We’ve all heard of and experienced gender roles, whether we know it or not. To keep it simple, gender roles are certain behaviors that respective genders are expected to adhere to or act in a certain way according to which respective genders should act. Gender roles can be extremely harmful as they put people into tiny little boxes, defining what they should do and what not. For example, when I say adjectives like "sensitive, nurturing, or sympathetic", most of us start to envision a female figure, on the other hand, if I say adjectives like "dominating, authoritative, bold", we automatically start envisioning a male figure.
These gender roles have been embedded in our minds so deep that since childhood we blindly follow them. Disobeying our parents, questioning *them back*, etc are also seen as disrespectful. Children who are being taught such gendered characteristics are left with no option instead of accepting them, making it much more difficult to break such a cycle which is promoting toxic gender stereotypes inequality and thereby creating a discriminated image.
*Moving on to gender roles in families, since* the beginning of the (heteronormative) world, a family usually consisted of a husband, wife, and children. In such families, the general dynamic was that the husband (who went out to work and financially supported the rest of the family) was the sole breadwinner of the family whereas the wife was supposed to stay at home and take care of the kids, prepare the meals and do the rest household chores. At that time, women were usually seen as servants or domestic workers. It was generally frowned upon when women would go out to work or when men would stay at home to take care of their kids instead of their female counterparts.
We think we have grown out of these thought processes, but have we? Just because these days women are not barred from working, people think that fixes the society. But we are far from living in a “fixed” society. For example, if in a Male-Female relationship, a woman is earning more, her male counterpart gets insecure. This is because of the gender bias that is set so deep into our minds that we cannot think free of it. Since childhood, the man has been taught that he is supposed to be the breadwinner of his family and in some ways, superior to his wife. It's because of these ingrained gender roles, these relationships inside a family are often strained.
*Now coming to gender roles in fashion, gender roles* in fashion have been around for a long time, whether it was not allowed for women to wear pants or when men were not being accepted as dress wearers. Although the line which separates the "Appropriate-inappropriate" clothes has become blurred for women but not for men.
Clothes are a way to express oneself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing masculine or feminine clothes, regardless of one’s gender. Why do women in suits are applauded but men with skirts are degraded? Because, from our early days in this world, we are taught that being masculine means you are strong and authoritative but being feminine means you are feeble. Even nail polish and makeup are naturally seen as feminine means of self-expression! Does a little bit of color on the tips of someone's hand or their eyelids tell you how strong or well-suited are they? History says that crop tops, high heels, and even makeup were initially created for men, but they are now seen as exclusively feminine products. When people get uncomfortable with a man wearing a dress, they are not actively or consciously thinking that the man looks weak, but it is a learned thought that makes them react the way they do.
Societal norms changes with time, but are they changing for the better? It is hard to discern. Gender roles are harmful behavioral expectations that must be unlearned because they not only completely disregard the gender non-binary, they also restrict people to their gender, and stop them from achieving their full potential as human beings free from such Human-made constraints.
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