In society, gender roles are how we're expected to act, speak, dress, think, and conduct ourselves based on our assigned sex. For example, girls are expected to dress in feminine ways and be polite and nurturing, while boys are supposed are expected to dress in masculine ways and be strong and aggressive. Every society and culture has their own expectations for gender roles, but it can vary from group to group. They can also change over time. Stereotypes about gender, which leads to gender roles, can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person's gender, which is sexism. There are four basic types of gender stereotypes: personality, domestic behaviors, occupations, and physical appearence. For personality, it is assumed that while a woman will act more "ladylike" and emotional, a man will be self~confident and aggressive. For domestic behaviors, it is generally assumed that a woman will take care of children, cook and cleam, and run a household, while a man handles finances and is in charge of their family. For occupations, it's assumed that while women are teachers, nurses, and stay at home moms, men are doctors, engineers, and computer scientists. For physical appearence, it is generally expected that women wear dresses, have long hair, and wear makeup, while men have short hair and wear regular pants. Exaggerated gender stereotypes can make relationships between people of different genders difficult. Gender roles are also harmful because they don't allow people to express themselves and their emotions to their full extent. It's harmful for men to feel like they can't cry or express their emotions, and it's harmful for women to feel like they can't be independant, intelligent, or take control of their own lives. There are many ways to fight gender stereotypes. Help people understand that they don't have to follow gender roles if they don't want to, but respect them if they do. Respect people regardless of gender identity or expression. Speak up when someone is making sexist jokes or comments. If you want to do something that's not typically associated with your gender, feel free to do it anyways. The idea of gender roles isn't good for anyone, and anything that anyone does to eliminate them is helpful.
