ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME, KEY ACTION 2

CAPACITY BUILDING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to

Unit 8: Understanding gender and gender roles in

TRANSCRIPT

What type of behaviour is appropriate for boys and girls? What about for women and men?
Now that you know the key concepts of gender let's look at gender roles.
Gender roles are appropriate or desired behavioural roles for a certain gender based on
cultural norms and values. Gender roles in other words is related to what it means to be
belonging to a certain gender in a particular society. It relates to how we are expected to act,
speak, dress and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex.
What are the typically feminine ways to dress in your culture? What about masculine? Are
women expected to wear skirts and dresses? What about men? Can they wear skirts?
In the past women, in most of western societies, were expected to wear skirts and heels,
have long hair. Even today in more traditional societies women are expected to dress and act
and keep their hair long. In such societies you wouldn’t find men wearing skirts but in some
others like the Scottish culture it is traditional for men to wear kilt, which is a type of skirt.
In some conservative Islamic societies on the other hand, women are expected to be covered
up, not showing any of their body parts.
What is it that teaches little girls and women to dress or behave in a certain way, “be polite,
accommodating, and nurturing”? Who teaches boys and men not to be so?
As culture is shaped by various factors so is gender. Gender roles are transferred through
enculturation, are learnt from parents, but also from teachers, peers, media, books, movies,
religion and society in general. All these socializing agents reinforce gender roles through

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views
only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein. 1
life. Still the biggest influence is of parents, who have also learnt gender roles as kids and
transfer certain gender roles without ever thinking about them.
Research has found out adults treat female and male children differently from very early
ages. Their treatment is based on cultural expectations. While boys are taught how to fix and
build; girls are taught how to cook, sew and keep the house clean. Children who conform to
the social and cultural expectations from their assigned sex are approved by the social agents
of their enculturation. So, acceptance require confirmation.
Gender roles adopted during childhood generally get normalised and continue into
adulthood, being transferred to further generations. But those who don't conform the
expectations of gender roles are excluded, and usually counted as deviants from the society.
Some of those people are those who have a different gender identity from their assigned sex.
Gender identity and sexual orientation starts to form in children aged 3-4. So, those who do
not confirm test behaviour accepted by their parents and peers throughout their life span.
As they are excluded and not approved, they usually end up acting and dressing according to
what has been normalised for their assigned gender. Their non-confirming identities wait
for the time to find the freedom to exist in its variety.
Various groups have had efforts to change gender roles and how they shape life at private
and public spaces, creating a sort of oppression and limitation. Most notably the feminist
movement has fought for women rights and equality of men and women for a very long time.
Those who had efforts to change gender roles saw it as an institution that restricts freedom
of behaviour and expression, or is used as a basis for discrimination. It must be understood
that there is a hierarchy in society among genders. Women and LGBTI+ communities are
discriminated mostly.
In traditional societies women were expected to stay at home and to prepare the food, keep
the house, take care of children; to provide for the society as a care taker. Still in many
societies we see that despite the women having joined the workforce, they are still expected
to do the domestic duties, while working for less money, in worse conditions and without
job security, if they get pregnant especially. Even in most western societies this is the case.
Slide: Only nine countries had 50% or more women in ministerial positions (1st January
2019)
o Spain (64.7%),
o Nicaragua (55.6%),
o Sweden (54.4%),
o Albania (53.3%),
o Colombia (52.9%),

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views
only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein. 2
 o Costa Rica (51.9%),
o Rwanda (51.9%),
o Canada (50%),
o France (50%)
(Source: [Link])
Discrimination towards women is also political though recently we have seen countries
accommodating more women in high political positions such as cabinet of ministers, and
parliaments there are only few countries where women form 50 percent or more of the
cabinets. So social and economic-political discrimination of women is observed throughout
the world. Does this mean men do not face any pressure through gender roles?
No actually, through what is called hegemonic masculinity they are faced with pressures on
how to act. We will discuss more on hegemonic masculinities and how it shapes society and
culture in the unit after you meet our Erasmus student Lunie.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views
only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein. 3