What does society expect from the genders?
Changing views on gender roles shaped by family and environmental impact
They say education starts in the family. From the first day of birth, a person learns and imitates what he sees in his home and family, and over time adopts or opposes it with the influence of his environment. In our country, the rules, norms, political views, lifestyles, stereotypes and many other information that families have taught their children from past to present are passed on from generation to generation. The most important of these teachings are gender roles. Although parents do not teach these roles deliberately, and their children do not realize that they adopt these gender roles unconsciously, the influence of the family on the perspective of gender roles is undeniable.
On the other hand, there are also personality traits attributed to the genders. Women are fragile, ladylike, polite, altruistic, thoughtful, devoted, selfless and submissive. On the other hand, personality traits such as tough, dominant, angry, strong and respectable were attributed to men. Such widespread views on gender have brought with it sexism, one of the most common types of discrimination. Conscious or unconscious, benevolent or hostile, implicit or not, sexism can manifest itself in any form and everywhere. Genderization of professions, such as women being associated with polite professions such as teaching, while men are deemed appropriate for jobs requiring more power or professions such as management, is an example of these sexist distinctions. Another example is that activities such as dance, ballet and gymnastics are seen as appropriate for women, while football, basketball or martial sports are seen as suitable for men.
It is a fact that education begins in the family, but it continues at school, on the street, in the park, in the workplace and wherever people breathe. In addition to the influence of family, the influence of the environment on the character, behavior and worldview of the person cannot be underestimated. As a result of the differences they see in their families and environments, people decide, through reasoning, what is right and what is wrong, and which opinions to adopt. Although they often make this reasoning unconsciously, as the level of education increases, the tendency of people to blindly attach to a teaching decreases significantly.
Another factor is laws that protect and defend women’s rights. For example, families who found it unnecessary for their girls to go to school were obliged to send their daughters to school, albeit unwillingly as required by law, and over time, the education of girls has become normal. With the education they received, women started to take an active role in business life. Some women who see their business activities as their top priority have pushed marriage to the second plan and this is a huge step towards refuting the most important roles attributed to the sexes. With the education they received, women turned to the professions attributed to men and became idols for the next generation by their achievements. Likewise, men who are successful in the professions attributed to women have become warriors in this just struggle, even if they are not aware of it.
Perhaps the most important factor that makes this subject more talked about today is the media that dominates our lives with the development of technology. As the place of social media in our lives increased, people started to share their feelings, thoughts, criticisms and the most important parts of their lives with their surroundings and even with people they had never seen before. Of course, the media that enables large masses to reach each other with a single internet connection is ideally suited to raise awareness. Aware individuals raise generations whose awareness is higher than their own.
Is it possible for our views and judgments to remain constant while the world is undergoing such great changes day by day?
