Biological gender plays an important role in this identity-building process. An individual's biological sex not only defines his or her biological existence, but also creates gender codes that refer to a psychological and cultural functioning as 'woman' or 'man' in society. Gender codes are determined by the social structure we live in. Biological and social role differences between the sexes are exaggerated, creating a gender inequality that works against women. In a patriarchal society like Turkey, the unquestioning acceptance and adoption of gender roles undoubtedly victimizes women.
Starting from childhood, learning attitudes, desires and behaviors that are appropriate and not appropriate to gender categories begins with the family's approval, and these roles are reinforced. In society, girls are expected to be delicate, polite and calm more than boys, and a passive identity is imposed. The woman, who was first socialized under the domination and pressure of her father or brothers as a result of growing up with sexist roles, continues to exist in this way with her husband when she gets married. Society has actually assigned a role for him, from how he should sit and stand in the future, how he will express his emotions, how he will laugh. Toys, games, advertisements, roles in fairy tales, in short, everything in the media for girls serves this purpose.
For example, in fairy tales, most of the princesses are waiting to be rescued by the prince, stepmothers are either very evil-hearted or directly depicted as witches. . Those fairy tales that we love that seem innocent to us, such as a woman needing a man to be saved or a remarried woman being evil, may contain such messages that we have never thought about. The girl, who grows up with many things that we normalize such as house games, toy dinner sets, dolls, everything being pink, actually progresses by internalizing the role that was deemed appropriate for her in her childhood.
Parents' attitudes towards the child and their gender have a significant impact on which child they spend time with. The fact that parents care more about their daughters prevents them from going through a period of individualization in the early period, and women's jealousy towards men It may cause them to tend to have a more dependent personality with age. We see that the child who is expected to support the family in household chores, in addition to being appreciated for their school success when they start school, is usually a girl.
Women who grow up like this may see themselves as more worthless and unimportant because they perceive the duties of taking care of children and domestic responsibilities at home as their natural duty. The fact that women's responsibilities and duties are seen mostly as housework begins first in the family. A boy is not taught to cook or clean, or is not given much attention. Even though men and women contribute equally to the household economically when they become adults, housework falls to the woman. So much so that there is no equality in child care. In the eyes of society, the mother is the person who should take care of the children, play with them, and meet their needs. If one of these is missing, he is immediately criticized and condemned. The fact that the man participates in the housework makes him "helping the woman", while the fact that he spends as much time with his child makes him a "great father".
However, when a woman cares for her child at the same level, this is something that 'should happen', so the society accepts this as normal and does not appreciate it as much as it appreciates the man. This inequality, which begins in childhood and at home, continues in the future. In addition to business life, there is also extra labor at home, which can be exhausting enough to lead to exhaustion. The efforts of women who have earned the title of "housewife" by not working in any job are not appreciated.
Women, who grew up with all these stereotypes, begin to experience their first difficulties in choosing a profession. An example of this is that technical jobs such as engineering are still seen as men's jobs, and seventy percent of these departments are made up of men. When they start their careers, they may encounter problems such as psychological pressure, working for lower wages, and flexible working hours seeming more suitable for men. Although this situation seems to have been overcome in some sectors, it covers a very small area. However, women are physiologically As long as there is no health obstacle, they are able to work for the same amount of time or even longer.
Another issue is violence based on gender discrimination. Violence against women is a problem that has been going on for centuries. It is precisely this gender inequality that lies behind violence against women. In a system dominated by men, when a woman refuses because she is seen as an object belonging to men, the man resorts to violence to intimidate her in order to maintain his current authority. Although we know that this rate decreases when the education level of men is high, we are faced with the fact that it does not disappear. The reason why people from all walks of life can commit violence against women depends on whether or not they embrace sexism. Unfortunately, situations such as education and economic level only reduce the rate.
Women's struggle to get rid of the identity definitions imposed on them and create alternative definitions continues. If we realize how much all the labels given to her actually oppress her, create pressure and serve the patriarchal order, we can take a step to make it "not difficult" to be a woman. We must fight in every field by not raising our children according to negative gender stereotypes and attitudes, and by doing our best to prevent all kinds of sexism we encounter in our environment.
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