Gender Stereotyping in Singapore
Gender stereotyping is a pertinent issue in today’s society. I seek to explore the causes and effects of gender stereotyping and the various gender stereotypes that are present in Singapore literature. The focus is on gender stereotyping in Singapore as portrayed in plays and short stories written by local authors.
Men also have a strong sense of pride. They feel that they should lead and do not hesitate to assert themselves in a group context. Men sometimes feel inferior should they be unable to provide income for the family as they feel that is what the society expects of them. Men are also less likely to show emotions compared to women, preferring to restrain themselves or only show emotions when they are alone. The proverb says “boys don’t cry” and this is indeed true. One is much less likely to see a man cry compared to a woman. Sometimes, when unable to control their own emotions, a man might become aggressive towards the people around him, although he might not feel anger towards them at all.
Since society expects a man to be successful, they place great emphasis on personal success. A man would work very hard towards the goals he has set out for himself, for a multitude of reasons. They could range from being dedicated to his family or to ensure that he continues to feel proud of himself. As a result of putting the long term in mind, a man sometimes forgets to take care of the smaller things in life. These could include the concern for his personal appearance.
To sum it all up, the main effect that gender stereotyping has had on men is to put them into a position superior to that of women, but at the same time has given them more responsibility and society has placed higher expectations on them compared to women.
2.2 – Women
Women have emerged as the weaker gender, possibly due to their weaker physical build. This weaker build reduced their usefulness in the past as jobs were extremely labour intensive then and they could not perform as well as their male counterparts. As a result families preferred to have sons rather than daughters and women were supposed to stay at home and take care of the house.
Since families placed greater emphasis on the education of boys, they would not provide as much education for the girls or even forgo sending a girl to school if they could not afford it. This could be a result of parents feeling that girls should stay at home and learn how to do housework from their mother so as to know how to take care of their family when they grow up and get married. They would learn domestic skills and a result of this had to depend on men to provide for them in their married lives as with less education they are unable to find good jobs.
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