Social constructs play a crucial role in people’s lives, and the question of gender is just one of the many aspects of this issue. People are defined as either boys or girls based on biology and are raised according to the specific set of traditions and rules associated with both genders. The concept of different genders rather than males and females are relatively new, and still, a lot of people do not accept this idea, considering it just as a phase that will pass eventually.
One of the biggest issues connected with the concept of gender is gender roles. Since early childhood, one is taught that boys should be strong and cannot cry while girls are meant to be gentle and caring. These roles are passed along in adulthood, where men and women are meant to have specific jobs. For an example, men usually have hands on careers such as construction worker, electrician, etc. Whereas, it is more likely for women take careers in social work, or cleaning services. Additionally, women are expected to give up their careers to care for their families. All of these things negatively affect both men and women, leading to problems of toxic masculinity and many others.
Being able to understand and accept more than just two matrices of difference is the key to solving a lot of the problems connected to inequality-related topics. Human identity is unique and different for each, and people’s personalities are shaped by all kinds of experiences that they get throughout life. Social norms and standards will always exist as they keep the concept of society possible, but one should be able to keep an open mind towards all kinds of differences. Social norms are always meant to define and put the frames on human nature, while people should embrace human nature to its fullest and acknowledge the differences.
