Gender Norms
Andrew Tate
This is an article published by The Guardian, discussing Andrew Tate, a kickboxer, who became famous through controversies, and misogyny
Primatology is the study of primates, and by observing their behaviours we can learn more about ourselves. With the research collected by Jane Goodall, we can see the early development of the power difference between males and females even within distant relatives. Andrew Tate has risen to popularity within the past year for his blatant sexism, misogyny, and overall controversial takes. However, it is worth noting that some traits of males that Tate himself endorses, directly correlate to what Jane Goodall noticed amongst the chimpanzees. For example, Alpha male aggression. Tate has a belief that “real men” are alphas, meaning they are rich, assertive, and confident. Tate has created his own program called “Hustlers University” where he teaches men how to become alpha males. Tate talks about hitting and choking women, trashing their belongings and stopping them from going out, all of these as a sign of dominance and being an “alpha male” (Das, 2022). This is similar to chimpanzee communities where the men become aggressive and and assertive.
Furthermore, it is common that in different cultures men and women experience different rights of passage. Often the men’s are more painful while the women's focus on menstruation. This lines up with Tate's belief that men should be strong, their ability to not show emotion defining their masculinity, similar to the rights of passage marking change, while women are there for the men to reproduce with and essentially own.
The Anthropological Impact
Tates problematic takes are already being seen to have an impact on people's behaviour. Many men idolize him and the morally incorrect beliefs he pushes online. This only further normalizes violent behaviours between men and women as well as promotes harmful perspectives as to the roles of men and women when in a relationship. With Tate's massive following on platforms such as TikTok the range of those his ideologies can impact significantly increases. It now opens the field up to impressionable children who take everything at face value and fully support the messages he is pushing after seeing the positive reinforcement from others who agree.
The Barbie Movie
The Barbie Movie tells the story of Barbie experiencing an existential crisis which prompts her to travel to the "real world" and discover "the truth about the universe." (Gibson, 2023). While the true meaning behind the movie is to showcase Barbie exploring the gendered social construct of women being expected to give up childhood joys and sacrifice for others (Mattson, 2023)
Barbie explores the social structure of what is inherently masculine vs. feminine. Gender roles are associated with social roles, but more so with the specific expectations of gender. In the movie, we can see these roles in effect when the entire Barbie council/Mattel council is only men, even though the creation of Barbie was to uplift young girls and women. This is also an example of the “glass ceiling”, the social barrier preventing women from being promoted to top jobs in management (Kagan, 2022).
The monologue given by the character Gloria perfectly encapsulates the impossible expectations and standards placed on women and the limitations they face in everyday life because of societal norms. Another social structure can be seen when Ken discovers the patriarchy and brings the concept to Barbie Land. It showcases how men are often perceived as all-powerful and because of the societal norms, that is most often the case. As well as showing the impact of social roles and how once they are set and normalized, they are hard to veer away from.
The Sociological Impact
The creation of this movie introduces positive representation and diversity into the media while also promoting self-empowerment and bringing awareness to the struggles women around the world face daily due to an unjust society. In recent events, this years Golden Globes host Jo Koy made unfunny, sexist, and misogynistic jokes towards women. Even referencing the Barbie movie and feeding directly into what it was trying to bring awareness to. His distasteful jokes are a perfect example of the real struggles women face daily and not an exaggerated point of conversation. The movie was able to reach hundreds of thousands and talk about very real and serious topics all while keeping it entertaining and the majority of age groups.
Introduction To Psychology: Gender
This module discusses gender and its related concepts, including sex, gender roles, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexism (Brown, 2019). In addition, this module includes a discussion of differences that exist between males and females and how these real gender differences compare to the stereotypes society holds about gender differences (Brown, 2019)
Erikson states that as we develop we face conflicts between personal wants and societal expectations. Women and men are constantly faced with the challenge of meeting society's standards while trying to balance their true sense of self. The article talks about the topic of societal changes and the attempts to break traditional stereotypes. This can be seen daily by those who are in touch with their sense of self and don't let society's influence affect who they truly are. As this becomes more common, it will be easier for more people to be comfortable with their sense of self and worry less about social expectations.
It also touches on gender differences which connect to our self-concepts and society's expectations as to what men and women should do, think and say. It notes how women are to be more passive, and less likely to state an opinion while in contrast to men, who are more assertive and can state their opinions (Brown, 2019)
The Psychological Impact
This helps individuals to become more aligned with their sense of self despite social norms. Bringing awareness to the unequal treatment seen in many aspects of our society. It references the differences between men and women which mostly seem to be constructed by society. Features from the way we talk and behave to occupation differences are all highlighted as parts of our lives that we find difficult to navigate due to society. This module helps to bring a better understanding of gender and identity as a whole and how our constructed norms only truly define us to the extent that we let them.