Is it wrong to associate stereotypes with gender? Do women like to talk about jewelery and clothes more than sports or politics? Do men like action flicks more than the more sentimental ones? Most women’s eyes mist up when they witness something very touching. Men might just smile and say that is good.
Do men like watching sports more than shopping? Do women have more shoes, bags, clothes than men do? Is it fair to say then, that most of these stereotypes arise out of a little bit of truth at least?
I always tend to support the female characters in movies(and give the bad ones the benefit of the doubt…..always.) I realized some time back that I read more books that have a female central character than male. I also read more blogs that are written by women than men (are there as many male Indian bloggers as female?) Does that mean I am influenced more by my being a woman?
My favorite movie list has no fantasy, action or thriller picks in it(no Terminators, Star Wars, Star Treks and the like). My favorite books list is devoid of any such ones either. Neither do I enjoy the dhishoom dhishooms and the aliens and the machines and the vulcans and the blah blah blooohs! That doesn’t mean I only love chick flicks. I find it excruciatingly hard to sit through movies like Sex and the City and the like, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Princess Diaries and the Legally Blonde series. I also enjoy the odd Pulp Fiction here and a Kill Bill there!
I like cooking more than my husband does, but he likes to keep the house uncluttered more than I do! He has more finesse in handling stuff than I do. I am always bumbling about in the most ungraceful manner. I like to shop but he hates the exercise. There are times when I am more aggressive than he is in a competitive environment. I love to spend hours(occasionally) to look good, whereas it only takes him 5 minutes to get dressed.
Are we more likely to act in accordance with the stereotype associated with our gender? And is there anything wrong with it? Do you think a person’s life choices and behavior are influenced by their sexuality more than circumstances? Are we moved more by our sexual orientation? Or are those stereotypes more a result of the constant conditioning we receive since childhood?
shilpadesh
Are we more likely to act in accordance with the stereotype associated with our gender?
Yes
And is there anything wrong with it?
No
Do you think a person’s life choices and behavior are influenced by their sexuality more than circumstances?
Combination of both. Hopefully more due to circumstances in a progressive world.
I hope the stereotypes will slowly die down with time.
Are we moved more by our sexual orientation? Hmm…didnt get your question right. For plain sex, yes
I meant do we behave in a certain way because of being men/women?
Or are those stereotypes more a result of the constant conditioning we receive since childhood?
Very likely yes.
Perhaps yes.
I don’t believe in the general stereotypes like this is a manly job or womanly job. If cooking was a woman’s job then whole world wouldn’t see such fabulous men as chefs.
Aren’t they? Wonder if these chefs cook at home?
Due to our physical built, work in the past was divided..very similar to the caste system where someone who knew Veda was a Brahmin and someone who fought wars was Kshatriya. It doesn’t mean anything now and same way cooking and staying at home/working outside aren’t gender specific, in my opinion. But even then it is us women who leave our job to be with a newborn because we are the one who feed them and basically are more nurturing.
That makes sense right?
Having said that, I believe one should be comfortable in their skin. I see many people are proud when they say their daughter is tomboyish, a term used for girls who are more interested in outdoor sports. Even though tomboyish is a word, I am not fond of it. I would say that a girl is a girl even when she plays ball, plays with dolls, dresses up or walks shabbily.
I don’t like being called that either. People used to tell me I should have been a guy just because I have broad shoulders and am very tall…and used to play kabaddi etc in school!
I love Sex and the city. Just LOVE it. That has nothing to do with any stereotypes. It is more because as a woman, I associate with another woman’s pain and happiness and I love fashion and SHOES. The way our mind works is different for different situations. I also love action movies…not all of them but I do. I know many men who watch chick-flicks. In fact I have seen many reviewing chick-flicks in the blogosphere and it is perfectly normal to enjoy a woman centered movie.
I normally like woman-centric movies, but somehow never could understand the point of SATC.
omg!! from ur stereotyped description, i sound like a man trapped in a woman’s body…
a tomboy at best! becoz i identify far more with the men’s stereotype than teh women’s.
i dont talk about sports much, but i am interested in politics. no i speak less about clothes and jewellery, and i m not a shopaholic. i dont cry while watching movies.. and believe me, i know men who do. i tend to side with roles/ppl in movies depending on their characters rather than gender. i have a healthy mixture of guys and girls as friends (both in the blog and real world), but my sense of humour and way of talking are far more identifiable from a guy’s perspective than a girl’s.
there’s more… wait! i loved the terminator series, air force one, con air and a host of other action movies. i love comedy and romance too but i avoid mills and boons like the plague.
FINALLY a stereotype i adhere to… i love cooking and am not a bad cook myself. but i know men who are the same too! and yes u’d be surprised to know how much more aggressive women can be if they put their mind to it!
the point being, stereotypes are emphasised by society. a lot of that is changing now. we see men in aprons and donning the chef’s hat while women fly aeroplanes.
Or are those stereotypes more a result of the constant conditioning we receive since childhood?
to a large extent, i’d say yes. i was brought up by my grandfather which resulted in my tomboyish bend of mind. while i’d have been ordinarily learning to cook or sew, he made sure i’d be changing the oil in the car engine or painting the gate! “being a girl doesnt mean u cant do these things!” he’d say and i’d be grateful. if i were conditioned to believe that being a girl meant being coy and dainty, i’d have gone with that. i was encouraged to break the stereotype, thus i m what i m now.
of course there r biological differences between the genders and certain things which neither gender can do if exchanged. that apart, i think personal tastes are one’s own chocie and a child shud have the freedom to choose for him/her self what suits him/her best.
Don’t panic Ashwathy, I also feel like a man trapped in the body of a woman with broad manly shoulders and huge hands and feet! I like some things that are typical girl stuff, my eyes well up at the drop of a hat, but I can be super aggressive! Wonder where I get all this from, I have never been told something was for girls and something for boys!
I do feel that there are certain differences between the “thought process” of a man and a woman…….. but to say that certain jobs are gender oriented is ridiculous…………
Accepting the differences is normal, OG, but creating differences which are not really there is not fair no?
lovely post.
I think before birth only the differentiation between sexes start , the so called stereotypes traits are fed right from the womb. blues for boys, pinks for girls, dolls for girls, cars for boys.poor child learns all this even in mother’s womb so he grows up believing the set rules laid for different sexes.
ever wondered if the children will feel or act differently if boys are given dolls toplay.
he will be termed sissy. it is the society which generalises such things
You hit the nail on the head anju. Why buy cars for boys and dolls for girls? We never received a car as gifts from relatives, it was always dolls or play utensils, which we seldom played with !
I think each and every individual varies… !!
I love cooking… !! more than my wife.. on holidays I and my bro are always pestering around in the kitchen though we make a lot of mess and spoil a lot of utensils which teh females hate…
I always cry at the slightest emotion in a film… my wife at times dis owns me in a theatre… that I cry too much… !!
I guess a lot of people will answer this post of yours differently…
Wow you cry? That is so sweet. Not many men will confess(I say confess because they associate it with being weak) to crying, and it is wonderful to see a man say that he cries, it removes so many mental blocks we have about emotions.
I think people perceive it that way… I know a lot of guys who sob… !!
and its strange you find crying sweet… lol…
but a lot of females feel its sweet…
geez… only if we knew bout these in college days…!!!!!!!!!
Hehe yeah! The idea of macho is not crying, being strong and being idiotically removed from emotions!
me too cry and I guess more than wifey…
Aaah the classic topic
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Well i think i read somewhere that such characteristics have now been programmed into our genes as to why men/women behave the way they do..but i love the topic still
They have been programmed indeed. No surprise how our culture has taken to Valentines day cards and gifts and all the other assorted days!