Gender roles are the expectations of behavior, attitudes and responsibilities that society imposes on men and women. These gender stereotypes have the power to shape one’s identity and self. During childhood and adolescence, the individual begins to construct his/her identity through these roles. However, stereotyped gender roles prevent individuals from expressing themselves freely and lead to psychological conflicts.
What are Gender Roles?
Gender is divided into biological (sex) and social (gender). Biological gender (sex) is gender that is innate and based on genetic and physical characteristics. Biological sex is related to the structure of the body. Gender is related to the behaviors that society expects from individuals.
Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura is a psychologist who combined behaviorist theory with cognitive psychology. He is known for his social learning theory and argued that individuals learn through observation, imitation and modeling.
As we said, Bandura argued that people learn through observation. This process is called observational learning (modeling). We can say that gender roles are also learned in this way. Children observe male and female behavior in the family, on television or in their environment. They model these roles and repeat them. Appropriate behaviors are reinforced if they are rewarded; inappropriate behaviors are punished or disapproved.
For example, if a boy plays with a doll and is warned by his parents that it is a “girl’s thing”, he will give up this behavior. In this way, children internalize society’s expectations such as “act like a boy” and “sit like a girl” and learn gender roles.
The Impact of Gender on Identity Development, Stereotyped Roles and Pressure of Social Expectations
Gender provides norms about how individuals should behave, feel and identify in society. These norms significantly affect young people, especially those who are in adolescence and trying to find their identity development. The individual constructs his/her gender identity and the self associated with social roles in this process. However, the stereotypical expectations of society make this construction process limiting and problematic.
Society imposes certain stereotypical behaviors on men and women. For example, men are expected to be leaders, unemotional and strong, while women are expected to be compassionate, maternal and emotional. When an individual does not conform to these stereotypical expectations of society, they are seen differently by society.
If a male individual is emotionally built, he is seen as “not manly” or “less masculine” and may have to suppress his identity. However, a man’s emotional nature does not make him less manly or less masculine. If a female individual is determined and independent, she is perceived as “too masculine” or “less feminine”. Likewise, a woman being determined and independent, despite what society imposes, does not make her less feminine, because being determined and independent is not a male trait. Such situations negatively affect an individual’s self-esteem, self-perception and social cohesion.
When an individual’s social identity and self-identity conflict, role confusion arises. In Erik Erikson’s identity versus role confusion phase, while the individual is trying to answer the question “Who am I?”, society puts pressure on him/her by asking “What kind of person should you be?”. Environmental factors such as family, school and media reinforce this pressure. This pressure can lead to alienation from one’s own feelings, interests and goals. At this point, the individual often chooses to conform to society, but this leads to the suppression of authentic identity.
The dominant binary understanding of gender (male-female) in society is exclusionary towards individuals with different gender identities and orientations. LGBTQ+ individuals have difficulty both making sense of their own identity and having it accepted by the social environment. This triggers defense mechanisms such as hiding, suppressing or denying one’s identity in the process of identity formation. This can lead to more anxiety, depression and loneliness in adolescence or young adulthood.
Suicide Statistics for LGBTQ+, Women and Men
Due to these exclusionary, limiting and discriminatory gender roles imposed by society, approximately 39% of LGBTQ+ individuals seriously consider suicide, while 12% attempt it. Especially in trans youth, 46% have suicidal thoughts, while 14–18% attempt suicide. In trans adults, 25–50% suicide attempts are observed throughout their lifetime.
Women attempt suicide 2–4 times more often than men, but men use more lethal methods and die 3–4 times more often than women.
Role of Media and Family
Children experience their first social learning in the family. The attitudes of parents in the family lead to the formation of the first stereotypes about gender and roles. The choice of toys, clothes, responsibilities and interference in interests create pressure on the child to “fit in” according to gender.
Movies, TV series and television programs produce stereotypical roles for men and women. While the woman is usually busy with housework, the man comes home from work and watches TV with his feet up. These and many other representations shape the perception of “what kind of person I should be”, especially in adolescents. At the same time, a child can sometimes be torn between what they learn in the family and what they see in the media. In addition, even if the media gives space to different identities, the family may reject this identity, especially in LGBTQ+ individuals. Therefore, a young individual in search of identity development is caught between two worlds and experiences more identity confusion.
Modern Approaches and Social Change
In recent years, stereotypical perspectives on gender roles have been questioned by modern approaches, allowing individuals to construct freer identities. Gender-neutral education and parenting is an important need to break down society’s stereotypical gender roles. Some education systems and families give children the right to grow up without gender imposition. For example, in Sweden, some daycare centers use the term “child” instead of “girl” or “boy” and toys are open to all children. Toys, clothes and interests are not restricted by gender. The important thing to remember is that the aim is to give the child space to discover his or her own personality.
The gender roles that society imposes on women, men and LGBTQ+ individuals leave children repressed, young people alone and adults resentful. The question “Who am I?”, which should be asked in the search for identity, is eventually suppressed by the question “How should I be?”. The individual who cannot freely express his/her identity and self feels inwardly incomplete, alien and worthless. And unfortunately, this feeling of alienation and worthlessness leads to thoughts of suicide and self-harm in individuals regardless of age. In a society where everyone has the right to live freely and equally, religion, language, race, gender, orientation, status, material and spiritual conditions are much more important than we think for a person’s psychological health. Young people in the prime of their youth should not feel that they have no place in society just because they are discriminated against.