Happy women’s history month to all of the wonderful ladies out there!
Being a woman is nowhere near easy. Every day we face challenges and stereotypes still to this day. I am here to write about some of these existing stereotypes and show you that we can be more than just that!
Domestic Roles
Growing up there was always this stigma around women and what their role is “supposed to be” within our society. This stigma is definitely not as large as it was 10 years ago, but it definitely does still exist. For as long as I can remember, women were supposed to find this ideal perfect husband, get married, have children, and take care of her family and the home. Back a long time ago, the image was to have women around the world focus on being the best wife and mother they could be. Over time women all over have been breaking these stereotypes and showing society that they can do those roles while being more than just a wife and/or mother.
There are many women who may not even have an interest of getting married or having children and that is okay! Women are capable of doing more than what society thinks they are capable of doing.
Occupations
When it comes to careers there are definitely stereotypes about gender roles and jobs. For example, women are thought to have “easier” or “softer” jobs such as becoming a teacher or nurse. While men on the other hand are thought to have more “difficult” and “tougher” jobs such as a mechanic or a construction worker. Honestly though it doesn’t even matter. Men and women can do jobs of the opposite stereotype too. Today there are so many men out there who go into the teaching field and women who may be working more blue-collar jobs.
As someone who is a female going into the teaching field, I can say that there is a mix of both male and female teachers. Even though I am experiencing this I also having many female friends who went into the blue-collar field which focuses more on hard labor. I think women shouldn’t have to always be pictured as this person who can only do certain tasks but not tasks that are difficult. There are many women today who love to step up to the challenge and break these existing stereotypes which I find to be badass.
Hyperfemininity
Not everyone female is a girly girl. There are many females out there that may be a tomboy and who maybe just want to express more masculinity. There is no right or wrong way. This is totally a thing that depends on how you are and what you prefer. I hate the stereotype that all girls love to wear dresses, love the color pink, and want to spend time shopping.
When I was growing up, I loved expressing myself. I never could understand the picture-perfect girly girl because although I was “girly”, sometimes, I would prefer to not just wear pink and honestly, I hated shopping for the longest time. Everybody has different interests and preferences which makes us all who we are today.