Gender Stereotyping – Why I Hate It

I hate gender stereotyping because it prevents a lot of people from being able to be themselves. I’m a cis-gendered female. Growing up, I was into things that people considered boy things. I was told I was like a son rather than a daughter. And this was always strange to me, I felt like a girl, yet everyone around me is saying these are things boys do. Why are these things boys do? I always questioned it, even as a small child. I just liked these things. This is where my problem with gender stereotyping comes in. 

A lot of people feel like they can’t just explore their gender openly and honestly because of these types of things.

For example, if a cis-gender male was trying on a dress, all of a sudden, he’s gay or questioning his gender. What? Maybe he just wants to wear a dress, and if they are questioning their gender, SHUT YOUR MOUTH. Your opinion is unwanted and unwarranted just to allow people to live their lives! 

I do not like generalizations (regarding living beings).

Generalizations make me uncomfortable, and I’m making it a habit to stop using words like all because that can make those who don’t relate uncomfortable. Guys getting piercings or women wanting to body build shouldn’t be seen as them doing a girl or guy thing. It should be seen as who they are as a person. 

For me, playing video games is just a part of who I am. And for other people, I’m sure the feeling is similar. Why is playing video games seen male? Back in the day, it was because players were predominantly male, however, that doesn’t mean women can’t touch them. 

I remember as a kid, picking up an article of clothing I liked and being told it was boy clothes. Then I felt weird like I couldn’t buy them. I bet this has happened to a lot of kids because at that age, you are still learning, and it becomes confusing when society is telling you those are boys/girls clothes and you are just naturally drawn to them. You begin to feel strange about who you are. Then when you do buy them, people question why you bought boys/girls clothes when you aren’t. THEY ARE JUST CLOTHES. If we just call them clothes and pick accordingly, it would be; “Hey, nice shirt/dress” not, “Why are you wearing boys/girls clothes?” or we could replace women/men with fem/masculine; turning them into descriptions rather than gender labels. 

To move on, other types of stereotyping you may have heard of are that women who have sex all time are sluts or guys who wear makeup are gay.

JUST STOP. We are people. We are just human beings. Allow people to discover their gender and back off because someone wearing a dress or boy jeans may not fit your gender stereotypes, but it’s not your business. Let people live their lives. 

Conclusion 

I find all of this to be ridiculous, and it aggravates me. It’s crazy to me that people think gender stereotypes are something that should continue to be put on people.

Being a bisexual, I understand the struggle of bisexual women, but not of men. Recently it came to my attention that many don’t view bisexual men as men because they have sex with men. That is such a toxic and judgmental thinking pattern.

Stop telling people what men and women don’t do. If we want to create healthy stereotypes, hold people up to a standard such as to treat people kindly or don’t judge. We instead hold onto negative ones like “men don’t share feelings” or “women shouldn’t have sex.” I don’t understand why we accept these. I know people are working to change this, yet there are still so many trying to fight to keep it the same. At the end of the day, just let people be who they are and be kind.

Want a similar read? Try Close Your Eyes During Sex – Thoughts on the Stigma.