The world has been fighting for gender equality ever since we can remember, with women all around the world thrashing the society’s conservative gender-biased role division. While a world where the genders are equal can only be a cold dream, women have taken this issue into their own hands, breaking these stereotypes left, right and center.
No sex is superior, neither are any of them weaker, but they have all been put on the edge of the sword of what they call gender stereotypes. This stereotypical classification based on genders especially in terms of how one gender is supposed to speak, act, be or what they should be doing has only passed on overtime.
The world has been fighting for gender equality ever since we can remember, with women all around the world thrashing the society’s conservative gender-biased role division.
While a world where the genders are equal can only be a cold dream, women have taken this issue into their own hands, breaking these stereotypes left, right and center. What is often called a division as per gender is only a barrier that limits one to let the others continue their reign.
As I dwell more into this topic, the earliest memory of this stereotypical thought goes way back to when a kid is young and is told what a man and a woman are supposed to do because well, that’s how loads of survival are divided.
Men have always been told that they are the backbone of the family, that all responsibilities are on their backs. That they are the ones who should be working, earning, get into fields like science, medicine, and corporates. That they are the dominant, powerful, aggressive ones, the ones who run the family and the ones on whom the women depend on.
And what about women? What were they told? To be the woman who takes care of the man, the one who should nurture the home, birth and raise kids and be the ultimate woman who’s always accommodating, adjusting and agreeing to everything. Working women were never celebrated in this culture but only detested for not conforming to the norms.
Years of pining, which still continue in a lot of places, got us to a point where instead of making the social change these forced divisions, women decided to take up matters in their own hands and break these limitations.
When you look at it in a broader way, these limitations are not only classified between genders but are further narrowed down to culture, ethnicity, religion, country and even age. Double, triple the pain for women to suffer.
We have evolved to a point where these stereotypes are mere statements being mercilessly thrown around and a catchphrase for the generations still not adaptable to this change.
A woman lives with a burden to fit into the rules of society and polish herself to fit the right foot. The typical emotional, soft and adjusting behavior expected from a woman has now turned to rage, passive-aggressive and ruthless stance where not only are women not conforming to these rules, they are also doing what men are “supposed” to do and in fact doing it even better than them.
Women have been told from a young age that no matter what they do, their responsibility as a homemaker and child-bearer comes first. Such regressions have limited a woman’s potential to the four walls of the house. While men earned, women yearned. But god knows how powerful women truly are as they broke open these ties and went on to be the ones running the families financially and not be dependent on another gender to suffice for their needs.
It is 21st century and every other woman you meet desires to and successfully wants to make a career, get independent and be as respected as men have been ever since existence. It is uncommon to see the number of women taking up major positions and running some of the biggest companies in the world, while also fulfilling their duties as a daughter, a wife, and a mother.
Women like these have shown the world that they don’t deserve to stay at home when they can get out there and change it for the good. This redefining of stereotypes is the new normal now.
Once a male-dominated industry, engineers, pilots, doctors, etc. are now in the holds of women who have sacrificed their peace and agitated a whole system to crumble to their knees while they continue to rise upon the ranks.
In this very stereotypical society and mindset, there is little to no scope for a woman to put herself out there without any backlash but neither has it stopped them nor did it stop the society which was stunned at this power move.
Every revolution in the past had a woman’s name associated with it who risked herself to be in a position that, as the society says, is not one for the ladies and speak her heart out.
As we entered the millennial phase, people started opening their eyes to a world where women won’t and shouldn’t be defined to the house and men couldn’t be the sole powerful gender.
Every woman after this phase was infilled with the desire to redefine what the society expects out of a woman and decided to stand true to her own expectations. This bought in a wave of women applying for courses deemed as one for males and started getting into big firms, another male-dominated industry. Some stepped up and made a company from scratch while the other preached women empowerment as they conquered everything possible.
But do you realize that this stereotype never left? Neither did the people who abide by this stereotype.
It’s no news that women in India are still looked down if they choose to not get married or get married late because the systematic stereotype of women existing for the sole purpose of satisfying the needs of a man and bearing his child is so deep-rooted within the skin of the society, anything different than this is a threat to them.
But have women conformed to it just because a couple of thousand of eyes are cursing them for not doing what has been expected of them? I think not. I see women taking a stand on their personal decisions, which comes from different outlets as a result of their anger, frustration, disappointment, and unrest over the unnecessary enforcement of their personal choices.
Women choosing to continue with their studies, working after marriage and having a career while having a kid/family has always been considered rebellious considering how a woman was never thought to be competent enough to run a family as a man would and hence their lives were devised of complete dependency on men and a sea full of responsibilities or rather burdens on their shoulders.
Till date, a woman is criticized for her decision to do something against the stereotype attached to their gender and this has only been retaliated with more rebellious behavior and unconventional decisions by women who decided to put themselves and their lives before the expectations they are “supposed” to live up to.
With a gender stereotype as such come other problems like discrimination or sexism, which again are results of deep-rooted gender biases and inability to understand the true potential of the sexes.
And these stereotypes somehow get a boost to existing freely mainly because of how women are being portrayed through entertainment mediums. The concept of women being fair, spotless and beautiful is the only way to be successful is an age-old stereotype and has risen because this idea was consumed by people who thought they NEED to use creams to fit into this image.
But some others took it to themselves to redefine how a woman is supposed to look. So many women have been promoting body positivity, dark skin colors, different heights and so forth only to cut out what has been enforced on them by society.
Women are still portrayed as dumb, girls next door who just exist for the sake of propping up the male lead in the film industry. This is only conforming to the stereotype of women being an inferior object as compared to men. But neither is it justified nor should it be promoted.
This is why women are taking on crucial roles in the film industry, a highly male-dominated one with the biggest stars being men, directors being men and the vision of the films being influenced by men. Women have donned caps in every aspect of this industry, the industry where they have always been told to be the fancy dancer or the extra character.
We have stepped up from the dungeon to an open battleground where women still need to prove themselves to get the same opportunities as men because well women aren’t supposed to do it in the first place. But neither have the women stopped nor will they stop in the near future. The hustle to redefine the unnecessary norms being thrown their way is a hustle for life. With women in every field, doing what THEY want to do and urging other women to take their stand and be themselves is the stereotype we should take forward. To women and their hustle-bustle, a big salute.
So why not we pledge together to be a part of this change. Why not we change perspectives and be our own Knight in Shining Armour! Wondering how? Here’s what you need!
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.