The myth of gender essentialism

Anna Dinissuk, Staff Writer
Featured image courtesy of Karolina Grabowska

Gender essentialism is the notion that men and women have inherent, fixed differences attributed to them by biology. Women are nurturers, men are fighters; men are active, women are passive.
Many women are a natural fit for the “helping professions” of a nurse, teacher, therapist, and various other careers that assist other people in improving their quality of life. For other women, the task of finding a profession that suits their personality is an uphill battle.
Women generally have better social skills than men, but not all women have good social skills. I didn’t always have good social skills and wasn’t always able to advocate for myself the way I do now. I’ve grown a lot as an individual since I’ve started university, and the biggest change has been in improving my interpersonal skills. I am now more confident in my ability to have a rewarding career working with other people, but developing these soft skills didn’t come naturally to me.
I know other young women who do well academically but haven’t made an effort to improve their social skills and they might honestly be a better fit for professions that have less focus on interacting with other people. There is a need for more people to go into the trades, but many young women don’t seriously consider becoming a plumber or an electrician because society, or perhaps their family, say that this isn’t what young women should be doing.
I think that this artificial divide between what is considered “women’s” and “men’s” work is depressing and narrows young people’s options in an already cut-throat job market. Young women with weaker interpersonal skills are pushed into professions that don’t fully suit them and have their life choices diminished by having to compete for jobs alongside their more charismatic peers. Young men are discouraged from entering traditionally female-dominated professions that could benefit from having a more balanced gender ratio.
The professional people who I admire most are those individuals that have a good mix of traditionally feminine and masculine attributes. It’s the male professor who takes the time to be considerate of students and the female PhD student who is a brilliant researcher, while still being mindful of the human aspect of her scholarly work, that I feel are good role models for young people today, whether male or female.
Strengths and weaknesses are not determined by someone’s gender and we should all strive to be more balanced human beings, both in our professional and personal lives. The key is to give more people the choice to pursue whatever calling they feel best suits them as unique individuals.

Tweet us, @excaliburYU