Hi everyone:
In this first round of research, I will look at how gender roles and gender discrimination impact the youth. I chose to research about education and social media because they are both very present in the lifestyle of youth in today’s world.
Gender discrimination in education:
Girls are more likely to become victims of gender discrimination than boys, despite the fact that gender norms in some places might restrict boys’ education by forcing them to work rather than attend school. For example, many African girls attend school for no more than five years. Girls from rural areas are also more likely to lack access to education because they are typically disadvantaged and have mothers who did not complete high school. This is due to a variety of factors, that include but not limited to: gender-based violence, FGM, child marriage, the distance to school, safety concerns and values, behaviours, and traditions that prioritise men over women and restrict their opportunities (1).
How gender roles are perpetuated in social media:
Gender prejudice is influenced by several things, including the way that gender is portrayed in the media. Through commercials and images, the media promote gender roles where women’s roles range from childcare to workplace responsibilities showcasing women’s dependence. On the other hand, males are represented as more autonomous and less inclined to exhibit their feelings(3).
In addition, gender stereotypes in social media influence how people view women’s bodies. Images of feminine beauty and specific role models are promoted by the media. In fact, according to a survey by The Pew Research Center , young, adult women in the US (18-29 years old) are more likely than men to have a social media account. As a result, they are more likely to internalise a culturally stereotypical ideal of female beauty displayed online. This has an huge impact on their well-being. Despite advances in the representation of plus-size women, cultural stereotypes regarding the ideals of body image continue to be prevalent (2).
Citations:
- All in School. (n.d.). Gender Discrimination. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.allinschool.org/our-work/gender-discrimination
- Kladia, D. (2021, September 22). Social Media and Gender: A Tricky Combination. EAVI. https://eavi.eu/social-media-and-gender-a-tricky- combination
- Perloff, R. M. (2013). New Perspectives of Social Media Effect Research on Women’s Body Image Concerns. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6
Sofia B.
Hi Sofia,
This is such a good topic choice! Though there as been a raise in awareness in gender roles and discrimination in the recent years, fixed definitions and stereotypes towards them remain in our society. And these fixed mindsets can greatly affect our way of living.
I like how you delved into the aspect of education and social media, as they are the two main impacts in a youth’s life today. Because of this, I think your research provided a well rounded overview on your question.
One suggestion is you can look into the comparison between youth’s way of thinking in the past and now due to the shift of view in gender roles. Compared to 50 years ago, the society now allows more diversity and is more accepting, and gender role is one of the values that significantly changed. By looking into how the society’s view in gender roles has specifically affected youths’ mindsets, you will be able to get more detailed and specific data.
Good luck and I look forward to more of your posts!
Hi Sophia,
This is such a great topic idea and I think its so important to learn more about. I definitely don’t know as much about it as I would like to and I’m so glad I get to find out through your project.
I would also suggest researching restrictions caused by gender in classes such as PE. This might give you more ideas for gender discrimination and roles in a school setting.
Good luck with your future posts!
Aniela
Hi Sophia,
I was interested in your post because it was similar to my topic. I loved how you discussed the gender discrimination in two parts: education and social media. I loved these ideas because social media and education are where teens spend most of their time on. Also, I love how you suggested the reasons why girls don’t get educated as often as boys because of the FGM, child marriage, gender-based violence, the distance to school, safety concerns, etc. This is great because it will help us solve the problem to help girls receive advanced education like boys! One suggestion that may help deepen your research is to add statistics to show the difference between the girls’ education and the boys’ education. This will help me visually see how different the discrimination is between the genders.
Here are some sources to deepen your research:
1) https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2018/04/23/how-our-education-system-undermines-gender-equity/
2)https://gehweb.ucsd.edu/social-media-sexist-online-gender-based-violence/
3)https://amity.edu/UserFiles/asco/journal/ISSUE66_5.%20Debastuti%20%20-%20AJMCS%20Vol%208%20No%201.pdf
I can’t wait to read your future posts!
Hi Sophia!
What an amazing topic. This is something that is not touched on close to enough. I absolutely love the way you included both education and social media as they are becoming more and more prevalent to each other by the day. You also talked about the effects social media has on women and body image which is absolutely relevant to today. I would suggest you talk a little bit more about the male beauty standard online and whether or not that has as much of an affect as it does on women. How have these things defined insecurity for males and is their an antagonizing movement (much like the body positive movement portrayed on the media for young women.
Below I have listed some helpful resources.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/what-we-do/issues/gender-justice-and-womens-rights
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/shattering-the-glass-screen
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210707-what-does-the-perfect-man-look-like-now
Excellent job and I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for your next post!
-Ava
Hey Sofia, great post! It’s always intriguing to see people delve into longstanding issues in our society and find new perspectives and ideas like you are doing now. While the issue of genre discrimination in the workplace and in the household has been ongoing for many decades and we have made numerous promising strides, the problem persists to this day. I also found it super interesting that you touched on the plight of girls and women in less fortunate and developed countries. Far too commonly we see the media focus solely on the issues individuals in the western world face, even though we live in by far the most stable part of the world. Don’t get me wrong, there are many issues here as well, including rampant stereotyping and sexual harassment, however, I feel like it is nothing compared to what other parts of the world are faced with. I cannot even begin to imagine my life without education, never mind being married off while still only a teenager. Yet, as you point out, that’s exactly what millions of girls are experiencing all across the world. I cannot wait to read your next post!
Some resources you may find useful are:
https://asq.africa.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/168/v7i4.pdf
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4187496
https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/hurq17§ion=47
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603110601183115
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Samidha-Pokharel/publication/215457309_Gender_Discrimination_Women_Perspective/links/0fcfd50459d18552f2000000/Gender-Discrimination-Women-Perspective.pdf