Students frustrated about gender stereotypes

When Dhara Mudras was participating in swim practice for the first time with more advanced swimmers, she passed a boy in the lane next to her. He later came up to her and expressed his fury towards the fact that she had passed him.

“He said that since I was a girl, I should be behind him and that I shouldn’t be competing with the advanced team,” said the eighth-grader on the Xtreme team who loves to play all kinds of sports. “I was so mad that I went back to the below-average swim team.”

Gender stereotypes, the practice of ascribing to someone of a particular gender specific attributes, roles, or characteristics by reason of only them being of that gender, can be found in today’s society.

“[I hear gender stereotypes] almost regularly, like on a daily basis,” said a seventh-grade girl from the Champions team who asked to remain anonymous.

There are four basic types of gender stereotypes, including personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and physical appearances. Gender stereotypes can be found anywhere in writing, pictures, advertisements, and speech around the world. 

According to a recent survey, 90 RCMS students shared the gender stereotypes their peers said to them.

Exclusion in sports

Many female students experienced gender stereotypes in the form of their male peers excluding them from sports or physical activities.

When trying to participate in kickball, Sibani Anbumani, a seventh-grader on the Champions team had a rough experience trying to join in the game.

“We were playing kickball in P.E. and this other girl and I were the only girls there. The boys didn’t even try to include us and just started playing.”

Though the majority of students that responded to the survey and expressed that they had gotten excluded from sports were girls, boys that responded to the survey also experienced gender stereotypes that were sports related.

 “I wanted to play a sport, (I don’t remember which one) and my dad and friends kept saying that it was a girl sport, but that’s just wrong,” said Charles Gibson, a seventh-grade student on the Majestics team.

Exclusion in activities and hobbies

Though many students shared their experiences of getting excluded from sports because of their gender, students also experienced exclusion in all sorts of activities, including coding, video games and more. 

“A family-friend said girls can’t play video games and [that] they are only for boys so I decided to not play video games with them,” said Sanya Bhalla, a seventh-grade student on the Champions team.

Gender Stereotypes cannot only be found in the form of exclusion, but also in the way of what people think others should do because of their gender in the case of what they enjoy, how they act, and how they dress. 

“I don’t want to speak for anyone,” said another seventh grader on the Champions team who asked to remain anonymous, “but I notice with lots of my friends that are girls that they feel they have to live up to a certain beauty standard, even when they are already pretty.”

A majority of female students—61.4%—expressed that they feel that they are judged by their looks and how they act rather than their abilities, while 42.8% of male students and 80% of students who identified by other genders expressed the same, according to a recent survey conducted at Rachel Carson.

“I was playing tennis at the tennis courts and some lady was giving me some advice, and she thought I was a boy because of the clothes I was wearing. [Gender stereotypes] mostly affect me in the form of clothing,” said Claire Morath, seventh grade, of the Champions team. “Whenever I go to Target, I notice that the clothes (boy’s vs girl’s) look very very different. For example, girl’s shorts are way shorter than boy’s shorts, and Boys wear plain t-shirts and khakis and somehow that’s nice enough to wear to a wedding, while girls have to wear uncomfortable frilly dresses.”

Open-Mindedness offers hope

Though students shared how some of their peers make assumptions about people because of their gender, many respondents shared that a large number of their friends and classmates are open minded and sympathetic towards what others can do regardless of their gender. 

When asked about how gender stereotypes affected her or other people she knows, Shrayanthi Balaji, a seventh-grader on the Champions team said, “Honestly, for me it really depends on the situation and context. A lot of people take me in as a full person who has flaws as well as strengths, but there are still people who judge based on such petty things. Unfortunately, we need to learn to live with those people and not let them and their opinions get to you.”

Students’ advice and opinions

Students voiced their supportive opinions and advice for people who desire to do something that defy gender stereotypes.

“[If anyone ever doubts themselves to do something they desire to do because of gender stereotypes], I would tell them to be brave and to do it, but if someone tells them not to do something due to their gender, I would tell them to stand up for themselves and do it because if it’s something they really want to do, they should go for it,” said Madison Chung, a seventh-grader on the Champions team.

“I would tell [people who are doubting their ability to do something because of gender stereotypes] to do whatever they want,” said Keya Shah, a seventh-grader on the Champions team. “Gender stereotypes are so stupid and stop people from doing things they like. Everything that you do is for YOU and if you like something that is stereotyped as male or female, who cares? Anyone who has anything to say about [what you should or shouldn’t like] can leave. There’s a door for a reason. Doubt is usually a side effect of wanting to fit in or be normal in a sense, but who cares?

“There’s always going to be people that hate and have something to say, but block them out. Replace those types of people with good people that lift you up instead of bring you down.”