Gender Stereotyping, Considering Its Prevalence in the Middle East - Essay Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 An Overview of the Concept of Stereotyping/Stereotypes 4 2 Definition 4 2.2 Theory 6 3 Field Study 9 3.1 Description of the Study 10 3.2 Results of the Study 11 3.3 Proposed Solution 12 4 Conclusion 15 5 References 16 6 Questionnaire 18 1 Introduction In 1993, the political sociologist and cultural historian, Samuel Huntington, published his controversial clash of the civilizations' theory. In a book bearing that same name, Huntington asserted that the conflicts of the future would not be over politics, ideology or control over natural resources but, over cultural differences. While some recognized the underlying truth behind Huntington's theory, others dismissed it, insisting that the age of racial prejudice and ethno-cultural discrimination had died with World War II (Kunda and Sinclair, 1999). Certainly, World War II may have exposed the atrocities which racial prejudices are capable of motivating and, as such, emphasized the importance of cultural understanding but, it definitely did not eliminate the multitude of stereotypes which are at the core of most, if not all, gender, ethnic, racial, cultural, economic and social stereotypes. Huntington's theory, in other words, remains true because it is primarily supported by the countless stereotypes which are embedded in the human consciousness and which people tend to use to define the world around them. Stereotypes are dangerous both because they function to impose false images on racial, ethnic, gender, cultural, social and religious groups and because those false images often motivate the imposition of harm on others. Perry R. Hinton(1993), a social psychologist who has researched and studied the phenomenon of stereotyping, confirms the harmfulness of stereotypes. As he writes in The psychology of interpersonal perception, "stereotyping can be seen as a more extreme form of typing where we see a whole group of people as homogeneous, with the same characteristics" (Hinton, 1993:56). The implication ere is that stereotyping involves the identification of certain characteristics in members of a specific group of people and then applying those characteristics to the whole. For example, because just over a dozen of the 1.6 billion Muslims across the world undertook a terrorist act against the United States, all Muslims are subsequently stereotyped as anti-Western terrorists whose primary objective is the destruction of the West. Stereotypes, in other words, are generalizations which tend to ignore all available evidence to the contrary. Stereotypes and stereotyping are persistent despite the fact that many recognize both their falsity and harmfulness. Their persistency, in light of their harmfulness, has rendered the study of stereotypes and stereotyping, important activities. Following a definition of the concept and phenomenon of stereotypes and an overview of its theoretical parameters, the research shall present the results of a survey which was conducted on a test group of twenty of the researcher's colleagues, as a means of determining whether theory and reality coincide and, more importantly, as a strategy for acquiring a more concrete understanding of the practical and theoretical parameters of the phenomenon. The primary focus of the research shall be on gender stereotyping, considering its prevalence in the Middle East. 2 An Overview of the Concept of Stereotyping/Stereotypes This section of the research shall review literature on the definition and theory of stereotypes/stereotyping for the purpose of articulating both a comprehensive definition of the phenomenon and explicating its theoretical framework. 2.1 Definition The first to seek the academic and scientific understanding of the phenomenon of stereotyping and, indeed the first to both theorize and define the concept was Walter Lippmann (1991). In 1922, Lippmann commenced his lifelong study of the phenomenon and introduced the following definition of stereotypes: For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see. In the great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world we pick out what our culture has already defined for us, and we tend to perceive that which we have picked out in the form stereotyped for us by our culture (Lippmann, 1991: 81). Both Lippmann's (1991) definition and theory of stereotypes are contained in the above quote. As regards definition, Lippmann (1991) maintains stereotypes to be predetermined understandings of our surroundings. In other words, people have predetermined notions about other groups of people and about the world in general and tend towards the judgment and perception of things and others from within the narrow parameters of these preconceptions. As regards theory, Lippmann (1991) suggests that stereotypes are cultural, or social beliefs which are passed down from one generation to another and, in more cases than not, unquestioningly accepted. Lippmann's definition of stereotypes is echoed by a large number of social scientists and psychologists, with the primary difference being a tendency to expand upon the quoted definition. Lindgren(1994), for example, while concurring with Lippmann's definition, adds that stereotypes are "generalized and usually value-laden impressions that members of one social group use in characterizing members of another group" (468). Similarly, Coon (1994) defines the concept of the stereotype as an inaccurate, rigid and oversimplified image of members of a social group, especially an outgroup (Coon, 1994: 21). Proceeding from the above stated definitions, it is evident that there exists a general consensus that stereotypes are inaccurate and harmful conceptualizations imposed upon one group of people by another. Stereotypes imply a perception of the world and of others from within a narrow confine of predetermined beliefs and ideas, often passed down across the generations. Their primary harm lies, not only in the fact that they impose negative characteristics on others or in that they often function to emphasize the difference between groups/categories of people but, that they prevent people from seeing and discovering the truth about others and about the world around them. Having defined stereotypes as harmful misconceptions of others which stand as an obstacle to the seeing and recognition of the truth, the question now revolves around the roots of stereotypes and their function within the context of interpersonal interactions. 2.2 Theory Given that stereotypes are misperceptions which often defy the reality which people see with their own eyes, and are contrary to the facts that are available to them, both social scientists and social psychologists have investigated the theoretical base of stereotypes. Such investigations have sought to respond to such questions as the roots of stereotypes, the reason for their persistency, their motivations and their consequences. Research into the roots of stereotypes has invariably identified all of cultural, religion and history as the primary generators of stereotypes. In 1971, the social psychologist, Brigham, asserted that stereotypes were beliefs and, as such, directly emanated from both culture and religion, both of which are popularly regarded as the fount of most human beliefs (17). According to this theoretical outlook, both culture and religion are primarily motivated by the imperatives of unifying adherents/followers and transforming them, from a divided multitude, into a collective whole. As a strategy for fulfilling the objective of unification, religion and culture define a set of beliefs which they subsequently communicate to their adherents and impose a set of characteristics upon them. That is, both religion and culture attribute a set of characteristics to their adherents, in conjunction with a set of ideal traits to which their adherents aspire. Through this strategy, they create unity among their adherents and, to a large degree, transform the diverse multitude into a relatively homogenous whole (Brigham 18-22). Religion and culture do not just impose a particular stereotypical image, founded upon a set of predetermined beliefs, upon their adherents but upon various groups of non-adherents. As Zanna and Olson (1994) explain, in order to transform their adherents into a homogenous whole, culture and religion tend towards the definition of the self in relation to others. In other words, Christianity defines itself in opposition to Judaism and Christians tend towards the definition of their selves in comparison to Jews. The more crucial aspect of the stated is not that religion and culture ultimately impose a set of characteristics upon their adherents but that they propagate stereotypes about non-adherents and embed them in the consciousness of their adherents (Zanna and Olsen, 1994: 3-5). Accordingly, stereotypes are an integral part of our upbringing as members of a group. Concurring, Taylor maintains stereotypes to be a "consensus among members of one group regarding the attributes of another" (Taylor, 1981: 155). The theory of stereotypes asserts that even as stereotypes function to define the way in which we see and perceive of others, they shape self-perceptions. Brauer, Judd and Jacquelin (2001) argue that stereotypes are inculcated within individuals through their upbringing process and, as a result, play a definitive role in the manner in which they perceive of both others and of themselves. In the main, therefore, stereotypes limit the capacity of individuals to objectively see themselves, others and the world around them insofar as the acculturation of individuals into them have determined seeing through the framework of stereotypes (Brauer, Judd and Jacquelin, 2001: 463-464). Focusing on the wealth of evidence which establishes that stereotypes determine the perception of others and of the self, Keith Williams investigates the concept of stereotype threat.' As explained by Williams (2006), stereotypes are threatening, not simply because they often function as an obstacle towards understanding between members of different groups but, because they impose limitations on individual potentials. As established by a multitude of studies, when individuals realize that they are the focus of certain stereotypes, they often act in accordance with those stereotypes. Similarly, when people see others in terms of predetermined stereotypes, they are often incapable of seeing the stereotyped subject for what she/he really is or what he/she is capable of. Within both the school and work environment, this tends to have far-reaching consequences. Employers and teachers fail to tap into their employees' and students' full potential while employees and students fail to realize their potential (Williams, 2006). In other words, stereotypes act as an obstacle to the realization of potential, ultimately delimiting the contributory value of individuals. Having outlined the theory of stereotypes, it is necessary to test whether or not theory translates into reality. This shall be tested through a minor field study. 3 Field Study As a strategy for determining whether or not the cited definitions for stereotypes and the theory associated with the phenomenon are valid and practically translate into reality, I conducted a questionnaire-based survey, comprised of 20 respondents, in my place of work. As the greater majority of employees are from the same ethno-cultural and religious background, being primarily Arab Kuwaiti Muslims, national, cultural, ethnic and religious stereotypes were dismissed as possible areas of focus. Quite simply stated, assuming the validity of both definitions and theories, there would not be any great variance in the answers provided by the selected respondents, considering that the majority were acculturated into the same set of national, religious, ethnic and cultural stereotypes. Furthermore, in light of the fact that the respondents are colleagues in the same workplace, implying that the majority emanate from similar social, economic and educational backgrounds, stereotypes associated with status and class were similarly dismissed. Accordingly, selection fell on gender stereotypes as the only feasible, and remaining, focus of study. Gender stereotypes occupy a very interesting and important place in Arab culture. Despite the fact that many within the Arab Muslim society have, to a great degree, abandoned the traditional thoughts, behaviors and beliefs of earlier generations and even though a significant percentage of women within these societies are educated, are represented in most jobs/careers and, importantly, play prominent public political and economic roles, the fact is that women within the Arab Muslim society remains the focal point of traditional stereotypes. The gender stereotypes which predominate throughout the Arab World tend towards the polarization of the sexes and their portrayal as opposites. The male is perceived of as strong, commanding, superior, intelligent and as a leader. In direct comparison, the female is depicted as weak, inferior, emotional, and incapable of decisiveness or leadership. Beyond that, the relationship between the genders is similarly depicted whereby the male is portrayed as the leader and the female as the follower, in addition to which the female is depicted as owing a duty of obedience towards the male. The above stated summarize the gender stereotypes which predominate throughout the Arab World. These stereotypes have persisted throughout the decades, despite there being a wealth of evidence to the contrary. Given that the respondents were all computer engineers or health technicians and, without exception, held undergraduate degrees obtained from a Western university, implying that they had lived abroad for no less than five years, it was interesting to see whether or not they held the same stereotypical image of the genders. This focus was all the more interesting considering that no less than a fourth of the employees at the IT and medical equipment company from which the respondents were drawn are female. 3.1 Description of the Study A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was distributed among twenty respondents, five of which were female and the rest of which were male. Respondents were instructed to check the first answer which came to mind as a strategy for ensuring spontaneous responses. Respondents were assured that their names will be kept private and that, indeed, they did not have to fill out any personal information on the questionnaires apart from their gender. The questionnaire was comprised of ten questions, all of which focused on the more popular gender stereotypes in the Arab World. 3.2 Results of the Study The results of the study indicated that the greater majority of respondents had been acculturated into the gender stereotypes which predominate across the Arab World and that the majority, despite their educational and travel experiences, largely believed in the validity of these stereotypes. In other words, they did not regard the image of women as inferior to the male, emotional rather than objective, and weak as opposed to strong, as questionable statements. Instead, they largely tended to perceive of them as established facts. One of the more interesting of the study's results was that the female respondents, to a great degree, concurred with these stereotypes. The implication here is that their self-perceptions were shaped by stereotypes. In specific reference to whether or not respondents felt that the perception of others through stereotypes limited the potential of the stereotyped individual, the majority respondent believed that it did. The female respondents noted that stereotypes of their gender as weak and incapable of leadership generally lent to their playing a secondary role in the work place and to their not emphasizing their accomplishments or voicing opposition to the promotion of a less deserving male colleague. As for the male respondents, there was a general consensus that females in their particular line of work (computer engineering) were less accomplished than the males and incapable of comparable professional contributions. Proceeding from the above summary of the study's findings, it is necessary to outline the conclusions reached. The first conclusion arrived at is that despite the respondents having experienced and lived in a different culture for an extended period of time and even though their experience showed them that the genders were, in the main, equal, they rejected that notion. This is because it conflicted with their firmly held belief in inequality, as communicated to them through a lengthy process of cultural acculturation. In other words, stereotypes become embedded within individuals and, on a subconscious, if not conscious level, determine their perceptions and shape their beliefs. The second conclusion reached is that stereotypes do, indeed, constrain one's capacity to recognize the potential, both in one's own self and in others. This is because their definition of themselves, of others and of the world which surrounds them is shaped by stereotypes which have been transmitted to them through the media of culture, school and family throughout their upbringing and personality formation periods. 3.3 Proposed Solution Within the context of the Arab World, gender stereotypes are deeply ingrained within the mass consciousness and form an inherent part of the region's cultural heritage. Accordingly, it would be unduly optimistic to assume that any business enterprise therein can design and implement a solution to this particular problem. Gender stereotypes can only be resolved at the national and regional levels and through the involvement of the mass media, not to mention educational institutions. The media and schools, popularly regarded as tools of mass acculturation, have the power and resources to influence culture and reverse stereotypes whereas a single business enterprise cannot. Although it is virtually impossible for my workplace to design and implement any type of program which would effectively reverse the gender stereotypes which the field study exposed, that does not imply that no solutions are possible. A solution, should it focus on deactivation of this particular stereotype within the workplace, as opposed to its elimination, is possible and can be successfully implemented. In other words, the aim is not to remove this stereotype from the consciousness of employees as much as it is to ensure that it does not express itself in the workplace. The proposed solution, insofar as it aims towards the creation of a workplace, gender-blind mentality, must be implemented at the very top. That means to say that promotions should be awarded on the basis of merit, not on gender. Currently, less qualified male employees are promoted over their more-qualified female colleagues and this only serves to solidify gender stereotypes. It is imperative, therefore, that leadership address this particular aspect of the problem through the establishment of a system which strictly awards promotions only according to qualifications and merit, irrespective of gender. In addition to the above stated, gender stereotypes can further be combated through the creation of cross-gender work teams. Currently, most of the teams within the organization are single gender teams. The rationale behind this was that, given cultural constraints on cross-gender relationships, employees would feel more comfortable were they involved in teams whose members were of their same gender. While many of the employees support this particular feature of the organization's work teams, the fact is that it has created a form of gender segregation which has only served to enforce the identified gender stereotypes. Accordingly, another solution to the defined problems lies in the creation of cross-gender teams as would bring male and female employees into closer relationship with one another. Not only will this gradually break away at the currently predominant segregation mentality but, more importantly, it will bring male and female employees into a closer relationship of co-dependency. Such a relationship will heighten awareness of the opposite gender and this, in itself, will substantially aid in the elimination of the stated stereotype. The value of the above-stated solution is not simply that it is implementable but that it addresses the core reason for stereotypes: misinformation. Both promotion on the basis of merit and the formation of cross gender work teams will inform the genders of the potentials of the other; of the reality of the opposite gender. The knowledge subsequently gained will, in itself, function to reverse gender stereotypes. It is, thus, that I believe this solution to be of particular value for the resolution of the problem of gender stereotypes at my workplace. 4 Conclusion The conclusion reached at the end of the research is that the proposed definitions for stereotypes are accurate, just as is the theory of stereotypes. Just as implied within the definitions and explicitly stated in theories, stereotypes function to shape our worldview and, ultimately, constrain our capacity to see. The implication, therefore, is that stereotypes prevent us from seeing the reality of ourselves, of others and of our surroundings, further functioning to influence people to act in accordance with the stereotypes projected upon them as members of a particular group. It is, thus, that stereotypes ultimately emerge as a threat; they are a threat insofar as they prevent objective perceptions and judgments, thereby motivating people to act according to, often erroneous, preconceptions. Erroneous preconceptions, or misconceptions, in turn, stand as an obstacle to communication between cultures, socio-economic classes, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups and genders. Herein lies the real threat. 5 References Brauer, M., Judd, C.M., and Jacquelin, V, 2001. The communication of social stereotypes: The effects of group discussion and information distribution on stereotype appraisals.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 81, No. 3. Brigham, J.C. 1971. Ethnic stereotypes,' Psychological Bulletin, [Online] Vol. 76. Available from EbscoHost [10 November 2006]. Coon, D. 1994. Essentials of Psychology: Exploration and Application. 6th ed. St. Paul: West. Hinton, P.R. 1993 The Psychology of Interpersonal Perception. London, Routledge. Kunda, Z. and Sinclair, L. 1999. Motivated reasoning with stereotypes: Activation, application and inhibition,' [online]. Psychological Inquiry. Vol. 10, no. 1. Available from Jstor. [10 November 2006]. Lindgren, H.C. 1994. Stereotyping.' In R.J. Corsini (Ed), Encyclopedia of Psychology (pp.468-469) New York: John Wiley and Sons. Lippmann, W. 1991. Public Opinion. London, Transaction Publishers. Taylor, S.E. 1994. Social psychology. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Williams, K.B. 2006. The effect of stereotype threat on test performance of male and female college students,' College Student Journal. [Online] vol. 30, no. 3. Available from EbscoHost. [10 November 2006] Zanna, M.P. and Olson, J.M. 1994. The Psychology of Prejudice. Vol. 7. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 6 Questionnaire 1. Background Information 1 Have you studied abroad/ (please tick) Yes No 3 If yes, please indicate for how many years .. 2 Gender Male Female 2. Gender Stereotypes 5-Likert Scale; Please Circle (1) Strongly Disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Neutral; (4) Agree; (5) Strongly Agree. 1 Women are not capable of assuming managerial positions in the workplace 1 2 3 4 5 2 Women make less capable managers than men 1 2 3 4 5 3 The male's natural place is the workplace, whereas the female's natural place is the home 1 2 3 4 5 3 Within the field of science, such as IT, men outshine women 1 2 3 4 5 4 Women are the focal point of workplace discrimination 1 2 3 4 5 5 If you are a female respondent, please answer the following: You appreciate and understand the reasons why a male would be promoted over you in the workplace, even though you may be more qualified 1 2 3 4 5 6 If you are a male, please answer the following: You would express objection to a female presiding over you in the workplace 1 2 3 4 5 7 You are a form believer in your cultural values and traditions 1 2 3 4 5 8 You believe that there are specific rules which should govern the relationship between males and females and that these rules define the male as leader and the female as follower 1 2 3 4 5 9 Males and females are equal, the issue of biological makeup and physical strength aside 1 2 3 4 5 10 You feel comfortable with colleagues of the opposite sex 1 2 3 4 5 Read More