STEREOTYPE OF MEN AND WOMEN IN BAHRAIN
STEREOTYPE OF MEN AND WOMEN
By: Mohammed Khalid Al-Khalifa
Stereotype of Men and Women
Introduction
"Hurricanes with female names may be more deadly than the ones with male names!" This is the BBC news title I have just been listening to (BBC News, 07:00 GMT, 2014-06-02). The BBC mentioned that in a recent study, researchers found out that people take hurricanes with female names less seriously than they do with the ones with male names; Consequently, hurricanes with female names would kill more. This makes the whole point of the way people think about men and women. Many studies suggest that 'Victor' is stronger than 'Victoria' in the eyes of the society, 'Christina' is softer than 'Chris' and 'Josephine' would be less threatening than 'Joseph'. 'Katrina' hurricane caused 1,833 deaths in 2005, 'Audrey' killed 416 in 1957, while in 2004 'Charley' caused only 15 direct fatalities and 20 indirect ones (Wikipedia, May 2014).
Mirriam Webster defines the term stereotype as:
"an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic" or "something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment"
So, what is that 'standardized mental picture' like in our mind for of men and women?
Men are usually stereotyped differently than women. The masculine general image is not similar to the feminine image in our minds. This is not just something we say. It is evident in our everyday life. We hear it every day, we say it all the time and, more importantly, we believe it!
Throughout this paper, I will try to prove this idea from the literature, the media and many other sources. I will try to highlight "the conventional or formulaic conceptions / images" of men and women in the minds of people. However, I am
By: Mohammed Khalid Al-Khalifa
Stereotype of Men and Women
Introduction
"Hurricanes with female names may be more deadly than the ones with male names!" This is the BBC news title I have just been listening to (BBC News, 07:00 GMT, 2014-06-02). The BBC mentioned that in a recent study, researchers found out that people take hurricanes with female names less seriously than they do with the ones with male names; Consequently, hurricanes with female names would kill more. This makes the whole point of the way people think about men and women. Many studies suggest that 'Victor' is stronger than 'Victoria' in the eyes of the society, 'Christina' is softer than 'Chris' and 'Josephine' would be less threatening than 'Joseph'. 'Katrina' hurricane caused 1,833 deaths in 2005, 'Audrey' killed 416 in 1957, while in 2004 'Charley' caused only 15 direct fatalities and 20 indirect ones (Wikipedia, May 2014).
Mirriam Webster defines the term stereotype as:
"an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic" or "something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment"
So, what is that 'standardized mental picture' like in our mind for of men and women?
Men are usually stereotyped differently than women. The masculine general image is not similar to the feminine image in our minds. This is not just something we say. It is evident in our everyday life. We hear it every day, we say it all the time and, more importantly, we believe it!
Throughout this paper, I will try to prove this idea from the literature, the media and many other sources. I will try to highlight "the conventional or formulaic conceptions / images" of men and women in the minds of people. However, I am