We fear what we don't understand. All of the prejudices that are in our world seemingly come from this lack of understanding. I think that this includes gender as well. We have these norms set for people to lay out the expectations and to avoid uncomfortable, awkward situations of meeting someone who doesn't exactly fit the cookie cutter image that society often advertises. Gender has become a huge part of our identities. It tells us what we can and cannot do. It sets boundaries. When we break those boundaries, that's when people get uncomfortable or upset.
For instance, female body builders. Women are portrayed as beautiful when they are petite or curvy. So when someone sees a woman who is a fitness buff, many people are horrified and disgusted because she doesn't "look like a woman should". But when you think about it, there's nothing wrong with her actions. Wanting to be healthy and physically fit is a good thing! It should be celebrated. And fitness comes in different forms. Just because not everyone sees her as beautiful doesn't mean there's something wrong with who she is. To me, it's frustrating that beauty often defines who we are.
Another example of people that are seen as social outcasts are the people who claim to be "human Barbies". These people choose to alter their bodies to imitate a doll's physique. While it may be deemed somewhat unhealthy, it is their body and their choice. It isn't harming anyone else. Maybe looking that way makes the person feel good or beautiful. The point is, it's their choice. And societal values on what each gender should look like/do shouldn't matter if the person is happy and not harming anyone else.
Other parts of being male or female we can't always control. For instance, men who have breasts. Often, they are judged because they look feminine when they are supposed to look masculine. Breasts on a man are generally not seen as sexy so they aren't as accepted in society. Also, body hair. Both men and women have hair, however, men aren't always expected to shave/remove it while women generally are.
Boys are expected to be high achieving in maths and sciences while girls are better at language, history, and arts. When a girl is good at math or science, people are more surprised. I have a friend who is in engineering and is surrounded by male colleagues. Because she is female, she is picked on and harassed. Boys who are in more female dominated career paths are made fun of too. For example, in the TV sitcom, Scrubs, Elliot briefly has a fling with a male coworker who is a nurse. All of the other doctors and faculty in the hospital talked and teased her about it, causing their relationship to tank because of her embarrassment of his career.
In class, I mentioned reading a post about an infant named "Storm". His/her parents decided to keep their gender disclosed from the public in order to let the child choose who he/she wanted to be. They dressed Storm in gender neutral colors, gave him/her toys for either gender, and let the child grow his/her hair. This caused a huge controversy within the public. No one could possibly understand why parents would want to let their child decide who they want to be. Imagine that.
It's time we mind our own business and let people live their own lives! We spend so much time picking apart everyone else's lives and not enough on our own. Since when are we perfect? What entitles us to judge everyone else around us, especially based on their gender? There is no benefit to controlling someone else's life. We are all entitled to be different and to be accepted for that (within reason). So if a girl has interest in math or science, we should support her and encourage her to pursue her dreams. Not because she is female, but because that is what she is interested in! If a boy wants to be a nurse - awesome! We need more people who care in the world. Gender doesn't matter all the time. While there are some psychological and physiological differences, men and women are very very similar. When it comes down to it, gender shouldn't be the main thing that characterizes who we are as people. What we do, how we treat other people, and how we act should be the focus.
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