Investigating The Genesis of Stereotyping Women Sexually, Physiologically and Psychologically

The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, "It's a girl," says Shirley Chisholm. From their birth, women are not seen equal to man and even if societies are developing day after day, the issue of gender equality is still immense until today. The causes of this problem are many; three of them are the image women themselves show to people, the way media shows them and most importantly the way people and society think about them.

First, sometimes women show a bad image of themselves. Many females like to be seen as weak because they like to be taking care of and they believe that it's in some points a heroic act. Some housewives and mothers think that when they accept their husbands’ humiliation and bad treatment, it makes them shown as heroes. Nevertheless, people think that, because of their weakness, irresponsibility and inability to live without a man, they are supporting males' behavior. On the other hand some women think about freedom falsely. Some of them believe that when they wear whatever they want, go where ever they want and say anything they like, people will respect them and treat them equally to man. For example, in her article “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”, Sumbul Khan (2007) states, “when girls get sent to college they lose sight of their real station in life” (p. 221). Therefore, when freedom becomes over, instead of respecting them, it will affect them and affect their image. Worst, it leads to the conclusion that women can never be equal to man.

Second, the way women are portrayed in the media gives a bad impression of herself. Instead of showing a great image of females, the media shows women as a body not a soul. While we always see men as businessmen, someone who fights for his country or someone who endures the pain, women are always shown as beautiful bodies that seduce males, housewives that don't finish their studies or hopeless single mothers who cry because their husbands left them. In spite of showing that women have the ability to do anything, even if it's a man thing, they show that she cannot do anything other than being inferior to man. For example, in most of the movies, stories and television series, it's always the woman who is broken hearted and hopeless. The man is the one who forgets quickly and continues his life normally but the women is mostly the one who is delicate and can't support difficult periods. The best example that illustrates this idea is the famous American series “Desperate housewives”. In this television show, there are only four types of women. The unfaithful one who is married to a rich men, the hopeless one with four children and a husband who is always outside home, the single one with a teenager daughter and the one who doesn’t do anything other than cleaning and cooking all day long.

Finally, the way people and society think about women affect them. It's true that mentalities change a lot but when it comes to the problem of women and their image, nothing changes at all. From longtime ago, women are seen as weak individuals that don't think or act. Persons that can't be active in society. For many people in all over the word, women's place begins at home and ends at home. Females prove that they are able to confront any difficulties; however, society keeps seeing them as a housewives or mothers with a role that is limited at home. For many individuals, women's role is getting pregnant, taking care of children, cleaning, being faithful to their husbands and that's all. People don't believe in females’ capacities, they don't believe that inside their sensitive body, there is a big heart that is ready to do anything for her family, her country and her society.

At the end of the day, "it was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less," notes Susan B. Anthony. It doesn't matter if it's a male or a female because no matter what the gender is, God creates us equal, only our acts and thoughts differentiate us and make us special.