Gender stereotypes: how they reproduce inequality

The mirage of gender equality that we find ourselves in today's society in which we think that inequality is a thing of the past or of other countries, despite the existence of gender violence (maximum expression of this inequality), the wage gap, the unequal distribution of household tasks and raising children, economic and politicians who continue to be predominantly male... etc, show the continuity of this problem and the need to analyze the factors that cause and perpetuate such inequality.

At the base of gender inequality there are, among other perpetuating aspects of the problem, gender stereotypes, as we will see.

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How is gender inequality inherited?

One of the theories that analyzes these aspects is the theory of differential socialization proposed by Walker and Barton (1983), which explains how people, in their process of initiation of social and cultural life and from the influence of socializing agents, they acquire differential gender identities that they carry

stereotypical attitudes, behaviors, moral codes and norms of the behavior assigned to each gender. In other words, differential socialization based on sex generates gender inequality.

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This differential socialization uses the different socialization agents to transmit stereotypes that contribute to maintaining gender inequalities. Furthermore, these stereotypes persist as continue to be transmitted in the socialization process at all stages of development.

During primary socialization in which you build your own identity, the boy or the girl through family models observes how the father plays certain roles while the mother corresponds to others, at the same time as they will gradually join a reference group according to their gender, thus building their own identity. After this initial socialization, the socialization process continues at school (secondary socialization) at which point they begin to consolidate the differences in socialization of men and women and that in turn contribute to the maintenance of gender stereotypes.

In this way, belonging to one or another sexual category will determine both the differences in the identity of each as an individual as the different social realities that occur in interaction with others. Both determinations will condition future behavior, that is, future life choices, and of course subsequent professional performance.

A) Yes, the woman will assume family functions of maintaining the home, caring for children and the elderly, tasks that given the differential socialization will have to reconcile with their work.

Gender schemes

The term "mindset" refers to the organized structure of knowledge or information that is built due to the existence of a need for knowledge as an evolutionary form of adaptation to the environment. Its preparation and development is closely related to socialization processes.

Thus, when we talk about gender schemes we refer to the set of knowledge through which shared traits are organized and those that are assigned differentially to women and men.

Gender schemes, like the rest of cognitive schemes have an adaptive function since they provide information about the environment to face it and adapt behaviors to it. However, all cognitive schemas, including gender, imply a process of schematization of knowledge or information with which it is simplified and nuances of reality are lost, since the basis for its organization is centered on two rules: distortion and accommodation.

Thus, authors such as Monreal and Martínez (2010) indicate that these gender schemes contribute to maintaining the differences between men and women through three dimensions:

• Sex roles: are the attributions that are made on the consideration that there are quantitative differences in the performance of activities between men and women.
• Gender role stereotypes: they refer to those beliefs about what kind of activities are more appropriate or suitable for one or the other sex.
• Stereotypes of gender traits: those psychological aspects that are differentially attributed to men and women. These three dimensions contribute to the maintenance of inequalities because gender schemes are based on stereotypes that assume the established order in patriarchal society.

Gender and sexual stereotypes

In scientific research prior to the 1970s, sexual differences based on stereotypes were considered as positive masculine characteristics attributed to men and those characteristics considered feminine, attributed to women, such as negative. However, authors such as Bosch, Ferrer and Alzamora (2006) show that from the 1970s onwards, began to question and criticize such consideration of sexual differences due to different reasons:

• The existence of multiple investigations that yielded results in which the similarities between the sexes are greater than the differences.
• Women's access to the world of work that allowed them to demonstrate that they can perform tasks that were previously performed exclusively by men.
• The contributions of the Feminist movement such as the concept of gender.
• The explanations of the theories of social learning or cognitivism on the sexual typing.

Based on these contributions, the presence of stereotypes in the various investigations began to be considered and detected. The term stereotype refers to the belief system about certain characteristics or attributes common to a certain group or society. Specifically, the sexual stereotype refers to the set of socially shared beliefs that attribute certain characteristics to each person based on their belonging to one or the other sex.

The sexual stereotype understands personality traits, behaviors, and occupations that are considered typical of women and men.

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The stereotype of the feminine

Traditionally the female stereotype has been shaped by characteristics that attribute inferiority to women with respect to men, based on the argument of the moral, intellectual and biological inferiority of women.

Although this argument lacks scientific foundation, it is used culturally and socially in order to maintain the patriarchal system in which women Women continue to be considered based on the female stereotype, assigning them roles and behaviors typical of the private sphere, motherhood and work tasks. careful.

Monreal & Martínez (2010) explain how stereotypes originated in earlier times and transmitted through education maintain inequality due to the fact that stereotypes present a prescriptive and normative character formed in society by which people will guide and adapt both the representation of the self as a man or a woman, their identity, expectations, beliefs and behaviors.

This nature of stereotypes allows their perpetuation, since in cases where the person conforms to the normative gender stereotype, it is that is, to the imposed and internalized social norm, the stereotype is corroborated, and in those cases in which the person does not conform to the gender stereotype tax will receive the "social punishment" (reprimands, sanctions, lack of affection ...).

Inequality today

Currently, the reality and the social situation have been modified through various structural changes that try to eliminate gender inequalities. However, the stereotypes have not been modified and adapted to the new social situation, which produces a greater distance between it and the stereotypes.

The gap between the stereotype and social reality increases due to the effect of self-fulfillment and the strong resistance to change presented by stereotypes. Therefore, the differences between both genders continue as men and women automatically internalize their own stereotype, with the corresponding values ​​and interests of each gender, values ​​that will be reflected in the roles that perform.

Although stereotypes fulfill an adaptive function that allows us to know the reality and the environment that surrounds us quickly and schematic, are characterized by attributing the feminine and masculine as two exclusive groups, in a dualistic way, as two dimensions represented in opposite poles in which the masculine exercises its dominance over the feminine, producing clear effects maladaptive.

Thus, both gender schemes and gender stereotypes produce a vision of what can be considered as a man and a woman, influencing from the identity and decisions of each person as well as his vision of the environment, society and the world.

Despite the characteristics of the aforementioned gender schemes and stereotypes, their influence is not deterministic and non-deterministic. immovable, so by modifying the socialization process and its transmission through socialization agents, it could be achieved a process of change with which to adapt stereotypes to society allowing the current mirage of equality to become a reality Social.

Bibliographic references:

• Bosch, E., Ferrer, V., & Alzamora, A. (2006). The Patriarchal Labyrinth: Theoretical-practical reflections on violence against women. Barcelona: Anthropos, Editorial del Hombre.

• Monreal, Mª., & Martínez, B. (2010). Gender schemes and social inequalities. In Amador, L., & Monreal Mª. (Eds). Social intervention and gender. (pp.71-94). Madrid: Narcea Editions.

• Walker, S., Barton, L. (1983). Gender, class and education. New York: The Falmer Press.