Analyzing gender violence among adolescents: a review of gender stereotypes

I've been wondering for a few days if the gender violence that has been observed in the adolescent population, could be caused by assumption by society of what we call gender stereotypesBecause 'are present directly in the daily life of adolescents, affecting their behavior and decisions' (the quote is from Margarita Petit and Montse Prat, nurses and authors of this work on the subject).

Too often we see macho attitudes in the youngest, even in minors, it is - of course - difficult to try to understand that a generation of girls and boys who have grown up watching their mothers go to work, and their fathers assume domestic co-responsibility ; admit (they and they) that it is unavoidable / acceptable to control their partners' schedules or prevent them from seeing their loved ones; No less than 33 percent thought this way at the beginning of last year according to a study prepared by the CIS, and commissioned by the Ministry of Health!

Angel Peralbo is a clinical psychologist specialized in children and adolescentsHe is also the author of the book "From girls to bad girls"; on one occasion I had an interview with him, to try to explain to me why there are girls who, despite having been raised on equality and respect, allow themselves to be dominated and subdued. Angel told me that probably not parents or school, not society, have provided support to develop emotional intelligence and strengthen their self-esteem, for that reason the intentions have remained in a theorization. I do not deny him the reason, but there are more factors to analyze, that is why I have been interested in gender roles and stereotypes.

Girls, boys, roles and stereotypes.

We can affirm that a person is a woman or a man according to their biology, however, it is not possible to attribute typically feminine or masculine functions to them, because these adjectives are related to a cultural construct. That is, if we all normalize that we and we have different responsibilities in any area, we also deny equal opportunities, and against women (If it is ALWAYS the mother who takes the children to the dentist or to extracurricular activity, while the father studies for an exam, the first one misses the opportunity to improve his training, I highlight the 'always' so that it is understood that he would not raise the dilemma if we were talking about a specific situation).

By socializing, we also learn the behaviors that the environment considers masculine and feminine, these are ROLES

Such roles are structured around upbringing and 'domesticity' for girls, and economic support for boys; later they are transmitted through beliefs about what 'should be'. The roles that are attributed to us based on our sex have been established in this way because we live in a patriarchal society, which aims to maintain a hegemonic masculinity.

Here you will find an article that establishes a direct relationship between the patriarchal order and gender violence. Its author talks about the way in which our past and the socializing elements contribute to the maintenance, with the acceptance of the whole society; We ended up like this by applauding. usually something that shouldn't be.

Girls and boys: the same behavior, different meanings.

Imagine that you have daughters and sons, imagine that due to the education they have given you, the influence of the environment, and your own acceptance, you rate the behaviors they have differently, when these are identical. Imagine that your children realize it and throw it in your face, and even that some are euphoric, and sad the others accept it; the damage is done, especially if you don't realize it and perpetuate it.

But, as you will see in the previous table, the worst part is not always the girls, because look at how a sensitive little person is described as 'delicate' or 'effeminate', depending on who we are talking about. But in general, we tend to be more benevolent with them: An insistent girl is stubborn, if she is a boy, she will be tenacious; another one, aggressive the one that does not submit, strong the one that does not submit.

The consequences of establishing stereotypes.

Rebecca Cock is a woman specialist in gender issues, she says that the problem comes when the stereotype imposes a burden or denies some benefit (Does that time sound familiar to you when women couldn't even vote?). But it provides an idea that is worth highlighting: not only does it allude to stereotypes regarding gender roles attributed to women, but it also affirms that there is a 'social disapproval' of men involved in parenting, although of course, less and less (fortunately).

I believe that now, the task is not only to take care of how we adults deal with these stereotypes, but to contribute our bit so that those perceptions regarding children that the painting talks about change

If you read us, you have daughters or sons, or perhaps nephews or grandchildren, remember that as they say 'education holds the key', but it is very important that we get involved to achieve real equality, and above all to eradicate gender violence.

And finally, I hope you don't think I'm exaggerating, if so, I recommend you read this post of ours, based on a study by the Reina Sofia Center on Adolescence and Youth; the main result is that 80% of adolescents between 14 and 19 years old have known some act of gender violence in couples their age. Stereotypes were also discussed, the most prominent being 'Strong like daddy, sensitive like mommy'. What if we start by believing that men can be sensitive too? What if we try to empower girls to own their bodies, their actions, their decisions and their plans for the future?

Picture - Aislinn ritchie
Table - From the book «Feminism for beginners», whose author is Núria Varela