Sexism and gender stereotyping is in the air.
Women are still looked down upon as the weaker sex. People still think women are more emotional than men, and really suck at keeping secrets.
But all these “myths” are not true at all, according to science. Science tells us that women are unique people, each one of them different, and just because they have been portrayed in a way in popular media, we tend to generalize that for the whole women fraternity.
1. Women love to settle down, marry and have kids
Men are reckless, sleep around, and are not serious about relationships at all. Women are the ones who love to get serious in relationships.
But actually, men are the ones who want to settle more than women and women crave for independence in relationships rather than kids.
Social scientists say that this is because the line between gender roles has been blurring for the past few decades.
2. Women are gentle creatures who are not violent or aggressive at all
It is conventionally accepted that men are more aggressive than women. In a way it is true.
But in a study, where women were given anonymous identities and were asked to drop bombs in a video game, they bombed 5 times more than even the more aggressive men.
The reason behind this, scientists say that the anonymity takes the social pressure to behave away from them, and they turn out to be awesome killing machines.
3. Women are the exclusive sufferers of domestic violence
This is a stereotype people do not want to mess with because it is controversial. But hundreds of studies show that women are just as aggressive and violent and abusive in marriages.
But everyone still thinks that it is the men who are completely at fault here, and again, it is because of the societal conformity we think this is true.
I am pretty sure we are still going to turn a blind eye on this statistic, just because it is too controversial to accept.
4. Women can never be as horny as men
Statistics are thrown in your face that how frequently men think about sex in a day, and how women are so emotional about sex.
In a study, where, again, women were given anonymity, they admitted to having multiple sexual partners. In the same study, scientists told another group of women that their answers will be recorded and they cannot be anonymous. This group of women didn’t admit to polygamy and promiscuity at all.
Again. Social pressures make women act like not-women.
5. Women love gossipping more than men
This is ingrained into our culture so deep that a subplot of Mahabharata talks about the curse that Yudhisthira cast on Kunti – that women will never be able to hold a secret.
But studies show that men gossip as much as women do, perhaps even more. And they are just as bad at keeping secrets inside them. Thy will reveal it as soon as women do.
We never noticed it because men gossip differently than women, and hence, their conversations don’t sound very gossipy.
6. Only females are affected by body shaming
It is true that body-shaming of women is more publicised by popular media, but studies show that men face the same pressure to conform to the idea of a perfect body, that is slim and ripped and without imperfections.
The studies also show that men tend to put on more muscle because of this pressure and some of them also suffer from anorexia, just like women.
This is the reason why protein supplements sell so much.
7. Women suck really hard at maths
Studies have shown that women are equally as good as men are at technical subjects.
Then why don’t they succeed as well as men in these fields?
Again the answer is – society.
Because for centuries we have brought girls up with the notion that they can never be as good as men in math and science, this notion is still stuck in classrooms – whether we accept it or not.
The problem is purely social, not intellectual.
8. Women get grossed out by porn
Women do not like porn. It grosses them out. They do not like watching porn, right?
WRONG!
In a study, women’s brains were monitored with an EEG machine and their brain activity was as flared up as a man’s after looking at sensual images. They also found out that the neurons were firing 160 milliseconds right after they were shown the images.
That means they didn’t even have to think about the images before getting aroused- just like men.
9. Women are better than men at flirting
Humans are bad at flirting. Period.
We are bad at detecting flirts too. And just because we think that women are better or men are better, doesn’t change the fact that both the genders suck at it.
It is wrong to stereotype genders and people in this age, because as scientists believe, gender roles have blurred. Women are more independent now and men are getting more sensitive too.
