Do you also think that girls must wear pink and boys blue? That women are fragile and want to become mothers? and that men don't cry, don't wear skirts and should provide for the family?
I mean, some things are for girls and others for boys. And we believe that it has always been like this; that it will always be. Until sometime ago, no one questioned it.
The identity of men and women developed for many years, in different ways and in different societies. But why does it still have to be like this? Simone de Beauvoir was an important french philosopher She influenced many generations of feminists and the concept of gender.
The ideas of Simone showed that being a woman is not defined by the biological sex, but constructed from it Being a woman or a man is a cultural construction, and not something predetermined by the biological sex. But, first, let's understand what is gender. Gender is not a synonym for biological sex.
The gender's concept refers to the social construction of how people identify and express themselves, Including concerning sexual practices, that influence the social and cultural relations between them. To think about body, sexuality and gender, is to ask: How do I see myself? How do I express myself?
Whom do I like? To whom I feel attracted to? Gender manifestations are not the same in all times and not in all places People change, societies changes and the expression of gender too!
But in each age and each place there are patterns that determine the behaviour of men and women And if we analyze this patterns, we will see That a lot of people, like women, historically and culturally, have been oppressed and discriminated And that means that gender relations are also relations of inequality and power For example, women's income is still lower and they are in under-evaluated positions on the market And are more susceptible to suffer violence in their homes But it does not have to be like this! It's important to understand how these identities and standards have been constructed and deconstructed It's important to question them, on the behalf of a more democratic and plural society that respects diversity No one needs to fit in the standards imposed by society. You can be whoever you want to and everyone must be respected!
