if the advertisement and media of the 20th century can be
seen, once can notice the inherent patriarchal dominance of the media and the subordination of
the women.

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Subordination is the oppression of people having different sexualities. Therefore,
subordinate masculinity can be defined as the opposite of hegemonic masculinity (Alam 2018).
The characteristic of this type of masculinity is the exact qualities that have been excluded from
the hegemonic masculinity (Koch, D'Mello and Sackett 2015). Moreover, this type of
masculinity is seen to be having the lowest position in the hierarchy of masculinity and the
characteristics depicted by these men are generally considered to be feminine.
Another cause of gender stereotypes in the culture is due to the active uphold of the
masculine hegemony and enjoying the dividends of patriarchy (Grau and Zotos 2016). They
enjoy the privilege of being men and do not want to end as it would stop them from getting the
entitled benefit gained by subordinating women. Moreover, the patriarchal values are also made
to safeguard the men and bestow them with endless benefits that they would enjoy by
disallowing the women from getting such benefits (Morgan and Davis-Delano 2016). This
particular phenomena is termed as complicity where the women need to compromise in order to
provide the men with the privileges that they enjoy.

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The emergence of the concept of The New Man
In the context of breaking the stereotypes, the concept of The New Man was invented
which opposes sexism and embrace equality of genders (Savin-Williams 2018). It also aimed to
accept the non-oppressive behavior towards women, child and men who act beyond what
“masculinity” defines. Some of the characteristics that can be found in this new man are anti-
sexism and renouncing objectification of women, believes in the new idea of fatherhood where
they are equally responsible for the reproduction and the growth of their child (Haines, Deaux
and Lofaro 2016). Therefore, the idea of the new man promotes the idea of soft masculinity.
Equality
Breaking of the stereotypes has emerged since the advent of femininity and the suffrage
movement. It demanded the rights of women equality (Safron et al. 2017). Since then, the
concept of feminism has evolved a lot by breaking the patriarchal structure of the society (Farvid
2015). Apart from that, the gradual rise of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer
(LGBTQ) community gained its foothold and the awareness regarding breaking the patriarchal
notion of society came into forefront (Watson 2016). A lot need to be done to ensure gender
equality and the recognition of individual from other sexes. This should be started from the very
beginning by integrating gender equality in syllabus (Ellemers 2018). Moreover, the Biology
books need to be revised where special emphasis should be given on the chromosomal structure,
where beyond the XX and XY chromosomes there are other type as well which determines the
sexual interests of the person, and not the social or cultural aspect (Atkinson 2017).

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Conclusion
Gender stereotypes have been embedded in the culture and factors like patriarchy fuels
these sides. Integration of proper syllabus in the curriculum should be done, in order to have a
better grasp on the matter and eliminating stereotypical concepts of gender. In the essence of the
above analysis, it can be concluded that gender has been distorted and misinterpreted several
times throughout history. However, with proper education in all strata of life, this problem can be
eliminated where gender will not be an issue. The laws regarding the LGBTQ community should
be strengthened which would pave the way for social justice. Moreover, education will also
remove the prevailing violence that originates from prejudices and discriminatory behavior
towards individual. The casual and sexist language should also be eliminated from literature that
would help in the restoration of social justice.

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