Gender Roles

Hello!

I came across this video which I thought was amusing. It is a “summary” of many stereotypes. What amused me was how even though these are stereotypes and hence they are exaggerations, I could relate each stereotype shown. Of course I am only speaking from a Venus point of view. J. I also enjoyed the simplicity of this cartoon and how even without elaborate designs, it is still able to bring across an idea clearly.

General stereotypes in the video were that the cartoon representing the female was pink and that representing the male was blue. Such stereotypes are seen in our everyday lives where the gent’s has a blue sign and the lady’s has a pink sign. The female cartoon also has a high pitch voice that is rather annoying while the male cartoon has a deep, slow voice that is barely heard. This assists the viewer to make a natural link between the cartoon character and the stereotype raised.

I would like to discuss some of these stereotypes raised in the video below. Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree or just have something to add on!

  

1.    Speaking

Watching this part brings me back to our reading assignment for last week by Lakoff. She mentions how women tend to be more descriptive and would discuss things like colours which are deemed as unimportant to men. The cartoon implies this by using straight lines for men but curly lines of different colours for women. Women tend to talk about everything jumping from one topic to another. Personally, I find myself in this situation many times. “Bonding sessions” with my girl-friends can last for hours as we talk about everything and anything under the sun. However, who I am talking to limits my ability to keep talking. For instance, holding a conversation with an acquaintance that is introverted may be challenging. Hence, I am only able to chit-chat about everything for hours with people that I am comfortable with.

           

2.    Talking (Discussion)

This part of the cartoon is slightly similar to the part on “speaking”. However, I have to disagree that in an all-female discussion everyone is talking at the same time. While this does occur occasionally, (especially if it is an argument), I do not find myself in this situation often. When I do, it is usually when different cliques of people are gathered together. Each clique can be talking about something different and conversations can get confusing.

3.    Handbag (smaller bag but more things)

Watching this part of the cartoon made me smile to myself because I tend to carry many things in my bag when all a need usually is my wallet, mobile phone and sometimes my umbrella. Yet, I must always have my water bottle, tissue, wet tissues (this one is a new additionJ), powder, lip balm/gloss and some other female necessities. What I found interesting in the video was how this was being portrayed. Not only did the “female bag” contain more items than the “male bag” but it was also relatively smaller. It still puzzles me why women tend to feel the need to stuff their not-so-big bag while men are able to bring along their necessities in anything that can hold them.

4.    The ideal partner

I feel this part of the cartoon holds a lot of truth to it. What I see is that despite the differences, men and women actually expect the same thing from each other. Regardless of gender, we want our other half to do the work for us, serve us and be there when we want them to.

General stereotypes in the video were that the cartoon representing the female was pink and that representing the male was blue. Such stereotypes are seen in our everyday lives where the gent’s has a blue sign and the lady’s has a pink sign. The female cartoon also has a high pitch voice that is rather annoying while the male cartoon has a deep, slow voice that is barely heard.