Gender-Stereotypes: The Way out
When? 17 June to 2 July 2019
It was impressive how diverse your discussions about gender stereotypes were and what a high level of reflection there could be seen in the threads! You have collected a lot of valuable material, pictures, videos, stories, graphics and scientific reports. There was a shared view that media, especially social media and the internet, not only reflect social gender stereotypes, but also massively increase these through the permanent and worldwide availability of the net. You gave many examples of this, such as the ideal of the perfect – often sexualised – female or male body promoted by influencers on YouTube or on Instagram and there is an interesting discussion about the connection between these stereotypes and cyberbullying and hate postings. It is clear that as a group you reject restrictive gender categories, and support the dismantling of stereotypes and respect for differences and diversity of people.
Therefore, let us talk about solutions now, the ways to deal with gender stereotypes..As long as stereotypes are constructed in our societies, shouldn’t they also be open to deconstruction? What hampers this idea of deconstruction so massively? Where are ways out?
