International Women's Day (IWD) is observed on March 8 every year. For 2022, IWD has the theme Break The Bias, considering that there are still many destructive gender bias norms in society.
Reporting from One World Education, gender bias is an expectation that is imposed on each gender which then demands or limits a person's expression. Gender bias is often equated with sexism, but the two are different, you know. The issue of gender bias is more inclusive because it discusses the disadvantages of both women and men, while sexism departs from the assumption of the superiority of men who discriminate against women.
Gender bias seems to be ingrained in all aspects of life, but there are still many who do not realize it because it has been normalized, considered natural and natural.
Then, what are the forms of gender bias that we can encounter in everyday life? Check out the explanation below!
Feminine-Masculine Stereotypes Limit Self-Expression
Stereotypes are the most common gender bias phenomenon in our society. Reporting from the OHCHR page, gender stereotypes require women and men to have certain roles, attributes, traits, and tendencies according to the general view. If women or men do not meet these general criteria, then they will be alienated and considered abnormal.
The most difficult gender stereotype to avoid is the perception of the feminine and the masculine. Judgment on a person's femininity or masculinity can occur consciously or unconsciously. Gender stereotypes have even been instilled from an early age by parents and the environment.
A simple example of gender stereotypes is if we see a woman who really likes to play football but doesn't like using skincare, or when we see a man who is very good at makeup but doesn't understand the automotive world. It is certain that these people tend to get judged, bullied, and social pressure from society.
Double Standards Make Life Choices Feel Wrong
Maybe we never realize how many double standard phenomena have been applied in society. Launching from Short From, double standards are the act of judging women and men differently for the same behavior. This form of gender bias has equal discriminatory weight for women and men.
We certainly often find where men who work and take care of children at home get praise as high as the sky, even though women who work and take care of children have never received the same appreciation. This is based on the community's assumption that it is natural for women to fight for their families, especially when it comes to raising children.
On the other hand, we unconsciously perpetuate double standards when it comes to making fun of men who cry. As men in a patriarchal environment, they are required to be unemotional and resilient both physically and mentally. In fact, crying is the body's natural response when it feels uncomfortable or threatened.
This seemingly trivial double standard can have a very ironic impact, you know. For example, if we look at cases of sexual harassment. A man who is sexually harassed rarely reports it to the authorities, let alone demands justice. It is sad that often the parties who are obliged to investigate such cases actually underestimate the testimony of the victims because they are men.
Even worse, men who are victims of abuse by women are even given the understanding that it should be a funny or enjoyable experience for them, because men are often generalized with the stigma of having a high libido. In addition to this stigma, gender bias can lead to other destructive tendencies.
Gender Bias Grows Sexism Tendencies and Misogynistic Views
Gender bias is basically socially constructed based on hegemony and perpetuated by propaganda. The roots of the unequal gender division are often said to come from cultural norms, religious norms, biological conditions and so on. But what is certain, gender inequality always starts from the ego of the superior class who does not want to lose their privileges.
Although women and men are equally disadvantaged by gender bias, it cannot be denied that women tend to be oppressed more than twice as much. Women are not only blamed when they do not carry out their roles according to social expectations, but are also belittled for whatever is born from within them. This form of exclusion is a sexist view and a misogynistic view.
Sexism is a prejudice associated with a person's gender. Sexism in the context of gender oppression against women is the assumption that women are weak, irrational and illogical, emotional and unstable, all of which are labels attached to women from birth to adulthood. If women try to break the stigma by doing things that are identical to masculinity, their power is still considered invalid.
Not only belittled, sometimes there are also unscrupulous men who consider women by nature to be despicable people. This view is what is meant by misogyny. These elements really hate women for unfounded reasons. Such as that women are only playwrights, women are created as weak creatures who are full of sin, or also the assumption that all women are seducers who only deserve to be sexual objects.
Discrimination Due to Gender Bias
It is not enough to list all the injustices in the world based on gender bias. Anything related to prejudice and negative labeling based on gender will inevitably end up being discriminatory.
Discrimination will continue to grow over time, becoming more and more unfair, unfortunately. Discrimination is also ingrained in all aspects of life. In a relationship, for example, men are burdened with social demands to issue unilateral material in order to please their partner. If women experience domestic violence (KDRT), it is very easy for men to be imprisoned. However, when a man experiences domestic violence, people question his worth as the head of the household.
On the other hand, it is very difficult for women to get equal pay, be trusted to be in control of tough tasks, get promotions, or be elected as leaders. The reasons are various, but all of them are just negative prejudices.
Although parliamentary seats have begun to be filled with the presence of women, the disproportionate number of men and misogynistic criticism received by female officials show that our society is not fully pro gender equality.
That's the problem of gender bias that is still often encountered in our daily lives. Hopefully International Women's Day which is held every year is not only a symbolic movement, but a real movement to remind us all that gender justice is part of human rights and is achieved for the common good.