The Femme Files

Let’s Talk About Sex Baby…

Not The Hanky-Panky Kind, But Your Gender Role

The gender neutrality trend of the late has got us all asking questions – Is Storm, the genderless Canadian baby, a girl or boy? Does the androgynous Australian supermodel, Andrej Pejic, identify more with females than males? Does the Swedish neutral gender preschool, Egalia, really forbid the use of ‘his’ and ‘her’?

Though more trivial, my question regarding this trend is – are men and women going to be sharing public bathrooms soon? I’d like to keep my private potty matters away from the opposite sex, so I’m in favour of distinct gender roles!

All jokes aside, those who are in favour of blurring gender roles are doing so in an attempt to prevent gender stereotyping. In quite possibly every society, gender stereotyping occurs and is considered the norm.

We are all aware of these norms- males are expected to be strong and tough and typically take on more physically demanding work; while women are generally more sensitive and take on care giving roles. There are even studies supporting this idea that gender roles are acceptable because the wiring of a male and female supports it.

But according to Lise Eliot, an associate professor of neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School and author of Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps and What We Can Do About It, most studies on the anatomy of the sexes’ brains are either “blatantly false” or “cherry-picked from single studies.”

Eliot immersed herself in hundreds of scientific studies and asserts that its social factors which could cause the sexes’ developmental pathways to diverge because the way that boys and girls are treated as babies becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Translation: males are not actually inherently tougher and females more prone to sensitivity; both are just raised to be that way.

While I agree with Eliot on this belief that our societal norms and the way we are raised moulds our gender roles, it does make me wonder-is it all that bad? Perhaps gender roles ensure a harmonious balance between the opposite sex?

Call me old fashioned- but what’s wrong with a man being strong and tough and assuming the role of breadwinner to provide for his family, whom his wife stays home to take care of? The wife’s role is just as strong and significant. As long as both parties are satisfied with the choices they are making, then the bigger picture is not the role of the sexes, but the compromises and sacrifices they each contribute to raising a family.

Furthermore, in an age where individualism is promoted, wouldn’t gender neutrality take this away by promoting homogenization of people? How boring would it be if we all were the same! I appreciate feminine and masculine qualities, and to be honest, I think its best to have a bit of both in oneself.

So perhaps we shouldn’t deny gender differences, rather we should promote that each sex is raised in a more rounded way; meaning toughening up the girls a bit and teaching boys to be more expressive and sensitive. Males and females-yes- but more compassionate and well-rounded individuals at that.

Femmefile readers, what are your views on the issue of gender neutrality?