Why does this subject keep coming up, seeing that it is a complete stack of illogic? I don't know.
But I guess for me the concept of gender stereotypes is dead because I naturally subvert almost every female stereotype known. This is not something woke up and suddenly chose to do for fun, it's just an irrevocable part of my essence.
Stereotype: "Girls don't like Lego."
Me: *pulls out cardboard box full of Lego* *shows MoC pictures*
Stereotype: "Girls like fashion."
Me: *walks past, wearing my usual comfortable attire with zero attention to fashion*
Stereotype: "Girls like animals, especially horses."
Me: *looks around for missing animals*
Stereotype: "Girls are less likely to enjoy courses in science and math, and rarely do they program."
Me: *pulls up Java program on my computer screen*
Stereotype: "Girls are soft."
Me: *rides past on mountain bike* *comes back, carrying pickaxe on shoulder*
Stereotype: "Girls like jewelry and painting their nails, etc."
Me: *holds up hands, revealing no jewelry or nail paint*
Stereotype: "Girls can't use logic."
Me: *walks over to computer and starts printing off examples of me using logic* *has to stop printer because I ran out of printing paper in the house*
It may not be an exhaustive list, but I think you get the idea.
What is all this fuss about? Is it really that hard to accept that everyone is different? For some reason, given this, I think the stereotyping problem tends to be overstated. That's because all of us defy stereotypes in one way or another, I think. Once we recognize that we defy the very things we are stereotyped as, I think it may be easier to view other people not as stereotypes but as people.
At their best, IMO stereotypes are theories. Like any theory, it is best not to assume it to be true. But you can't assume it to be false either. I know many girls who like horses. I know this because I talked to them and saw them riding horses. This is evidence; therefore it is a verified theory.
The thing is about stereotypes is that they are group theories. This, thanks to the conform-to-everyone-else thing and the agreement-makes-a-thing-true myth (sometimes, but not always) people tend to assume that they are true even though they are just theory. This is called misconception.
But the misconception part of it could easily be ended. "I am stereotyped as this, but the stereotype (theory) is not true because I don't like this. Therefore my stereotype (theory) about this person could be wrong, too." I never consciously thought of this logic, but I've known this, intuitivelyish, for at least a little while.
This is not a knock on theories. Theories are pathways to truth. The secret is telling a theory (what you think could be true) from what actually is. Theories can be verified. You can ask the girl next to you whether she likes horses or not, or observe her painted fingernails. In fact, sometimes such theory is a bridge to get to know the other person - unlike with some people *raises hand* who are so wacky and subvert everything you know so much you don't even know where to begin.
- 8
38 Comments
Recommended Comments