Men and women approach life differently, therefore itcan be said that many gender differences exist. From body transitions,emotional and physical differences, and even gender roles in society. “Men Arefrom Mars, Women Are from Venus” the very common saying, Men and women comefrom two very different plants. We all start out as boy or girl and slowly developinto a woman and man. Boys and girls develop in diverse ways. Starting withphysical growth, both genders grow slowly but around elementary, a girl startsto grow a little taller and boys catch up a few years later.
Girls tend to beless active than a boy, while boys tend more energetic. The girl tends to hitpuberty a little earlier than boys. Girls and boys begin to grow hair and bodyparts begin to enlarge as well, that results in a growth spurt for boys andmenstruation for girls. In time, both genders brain develops and mature andturn into men and women with a very different way of living. This is where theystart developing their character traits. When it comes to physical and emotional differences,we can all agree that one gender will surpass the other in each charactertrait. Men tend to excel in physical character and women in emotional, not tosay either gender cannot exceed the other trait but biologically speaking, thatis the exception to the rule. Men will be identified as “masculine” at onepoint or another in their life.
This is because the average adult male isusually tall, with the common figure of an upside-down triangle, broad shoulders,and slim waist, that shows strength, with this body, comes growing biceps,large hand, and toned legs and very little fat. This is identified as strength,health, and size. However, being “masculine” does not only mean you need thebody, you also need to fit the personality.
If you are a man, I am sure youhave heard this before, “boys do not cry.” This comes with the job. Men areexpected to be emotionless. If you show even the slightest of fear or sadnessyou are labeled as a coward. On the other hand, men are expected to show angerand aggression, and most are not surprised when a man gets into a fight orargument.
They are taught to stand their ground, otherwise, you are labeledonce again. Let’s just say sensitive is not a word commonly used for men. Incontrast, women are a whole other story. Women body comes in all shapes and sizes and unlikemen, women bodies are usually identified with different shaped fruits orobjects, apple, pear, hourglass, and rectangle. Though there can be an ideal bodytype, women are usually biologically “suck” with there body shape. Most womenbodies are small to medium length and have very little built muscle, unlessworked out, in the arms and legs. Women, unlike men, are more capable ofbuilding up fat, this results in cellulite, which men cannot get so easily.Women are usually built small, small hands, small feet and small size, and arenot recognized as “strong.
” However, whatever women lack in physical traits,they make up for it in emotional character. Ever heard of “motherly-instincts”?Of course! Because women are nurturing species. Unlike men, it’s ok to showemotions. Women are sensitive, this is because they are in a way “allowed” to,unlike men. They can freely show every emotion they are feeling without gettingjudged most of the time.Nonetheless,these differences in women and men lead to societal gender roles andstereotypes.
There is pressure for men and women to meet societalgender roles, and break stereotypes. Every society, ethnic group, and culturehas expectations for each sex, but they can be very different from each other.Stereotypes are different, they are the same for each gender, even if you arein a different group.
As I stated before, men are generally expected to bestrong, aggressive, and emotionless, this can usually be detrimental to a man.Men will bottle up the feelings and this leads to depression and a high rate ofsuicide in men than women because of this expect gender role. These genderroles lead to stereotypes, in personality traits, occupations, appearance, anddomestic roles. Men are expected to be confident and thick-skinned andpowerful. They are expected to be doctors, engineers, mechanics, businessmen,it’s even in the name. They are to take care of finances and home repairs andthey are expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to theirsex. They are also seen as the superior sex, this might not be as an immenseissue now, but it is still believed that women and men are treated differentlywhen it comes to certain events and women are usually not favored in theseoccasions.
Throughout history, women have struggled to breakgender roles and stereotypes; more than men because they tend to be extremelynegative and offensive to women. Women are expected to dress in a modest wayand be friendly, hospitable, and caring and this is where the stereotypes werebuilt from. Many are still seen for their stereotypes; some people expect thatwomen will care for the children, cook, and clean, they are expected to benurses, secretary, receptionist and stay at home moms. Women are also expectedto be thin and graceful.
Both genders might also experience sexism ordiscrimination, yet there are always was to challenge these stereotypes, and thatis what is needed to help each gender feel equal and valued. Before birth,they are given their destiny, during their growth in life, they face theirfaith, and because of this men and women men and women have varied differences.They develop from young boys and girls to matured adults, changing theirphysical and emotional traits and growing to face struggles with gender rolesand stereotypes. We coexist with the opposite sex that we may not have much incommon with, but we must figure out a way to equally value each gender.
