Strict adherence to gender roles may hinder people from achieving their full potential

By Dr. Humphrey Young, PhD

I was having a conversation with friends over coffee and we came to the conclusion that many people still stick to traditional ideas that men and women should behave in ways that fall into specific categories determined solely on their gender.

However, male or female gender-specific identities are irrelevant in modern, civilized society. Gender roles are social constructs developed over time and are not based on natural human behavior.

This is because gender roles evolved as a way to organize the necessary tasks done in early human society. Some may say that due to the fact that traditional gender roles have been practiced for so long, they should not be changed, and are now a key element in human development.

Nevertheless, in many of the modern societies today, there is no need for traditional gender roles, because both men and women are able to do many of the same necessary tasks, thereby making gender-specific behaviors irrelevant.

These stereotypes can be harmful because they motivate people to condemn and oppress those who do not fit the traditional gender roles. As a result of this oppression, many people struggle to reach their full potential. Therefore, it is critical that we encourage everyone to follow and express their own truth, regardless of gender norms, so that everyone is able contribute fully to our society.

Many of the gender stereotypes we know today were not always present in the past; they are relatively new trends in human society. This is because social expectations of each gender change over time, and often develop differently in cultures around the world.

Based on the insights that I got recently from friends, many gender roles around the world were dictated by the environment and the needs of a society. Also gender roles vary based on the historical and cultural background of a society, as well as ethnicity.

For example, in many old Native American and African tribes, cultures were matriarchal, meaning that women were often leaders, healers, and important figures in their communities. This is different from most Asian and European societies, where men were the only ones with any social or political power.

Therefore, depending on the time period or region, gender roles vary drastically. Since these typecasts based on sex are different depending on where and when they are used, they clearly hold no real significance to human society as a whole in this modern age; they were made up and therefore can change. As a result, they should not be used as a guideline as to how people of a certain sex should behave, because they are not reliable nor constant.

Although many people seem to fit within the specific categories of masculinity or femininity, these generalizations are simple social constructs. For instance, during the Paleolithic Era and early Neolithic Era, during which most societies were nomadic tribal units, men hunted animals for sources of meat, skins, and bones, while women scavenged for roots, nuts, and berries, as well as looked after the children.

These tasks held equal importance to early human societies, so both genders were viewed as equal. Over time, the technological and agricultural developments of the Neolithic Revolution spread, causing more nomadic tribes to settle down into stationary lifestyles.

Thus, women began to stay home or within the settlement to take care of children, make clothes, and other domestic tasks, while men worked the fields to grow food, domesticate animals, and continue to hunt, although to a lesser scale.

While children and women did tend to the fields with the men, they were often not as physically capable as the men, and thus began to be valued as less. This shows that roles were not necessarily based on gender, but rather they were based on societal needs, and, since needs remained relatively the same, they became seen as the traditional roles that men and women needed to fulfil.

This demonstrates how gender roles were created based on the needs of a society. However today, the majority of the jobs that are viewed as important, such as being a lawyer, doctor, politician, business executive, etc., are attainable by both sexes. This means that past gender roles should not apply anymore, because both sexes are now equally capable of contributing to society.

Despite the reasons that people who still believe in the relevance of gender roles present, there is a lot of evidence that contradicts them. In regards to religion, there are dozens of religions around the world, as well as people who do not believe in any religion at all.

Also, religion itself is a personal belief system and way of life. Due to these facts, religion cannot be used as a basis for gender roles because it is also a social construct that is specific to an individual; it is different for every person. For those that believe that gender roles are innate and occur naturally, it has been observed that gender roles develop as a person grows up.

Children develop gender-based beliefs, largely on the basis of gender stereotypes; the latter are reflected in gender roles. Children adopt a gender identity early in life and develop gender-role preferences as well. In fact, gender identity of a child is a form of expression, differs based on their preferences, and should not be forcefully influenced because it can negatively affect a child later in their psychological, emotional, and social development.

This shows that gender roles are influenced by society, but should be based on the preferences of the individual. This way, people would not be pressured to conform to societal standards, allowing them to express themselves more freely, and preventing them from feeling as though something is wrong with them.

Genders and gender roles are not clear-cut categories that can be applied to everyone in society. This can lead people to believe that those who do not fit neatly into the set gender roles might be flawed somehow, which can result in problems like discrimination or mistreatment.

Instead, gender should be thought of as behaviors and personal identifications that exist along a spectrum. One way to solve this problem would be to have more comprehensive lessons in schools that show the differences between sex and gender, as well as the different feelings kids and teenagers may experience as they begin to go through puberty. This would help teenagers better understand themselves and their bodies as they begin to develop.

Dr. Humphrey Young, PhD, is a senior Kenya Prisons Service officer and a Public Policy and Development Expert