They believe they’re supposed to compete with other men and dominate feminine folks by being aggressive, worldly, sexually experienced, insensitive, physically imposing, ambitious, and demanding. Hypermasculine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be masculine. Hypermasculinity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be masculine. This may include being passive, naive, sexually inexperienced, soft, flirtatious, graceful, nurturing, and accepting. Hyperfeminine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be feminine. Hyperfemininity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be feminine. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up. Physical appearance - For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Occupations - Some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women, and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men.

Personality traits - For example, women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive.ĭomestic behaviors - For example, some people expect that women will take care of the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs. There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes: Stereotypes about gender can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person’s gender. How do gender stereotypes affect people?Ī stereotype is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group - even though it’s overly simplified and not always accurate. For example, pink used to be considered a masculine color in the U.S. They can also change in the same society over time. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold.Įvery society, ethnic group, and culture has gender role expectations, but they can be very different from group to group. For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. << Back to RESEARCH: SCIENCE & PERCEPTION.Our society has a set of ideas about how we expect men and women to dress, behave, and present themselves. To find out more about how stereotype threat, implicit bias, and racial anxiety impact the lives of black men and boys, read our report Transforming Perception. Encouraging students to think of skills as the result of hard work rather than inherent ability also helps limit stereotype threat, as does finding ways to encourage a sense of belonging. Other interventions focus more on making it as clear as possible to people why they are receiving feedback, so as to eliminate the assumption that race is the cause. Studies have indicated that moving demographic questions to the end of a standardized test can avoid triggering stereotype threat and cause significant improvement in scores. Social scientists have developed strategies to either prevent stereotype threat from being triggered or lessen its impacts. This means that white teachers of black or Latino students are less likely to give critical feedback on assignments for fear of appearing racist. White people can become so concerned about appearing to be prejudiced, that they avoid meaningful contact with people of color. Stereotype threat can affect white people as well.

As we rely more and more on high-stakes standardized testing, we are also creating more and more opportunities for stereotype threat to manifest. Studies have demonstrated that stereotype threat influences performance as early as middle school. Stereotype threat is particularly relevant to education, where students are frequently told their abilities and intelligence are being tested. For the first group, a “threat” existed, the threat of confirming harmful and inaccurate stereotypes about black intelligence. In one study, black Stanford students were given a test the group that was told the test was measuring intellectual ability scored far worse than the group who were told they were merely problem solving. When we experience stereotype threat, we get distracted and our bodies undergo temporary changes. When we worry that our behavior may confirm stereotypes about a group we belong to, our attention splits between the task at hand and our anxieties, often causing us to behave in ways that confirm the very stereotypes at the root of our anxieties. “Stereotype threat” is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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