Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak,

dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex.
For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in
typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing.
Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold.

Every society, ethnic group, and culture has gender role expectations,
but they can be very different from group to group. They can also
change in the same society over time. For example, pink used to be
considered a masculine color in the U.S. while blue was considered
feminine.

Social Role Theory Social role theory is among the most influential explanations for why gender
stereotypes are confirmed (Eagly, 1987). Social role theory proposes that one reason women and men
confirm gender stereotypes is because they act in accordance with their social roles, which are often
segregated along gender lines (Eagly, 1987). As such, women and men behave in gender-typed ways
because the social roles that they perform are associated with different expectations and require
different skills. For example, because women are caregivers for children and aging parents more often
than are men, they more frequently exhibit traditionally feminine behaviors such as nurturance and a
concern over personal relationships. Men, in contrast, who are more likely to work outside of the home,
more frequently exhibit traditionally masculine behaviors such as assertiveness and leadership qualities.
According to social role theory, therefore, women and men confirm gender stereotypes in large part
because the different roles that they perform place different social demands upon them.
Real Men Don’t Cry
Expectation:
Men grow up with the belief that crying is a sign of weakness.
While adults will often say soothing things to a crying child to get them to calm down,
boys are more likely to be told by parents, teachers and their peers that they shouldn’t
cry and that they should suck it up instead. This leads boys to bottle up their emotions
and keeps them from overcoming them effectively. And since it’s perfectly acceptable
for girls to cry, many men associate crying with femininity and weakness.
Reality:
The bottom line is crying is a normal human emotion that doesn’t need to be associated
with a weakness for any gender or gender non-conforming person. As Jack Fisch points
out in his article “7 Positive Phrases We Should Be Teaching America’s Boys About
Masculinity, “Despite this cultural stereotype, science shows that crying helps regulate
emotional stress and is widely considered a healthy outlet.”

Real Men Are the Breadwinner

Expectation:
Though two-income households are normal, unfortunately, the expectation that men
should make more money than their partner still exists. This expectation leads many
men to feel resentful of their partner if they earn more than they do. For example, Alan,
a successful accountant at a small firm was embarrassed by his high earning wife. He
told LearnVest,“There was just something about it that made me feel inadequate. I knew
it was illogical.” His insecurity led him to act out his frustration in unhealthy ways. When
asked by a family member why he and his wife had opted not to have children he
replied that she was too busy wearing the pants to be a mom.
Reality:
Attaching a man’s worth to his paycheck is not only outdated but completely unfair.
A study from the Pew Research Center found a striking 40% of American families’
primary breadwinners are mothers, and 37% of those breadwinners–an estimated 5.1
million–are wives who make more than their husbands. Since our labor market has
changed as more women have entered the workforce, “we may need to tweak our
family model to mirror those realities,” says Rachel Lu in her article Why It’s Wrong to
Equate A Man’s Worth With His Career.“

Women Are Quiet and Passive

Expectation:
I think we can all agree that girls and boys should be raised to be smart, strong, and
confident individuals. However, I’ve noticed my female cousins and nieces, in particular,
have changed from vibrant, talkative kids to quiet and timid adolescents. Some child
psychologists claim that girls become less vocal as they grow up for various
reasonsincluding low self-esteem. Kristin Mmari, an associate professor at Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told USA Today “There seems to be a shift
as soon as girls and boys enter [adolescence], where their attitudes and beliefs about
the opposite sex change dramatically.” Once girls become teens they are seen as
vulnerable and in need of protection leading many teens (and later women) to hide their
assertiveness in order conform to society’s beliefs.
Reality
Gender norms that say women should be polite and quiet lead many women to
suppress their feelings in their relationships. It’s also apart of the reason why women
survivors of sexual assault or sexual harassment don’t speak out about their
experiences until later in life. However, there are things parents can do to encourage
their child to challenge these stereotypes such as encouraging free thought and
independence as well as having discussions about stereotypes perpetuated by the
media.

Women Should Look Flawless

Expectation
Just like men are expected to have a fit, muscular body, women face immense pressure
from society to look pretty almost 24/7. Women are inundated with advertisements
about beauty products, usually promoted by gorgeous models through television and
magazines. These images are internalized and send the message to women that their
worth is tied to their appearance.
Reality
The pressure to look flawless affects women from all walks of life. According to the Daily
Mail, a survey revealed that 58% of women said they look better with their makeup, and
12% said they wouldn’t be desired as much without it. Women shouldn’t have to feel like
they need to look perfect all the time, especially for their partners.

Source: ABCNews

Gender Stereotypes and the Media

Movies, television shows, music, and even pop culture are tremendous influences when
it comes to gendered expectations of masculinity and femininity.
We should be critical of the way we are taught to expect men and women to behave
based on their gender. We live in a more progressive time compared to the past when it
comes to some issues regarding gender, but we need to remember that gendered
expectations are still ingrained into our culture and it is so subtle that we hardly even
notice. There are some really simple ways we can help stop its influence such as
creating safe spaces for men to express the full range of their emotions and letting
women know that their voices matter. No matter what gender someone self-identify’s as
there’s no difference in our ability to make a change.
https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/gender-stereotypes-impact-behavior/

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender/gender-gender-identity/what-
are-gender-roles-and-stereotypes