Gender identity has become a topic of interest during the last decades. While some cultures actively support individuals whose gender identity inconsistent with the assigned sex, others condemn those people and tend to prevent them from demonstrating their true self unless it fits the general perception of gender. Such social norms affect well-being of transgender and gay people contributing to increased intolerance, misunderstanding, and violence. American culture powerfully promotes gender stereotypes that put a great pressure on people making them conform to expectations of others as well as criticize everyone whose gender is not congruent with assigned sex.
In the video Batya Greenwald raises a number of increasingly important and sensitive issues related to gender identity. She considers that the notion of sex cannot be employed interchangeably with the notion of gender. To my mind, all people are affected to a particular extent by social norms that force them to align their gender with the sex. Many individuals would be other persons, if there were not gender division. In my opinion, the results of such pressure can be virtually devastating. Batya sets many examples when people suffer violence, psychological damage, or social stigma due to gender-specific roles assigned by the society. Those examples seem familiar even to people living in liberal countries like the United States. I witnessed many situations when women were forcibly assigned the role of a homemaker or men who were forced to remain the primary money-maker. These people attempted to fulfill these expectations even though they were not their truly ambitions. Eventually, the insecurity to demonstrate their genuine identity or fear of being publicly criticized prevents people from living their full lives.
In addition, serious difficulties arise even for those people who reject complying with a binary system. Our culture continues to promote the view that people have only two options: either a person is female or male. This societal norm negatively impacts the individuals willing to express the gender identity which does not correspond to the sex they were born into . People are taught from childhood that a woman should act like a lady while a man should refrain from displaying his emotions. In our culture, a crying man or a woman becoming a leader in strength-related sports are immoderately interpreted as something bad, as long as it breaks the long-established rules. In other words, people who dared to follow their innate desires are considered in a negative light because they do not meet some stereotypes. Our culture tends to compel one sex that they must behave in a particular way because of human nature fearing everything that is different. People feel more secure with someone who is similar to them, as they know how to behave and what conduct to expect. Once they confront the opposite view or different lifestyle, they commonly become hostile, thereby significantly limiting their minds.
To become more tolerant to people who disagree with gender-specific roles, it is essential to study sex and gender-related literature from early childhood. People need to be cognizant of the reasons why other individuals opt for different lifestyles . Moreover, such literature provides with valuable insight into experiences of being transgender or gay, which provokes empathy in a reader. It is also necessary to ponder upon one’s own sexuality and gender asking oneself whether one’s thinking or conduct is factual or forced by the society.
To conclude, societal norms and stereotypes prevent people from expressing their feelings about their gender, thereby contributing to the sense of unhappiness and fear. People try to conform to expectations of others, abandoning their genuine ambitions and desires. Those individuals, who object to traditional gender behavior, usually become subjects to violence and disrespect. Reading and discussing more about topics related to gender roles will help to better understand oneself, fulfill unique potential, as well as develop respect and acceptance of people who do not align with gender stereotypes.
Alex Seed works as an editor at a prfofound service https://plagiarismsearch.com/ plagiarism search. He is passionate about writing, editing and sourcing. In his spare time he participates in different webinars, conferences, attends an academic writing course.
