The following post looks at the stereotypes that men and women face. These stereotypes are often black and white, not taking into account the feelings of individuals. Stereotypes are just as harmful to mental health as stigma. The thought that a man or a woman must act a certain way has often been attributed to the difficulties people feel in asking for help. A man is expected to ‘man up’ and not feel depressed while a woman in hormonal and irrational, not to be taken seriously.
While the examples I have included may seem flippant and shallow, they have the potential to cause harm to take them as gospel. PsychAlive states that stereotyping a person because of their sex is often used as a way to pit the sexes against each other. For example, using the stereotype of men being tough, it implies that women by default are weak.
Last week I was watching My Kitchen Rules and the challenge was to make a romantic meal. One of the teams used beef. According to judges this wasn’t a suitable meat choice because a woman wouldn’t want to eat beef on a date. I think I might be a man.
According to Weekend Today all women wear make all the time. It’s also important to make sure you sneak off to the bathroom before your date wakes ‘the morning after’ to put on your face. I think I might be a man.
Apparently ladies do not swear, or use bad words. I think I might be a man.
Men don’t see the mess unless it is pointed out to them. They are happy to overlook an pile of clothes on the bathroom floor. I think I might be a man.
Women do not pass wind and jokes about it are not funny. I think I might be a man.
A mother will instinctively hear their babies cry while they are sleeping, while the father will sleep through the noise. I think I might be a man.
If a woman asks how she looks, tell her she looks fine or she will get mad. I think I might be a man.
I have seen this post making it’s way through my social media. I do about half of those things. I think I might be a man
Women enjoy Romantic Comedies and force their partners to watch them. Men enjoy action movies. I think I might be a man.
They seem a bit ridiculous when the stereotypes are laid out like that don’t they? Does it really matter at the end of the day if a person doesn’t fit a predetermined mould? As long as a person is happy then I think that is all that matters. After all they are the ones who have to live with themselves.
Do you think you might be a man after reading those stereotypes? Or maybe you think you’re really a woman trapped in a man’s body. What stereotypes have you come across that have been harmful to someone you know?
Linking up with Jess for IBOT
When did women not want to eat meat? I usually order a steak when in a restaurant??? What’s that about? Chicken is just a waste of everybodies time (usually, I will say the chicken at Shelter in the Woods gives Duck a run for it’s money as the tastiest meal on the planet – but I digress).
I would say action movies are in fact the best kind of romantic movie, because the hero is a hero instead of some lamo mushy driveller…
As a woman who likes footy & motor sport, not for the men and shorts (eye roll) and hates shopping (eye roll) and doesn’t get that taking a selfie without make up is such a big deal (because I never wear make up due to laziness and zero interest). I would say I was a man, except by the same rules, that would mean I watch porn all day and earn more money, which I don’t…
All that said, I try to avoid sterotypes for gender, but I am guilty from time to time – it is all ingrained in us so young, so we don’t even know it half the time…
Hilarious Tegan! I think I’m half man half woman :/
I am totally a man! I love action films, almost always order steak, the mess has become one with the floor and I love the F-word. It is so expressive!
Love your work Tegan, or should I call you Tego.. because you know, us blokes ALWAYS shorten everyone’s names and add either a Y or an O to the end.
I too am half man according to those stereotypes! But my husband is also half woman, maybe that is why we get on so well! Thought provoking!
Gender stereotypes are stupid! It is something that I try really hard to reinforce in my parenting. Especially after reading this, cause I too might be a man. Except, I love rom-coms. xS
After reading this, no only have I come to the conclusion that I AM a man, but my husband is a woman!
xx
Hahaha. That’s funny. I think I might be A sexual then … or perhaps even Hermaphrodite.
L
I am TOTALLY a man, according to stereotypes. I can barely remember my other half’s birthday. We’ve only been together 8 or 9 years haha. Or years…see, I don’t even know when we met. It’s our wedding anniversary today and I can’t remember if it was 2009 or 2010 that we got married (we prefer to celebrate when we started dating, anyway).
So, yep. A man.
I’m definitely a man, except for not hearing the baby cry… I hear every dam noise she makes even if Im in a deep sleep.
I’m a little of both – I like make up sometimes and pretty jewellery yet prefer wearing pants over dresses. I hate wearing perfume. I hate all house work, cooking and craft but I hate watching sport too. And I’d never knock back a good steak but I would want the cake for dessert too….
Well in that case, I’m definitely pretty blokey too! I can’t believe in this day and age, people are still identifying with definite role rules.
I love yours Tegan, they’re hilarious!
Oh this is so funny!
I’ll confess, I’m definitely a girl. Though I would never wake up early to apply make up. That’s just craziness! Also, fart jokes are funny no matter who you are!!!
Tegan I absolutely loved this! It really drives me crazy that as a whole society we can only focus on our differences – clearly it is not working – I suggest for the next ten years we focus on our similarities and see how that works out for us?
I’m a bitza. Bit of half and half. I thought the same thing on My Kitvhen Rules when they said Beef wasn’t a romantic meal! I love a good steak over seafood.
According to these stereotypes I am 100% man! And proud of it! I rarely wear make-up, and if I do it’s only basic, bit of mascara, blush and lip gloss. My house looks like a bomb hit it more often than not and it’s usually Dave that gets the shits with it before me. And he almost always wakes up to one of the girls before I do. Yep, I’m a man indeed!
Totally a man myself, apparently…
I think I am a man too! All of those things applied to me! How are farts not funny!
If a person ever feels the need to generalise about any group, including women or men, that tells us a lot about the person doing the generalising and nothing whatsoever about the group. A good way to realise how ridiculous debunked gender roles are is to replace man with woman, etc. So, men are not naturally nurturing becomes women are not naturally nurturing. Women don’t crave poweful jobs becomes men don’t crave powerful jobs. Bullshit in both cases. Some are, some aren’t, some do, some don’t.
Until we all learn to approach every single person as an individual person making no assumptions about them, not what they like to wear, watch, read, do, say – based on the gender role society assigned for them, we will never have a fair society. Women are killers, men love kids – except when they’re not and when they don’t. Even one outlier completely negates the entire concept of “men like women like”. It’s a conscious choice, language shapes thought, and when we change the language we change the thought. I stop myself consciously from assigning debunked gender stereotypes even in casual conversation.
The main difference between the sexes is physiological. Size, strength and the fact that women get pregnant. If we woke up tomorrow and women were equally as strong as men we would soon see just how “naturally” submissive, sweet and accomodating women as a sex are. And thank frack for the pill, which has absolutely re-shaped society and given women a shot at the lives they could never have dreamed of even 60 years ago.
Anyway, bottom line, let’s all choose from this moment onwards to make no assumptions about a person’s preferences based on their sex and stop trying to cram both men and women into debunked gender roles. It’s a brave new world. Let’s move forward in it.
i couldn’t resist clicking on this excellent title Tegan and I was not disappointed. Funny but very true. The only thing that makes me a woman is the Romantic over Action movie one but the swearing makes up for that so I guess I’m a man!
Hey Tegan, I think I might be a man too!
My hubster is very in touch with his feminine side, which he would probably get insulted by if he heard me say that. But it is one of the things I love about him, that he has such a lovely gentle nature.
I read an article recently on androgeny, it reckons the most successful relationships are those between people who exhibit traits from both sexes! I am not explaining it very well, so here’s the link if you’re interested: http://visionpsychology.com/living-androgynously/.
Visiting today from #teamIBOT xxx
Fabulous post, maybe the world really is full of men with only the odd woman here and there 😉
I think we may all be men!
I think I am a man too-love steak when I got out for dinner! The Bourne Identity is one of my favourite movies and most of the other things I do as well…maybe the skinny celebrities don’t eat meat but a normal healthy women certainly does! xx
Im definitely a man too…..some of these are utterly ridiculous and if I didn’t so half these things my husband would think there is something seriously wrong. Society definitely needs to rethink these gender stereotypes, we’re not in the 1940’s anymore.
Classic – I’m more of a shemale – a bit of both and proud of it. I hope that our kids try not to take on board the way society stereotypes the genders, however, it was worse when we were kids right? A woman’s place was in the home!
Oh my God, I think I may be a man too!
Then again I always had a clue when I realised I would much rather play pool and have a few drinks than go on a girlie shopping trip.
I kinda like being one of the boys, so I am cool with that 🙂
Think I’d qualify as one of the most girlie girls around, but I still love action movies, think farting is HILARIOUS, and do half the things on that “20 Things Men Do That Women Don’t Know About” list. Side note: I totally know my husband does those things.
Gender stereotypes are stupid.
This is a very funny take Tegan – I’m still probably more of a soppy girl (here I go with the stereotypes) but I;m leaving the pile on the bathroom floor, am known to swear and hey I can be as lazy as the best man! Love the overriding message too about stereotypes and I can see how the whole ‘men have to man up’, ‘women just being hormonal’ has a big impact on people suffering mental illness.
Love this! I’m a man too!
Steak, swearing, action movies… add in a love of cricket, golf and Formula 1 and yep – I’m a man too!