The best of times, the worst of times: is gender stereotyping getting better or worse?
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Concern about gender stereotyping isn’t new – it has been widely discussed for at least 40 years – but there is little cultural consensus about how important it is, how widespread it is and whether it is getting better or worse. The evidence suggests that it is getting both better AND worse, that as new choices and freedoms open up in some areas, pressures and restrictions are growing in others.
The watched body
To be a woman today is still to be defined by your body. Cultural and social norms of femininity are located in ‘appropriate’ female behaviour and in an idealised body image. ‘Love your body, but hate it too’ is the contradictory message heard by women as they attempt to combine self-esteem with achievement of an unrealistic beauty ideal. This conflict leads to high rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm.
Girls and women internalise street harassment, media obsession with celebrity bodies, and the 360-degree surveillance of social media into a hyper-vi...
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