In order to delve into the understanding of gender norms, the first most important aspect that needs to be explained that gender and sex have two different meanings. Sex denotes what a child is- a boy or a girl, whereas gender is masculinity and femininity which the child acquires through different socializations and hence it is a social construct (Rudman & Glick, 2021). In establishing the gender norm in the society, socialization is adopted through which certain norms, values as well as beliefs and behaviours are transferred to the future generation (Hentschel, et.al, 2019).
Traditional gender norms are ideas which dictates how men and women in the society should behave and what choices they should make. And this socialization begins at the very nascent stage from the family (Cerrato & Cife, 2018). Family is thus, the very first socializing agent, after the baby is born the options made available to the baby, the perspective of the family members with how the baby is being brought up is the very beginning of the socialization process. The gender norm has created a duality where anything which comes in between is not taken into consideration or is rejected by the larger society (Pink, 2020).
The socializing agents like schools, religious institutions as well as the media, all play a very important role in reiterating the traditional gender norms which reinforces the stereotypes that society has expects men and women to perform (Halimi, et.al, 2020). For instance, if commercial advertisements are taken into consideration anything which requires strength, anything with is involved with the outdoors always projects a man in the lead. Whereas any advertisement which sells household appliances has a woman in lead. This reinforces the traditional ideas that men are meant to venture out, on the other hand, woman should be indoors taking care of the household and the children (Bareket, et.al, 2018).
Religious institutions are also responsible in this context, because most of the religious scriptures have distinct duties that men and women are expected to perform. And this is what the religious institutions expect people to follow in the society as well and deviating from the same thus causes unrest. For instance, the religious scriptures accept heterosexuality because it leads to procreation, thus any other relationship is invalid in front of them, and therefore, invalid in the entire society (Rosen & Nofzinger, 2019).
This is why homosexual relationships for the longest times and even now is not entirely accepted in the society. How the different socializing agents assign gender roles to men and women also has a direct impact on the job market as well, which has segregated jobs according to the sex of the individuals. Thus, the idea of gender norms which is expressed by the socializing agents also create certain expectations from men and women and this what individuals internalize as well, where they build a perception around how they should behave in the society. Hence, it can be rightly said that the reinforcement of the traditional gender roles through different socializing agents created an unequal and unbalanced vision and understanding of men and women in the society (Hoominfar, 2019).
2. Gender discrimination in when an individual or a group of individuals are discriminated against based on their gender. This can range to different types of attacks being meted out to a group of individuals of a specific gender. This can occur in academia as well as in extra curriculum activities. Moreover, there is enough research that shows that gender discrimination begins at home because in most societies a baby boy is preferred over a baby girl (Shannon ,et.al, 2019). What begins at a family level soon because of certain socializations and perceptions about gender norms translates into discrimination in the larger society. In fact, reinforcing traditional norms through various mediums is also one form of gender discrimination because this creates stereotypes about the genders (Kaul, 2018).
Certain responses of gender discrimination include civil rights violation which can occur through different forms, which encompasses issues like sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination even unequal pay at work for women whereas the job and the responsibilities remain the same. With this it is also very important to note the fact that since assigning traditional norms has historically put women in a disadvantaged position, the phenomenon of gender discrimination is most of the times pointed towards women. Men too are a gender discrimination but in a very subtle way (Lomazzi, et.al, 2018). Gender discrimination occurs at different levels in a person’s life from education, to employment, inequal payment at work, even with regards to basic civil rights as well. However, gender discrimination is unlawful and there are laws which can protect a person who is being discriminated (Odhiambo & Mannell, 2019).
This has a very serious implication in the society it has also put girls in a position of extreme danger who are exposed to child marriage as well as teenage pregnancy, child domestic work, poor education and health, sexual abuse as well as exploitation and violence. This brings down the quality of the society as a whole and hinders its progress (Bilan, et.al, 2020). Keeping women aside from good education, good healthcare services, safety and employments weakens the society because it is not being able to utilize the strength of the entire population. Additionally, when gender discrimination is kept untreated and if it becomes a norm. It ends up corrupting the mind of the next generation as well hence it does not promote any goodness which can take the society forward (King, et.al, 2020).
The implications of the same is extremely serious because it affects all people from different backgrounds and of different age groups. For children it affects the choices they make, their ambitions as well as their relationship and friendships. For adults, it affects them in their daily lives (Heilman & Caleo, 2018). Even for older people the implication of the same remains for instance when women retire the receive half the superannuation savings when compared to a man. Thus, it can be rightly said that gender discrimination does not help in advancing the society and ends up creating grave consequences which is often difficult to overcome (Coffiman, et.al, 2021).
Reference
Bareket, O., Kahalon, R., Shnabel, N., & Glick, P. (2018). The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men who perceive women’s nurturance and sexuality as mutually exclusive endorse patriarchy and show lower relationship satisfaction. Sex Roles, 79(9), 519-532. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-018-0895-7
Bilan, Y., Mishchuk, H., Samoliuk, N., & Mishchuk, V. (2020). Gender discrimination and its links with compensations and benefits practices in enterprises. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 8(3), 189-203. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=975963
Cerrato, J., & Cifre, E. (2018). Gender inequality in household chores and work-family conflict. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1330. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01330/full
Coffman, K. B., Exley, C. L., & Niederle, M. (2021). The role of beliefs in driving gender discrimination. Management Science, 67(6), 3551-3569. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3660
Halimi, M., Consuegra, E., Struyven, K., & Engels, N. (2020). Predicting adolescent gender role attitudes: Socio-demographic characteristics, family context, and school peer gender culture. Tijdschrift voor genderstudies, 23(1), 51-72. https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/TVGN2020.1.004.HALI
Heilman, M. E., & Caleo, S. (2018). Combatting gender discrimination: A lack of fit framework. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(5), 725-744. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1368430218761587
Hentschel, T., Heilman, M. E., & Peus, C. V. (2019). The multiple dimensions of gender stereotypes: A current look at men’s and women’s characterizations of others and themselves. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00011/full
Hoominfar, E. (2019). Gender socialization. Gender Equality içinde, 1-10. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elham-Hoominfar/publication/348843246_Gender_Socialization/links/606e2f87299bf1c911b6312e/Gender-Socialization.pdf
Kaul, T. (2018). Intra-household allocation of educational expenses: Gender discrimination and investing in the future. World Development, 104, 336-343. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X17304102
King, T. L., Kavanagh, A., Scovelle, A. J., & Milner, A. (2020). Associations between gender equality and health: a systematic review. Health promotion international, 35(1), 27-41. https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article-abstract/35/1/27/5698608
Lomazzi, V., Israel, S., & Crespi, I. (2018). Gender equality in Europe and the effect of work-family balance policies on gender-role attitudes. Social Sciences, 8(1), 5. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/1/5
Pink, S. (2020). Home truths: Gender, domestic objects and everyday life. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003085614/home-truths-sarah-pink
Rosen, N. L., & Nofziger, S. (2019). Boys, bullying, and gender roles: How hegemonic masculinity shapes bullying behavior. Gender Issues, 36(3), 295-318. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12147-018-9226-0
Rudman, L. A., & Glick, P. (2021). The social psychology of gender: How power and intimacy shape gender relations. Guilford Publications. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9k42EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=how+are+traditional+gender+roles+maintained&ots=fZ_ukSNtvz&sig=ftJE842b1fD4pAmrMiydJ2GHfJk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=how%20are%20traditional%20gender%20roles%20maintained&f=false
Shannon, G., Jansen, M., Williams, K., Cáceres, C., Motta, A., Odhiambo, A., … & Mannell, J. (2019). Gender equality in science, medicine, and global health: where are we at and why does it matter?. The Lancet, 393(10171), 560-569. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618331350
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