Jane Hardman
Cambridge University
Culture helps us to understand system of values, way of living of different social groups. Culture has an essential influence on gender and gender roles. In our times, there is a lot of information which we perceive every day, but sometimes we cannot choose it correctly. People evaluate this information which concerns their gender and think how they must function with the society. I decided to think over the impact of culture in the gender role.
The first example of such impact is an employment. When we were children, we have already stereotyped opinions about professions. Women should be teachers, housewives, nurses and waitresses (Heilman, 2001). Men’s professions include drivers, factory workers, businessmen or police officers.
The second method is a social behavior. Traditionally, women should be sympathetic, gentle, emotional and passive. Men have opposite characteristic. They are self-confident, independent, strong and have determined character (Eagly & Steffen, 1984). Such cultural average behavior impacts on attitude among them.
The third reason of cultural impact is a self -awareness. We can observe the role of gender through TV. Some kinds of movies, varied advertisement make emphasis on appearance of female. Advertisements always shoved girls which are vulnerable, but after buying clothes or other goods, they become confident. Men are depicted as unemotional and severe. It forces them to think about their social standing.
Studying all this information we my defined stereotype as generalization of people based on gender. When such stereotypes are not carried out among the cultural group, they cannot be perceived by society. All get used to the stereotyped behavior and actions, so when one notices different people with their own opinions, then it is hard for them to avoid of conviction. The similar situation may happen with people suffering from the socio-cultural influence, because such impact can be defined as individual’s thoughts and actions are harmed by other individuals or groups.
References
Eaglz, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 735-754. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.735
Heilman, M.E. (2001). Description and prescription: How gender stereotypes prevent women’s ascent up the organizational ladder. Journal of Social Issues, 57(4), 657-674. doi: 10.1111/0022-4537.00234
