Gender

WHO defines gender as “the roles, behaviors, activities, attributes and opportunities that any society considers appropriate for girls and boys, and women and men” (“Gender”). They also add that “[g]ender interacts with, but is different from, the binary categories of biological sex'“. Gender Spectrum defines gender as “the complex interrelationship between three dimensions: body, identity, and social gender” (“Understanding Gender”).

“Expectations regarding gender are communicated through every aspect of our lives, including family, culture, peers, schools, community, media, and religion. Gender roles and expectations are so entrenched in our culture that it’s difficult to imagine things any other way” (“Understanding Gender”).

Today’s society norms usually delegate certain characteristics and behaviors to masculinity and femininity. These standards can sometimes be restricting or harmful to one’s perceptions of themselves and how they should or shouldn’t act. People are expected to fit into these binary categories when it can be detrimental to someone’s mental wellbeing; there is a spectrum on which one’s gender identity can fall on (or not) - “one’s … feeling of maleness, femaleness, a blend of both or neither” (Kilman). Non-binary, genderqueer, bi-gender, agender, and more identities convey that a person’s gender that does not fit as ‘male’ or ‘female’.

“For example, some people have a gender that blends elements of being a man or a woman, or a gender that is different than either male or female. Some people don't identify with any gender. Some people's gender changes over time.” ("Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive”). Try not to make assumptions of other people's gender. It’s important to respect all people of all genders. 

Our society has set up specific characteristics for females and males. Girls and women are expected to be caring, nurturing, accommodating, and polite. Boys and men are expected to be protectors, ambitious, outspoken, and strong. These are only a few examples of gender roles for characteristics. Although these are changing slowly, ideas of these standards affect mental health.

Read/Listen/Watch: 

• Speaking of Psychology: How Masculinity can hurt mental health

Read: Masculinity Gender Role Conflict and Being Gay

Read: Gender in the US

Gender roles can extend to occupations. Men are supposedly the engineers, pilots, and entrepreneurs; women are supposedly the nurses, and teachers. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with men and women being in these respective jobs, these standards reinforce gender boundaries and isolate those who cross them within their fields. For example, women held 24% of STEM jobs in the US in 2017. A woman at her office or a female student at a STEM school may feel like an outsider, causing feelings of anxiety and stress.

Viewing jobs with a gendered lens is harmful because when men hold certain jobs, they’re viewed as more competent or credible. Read this quote from Business News Daily:

A 2017 study "reached this conclusion by examining a relatively gender-neutral profession – loan managers – for a Central American bank. They found that when borrowers were paired with male loan managers, they were more likely to be compliant than those paired with female managers, who were more likely to miss a payment.

Interestingly enough, when those initially paired with female managers were switched to a different manager, noncompliance rates remained the same, regardless of the second manager's gender. Apparently, all it took was knowing one person of an occupation to assign it a gender, and when that gender was female, the occupation was taken less seriously" (Hedreen).

a video to think about…

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