Society as a whole loves to put people into boxes. People are lazy, and making assumptions about other people is simply easier. Because of this, we unfortunately create stereotypes, preconceived notions about other people based on certain factors, which harm everyone. A perfect example of this is gender and gender roles.
(https://www.theodysseyonline.com/lets-debunk-traditional-gender-roles)
People often see gender as very binary. Only girls can like dancing, only boys can like cars. Only girls can sew, only boys can fight. Girls are confusing, boys are oblivious. The list goes on and on. That's awfully restrictive, and at this point in time, rather pointless.
I chose my question because gender is something that affects everyone, including myself. We are all praised for the stereotypes we align with, and shamed for the ones we do not. I know this all too well. In general, I have much more stereotypically feminine interests than I do masculine. I love baking, I know how to crochet, I like pink, scented candles are amazing, and I'm very interested in design.
(https://vintagetraveler.tumblr.com/post/155659912742)
It's not easy to defy social convention in public, or even at home for that matter. People are always ready to judge, and just the thought of that is enough to set me off from acting [even more] feminine [than I do now]. I change the way I act around people to seem more normal, and there comes a time when you just have to stop and ask yourself: Why?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GBT37_yyzY)
I felt compelled to do the question: "Are gender roles still valid in modern society?" as soon as I heard about the project. I often feel so forced into a box that it's suffocating, and the idea of gender and what a male must be is always lingering in the back of my mind when I make decisions. In fact, the only reason I was hesitant to do this question in the first place was because I felt that I wasn't the best spokesperson for this question. I'm not trans. I don't wear makeup. I don't challenge gender every single day and scream injustice whenever someone feels less-than because of their gender. Who am I to talk about gender?
That's when I realized that that's what made it such a good question. Everyone suffers from gender roles. Not just the trans community, or women, or those who openly challenge the people who try to define them every single day. The idea of gender is a spectrum, and every single person on the spectrum is hurt by a forced gender binary. I don't think people should have to hide themselves to seem more normal, I think we should accept people because of their differences, not despite them.
(http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2015/03/the-genderbread-person-v3/#sthash.HXyttGTc.dpbs)
In my research, I hope to discover that society does, or will soon, share my opinion that gender roles have become outdated, and that we as people need to be more open and accepting of our differences; because, as much as we don't like to hear it, people can't live their entire lives in boxes.
