Growing Up with Stereotypes: How Misogynistic Views Can Affect Girls and Young Women
Whilst there are many factors that weave misogyny into the patchwork of society, families and schools may be two of the most detrimental factors in how they affect girls as they develop. Children are very impressionable to the adults around them, the period with the greatest impact of parenting on a child’s development occurs at adolescence, at a median age of 12 years.
From early adolescence onwards, adolescents begin to question and explore their identity; the person they are and want to be, the roles they want to occupy in adulthood, and their place in society (Meeus, Van De Schoot, Keijsers, Schwartz, & Branje, 2010). I believe that by not giving girls the freedom to discover and embrace the different parts of themselves, we are preventing them from going into adulthood with the self-confidence that they should have.
Choice is so important for girls as they develop, to find balance with expressing themselves and sometimes even with the simplest of things it is choice that gives us the freedom; the choice to wear makeup or not to wear makeup, the choice in how we dress, the hobbies we enjoy, the jobs we work, etc. It's vital for children to be able to embrace all the parts themselves in order to discover who they are, and yet many have this taken away from them.
My experience:
I often see people say that misogyny is not a big issue in countries like England, that women are no longer being discriminated against here. However, UN Women UK research, commissioned with YouGov, shows that over 7 in 10 women in the UK experience sexual harassment. I feel many people see comments such as “women belong in the kitchen” as just a joke, which besides the fact that it should not be normalised as such, this belief is also often still used as a harmful statement.
From the age of 6 to 14, living in a very sexist “old fashioned” household, I was often told that women belong in the kitchen and that I would never amount to anything, unless I married a man. If I made a mistake, it was always because I was a girl. I was sexualised from a young age, being told that I should shave my legs and wear dresses to look pretty for boys - at just 8 years old. They told me that one day I would care about how I look and want to be pretty for a husband. Every Christmas and birthday I would be gifted accessories that fit their stereotype of what a little girl should be ‘allowed’ to have.
In fact, I was pushed so far into a “girly” mould that I did the opposite. I began to hate the colour pink, stopped wearing dresses and tried to go against what was expected of me in every way possible. At such a crucial and delicate age I lost part of my self expression and became very self conscious of how everyone viewed me.
At school this stereotype was further engrained into me, from primary school teachers asking for only “strong boys” to help with carrying chairs or tables, to secondary school boys using fruit pastels and cards to rate girls' attractiveness, as if that amounts to all their worth. It felt like I was being surrounded and suffocated into being compliant and to be “seen and not heard”. I felt nauseous hearing comments everyday diminishing my achievements and battering my appearance all because of my gender.
For me I ended up “refinding” that more feminine part of myself years later, when I realised it was okay to like the colour pink or enjoy wearing dresses and skirts. Dipping into either femininity or masculinity does not make me any less of a woman or any less deserving of opportunities. As a child I was so desperate to not fit that mould and rebel that I gave up the piece of me that expressed those typical feminine stereotypes.
What needs to be addressed:
Homes with role models help girls develop with the freedom to express themselves and feel empowered to strive for their goals in life. When families do not offer this to their daughters, school could be an opportunity for girls and young women to see that they are just as capable of achievements as their male peers. However, according to the National Education Union; 36% of female students in mixed-sex schools say they have been treated differently on account of their gender (compared to 15% of male students) with a quarter of all secondary school teachers saying they witness gender stereotyping and discrimination in their school on a daily basis. How are young girls supposed to feel confident going into adulthood when so many are being confined into stereotypes?
Here are just a few of the things we as a society can do to create these opportunities for girls and young woman, to help them break out of typical stereotypes:
- Role models/ Representation: whether it's at school hearing stories of women from a variety of backgrounds, or more women in male-led industries, paving the way for more girls to be able to get involved.
- A Curriculum Reform: changes are needed in our education system to promote equality and provide inclusion for everyone.
- Initiatives: initiatives like the F1 Academy (an all girls motorsport feeder series) can break down the barriers that many girls face and inspire new generations.
- Enterprises, Charities and Organisations: these can play a big part in raising awareness and tackling deep-rooted issues such as misogyny in society. HASSL is working through its 5 Step Plan with a current focus on Education and Advocacy. GFS is an organisation that focuses on early intervention, working with girls to prevent the degradation in confidence and self-esteem that comes with around age 11, rather than reversing it during the teenage years.
We can't forget how far we've already come in our road to equality, and although there is far to go, with hurdles and setbacks, I believe we will find equality for all. And it all starts with each new generation being empowered.
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DISCLAIMER:
This article has been written by a HASSL Ambassador as part of our community content initiative. While all ambassador contributions are reviewed for clarity, tone, and alignment with our values before publication, the views expressed are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views or official position of HASSL.
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