EXPOSING THE TRUTH: 7 COMMON STEREOTYPES NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
Medium | 31.12.2025 04:16
EXPOSING THE TRUTH: 7 COMMON STEREOTYPES NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
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Let’s question patriarchy!
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love can come more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Nelson Mandela
Ever felt frustrated by the thought of how discriminatory the world has been towards women every time? Sentences like "Why do you always have to question what he does?" and "Boys will be boys" have never made sense to me. Most of us have grown up hearing this, and whoever questions patriarchy faces the most backlash.
What are stereotypes?
The idea of " boys will be boys" stems from generations of people supporting particular stereotypes. The word "stereotype" means bias towards a specific gender because of a popular belief that has been on for years.
7 common stereotypes:
This article explains some of the most common stereotypes faced by women throughout the world. So let's work on exposing them:
1. Education bias:
A common belief is that females shouldn't be granted much education, and the money should be saved up for their marriage. Parents see a lack of economic benefits in educating girls as they believe they'll end up doing housework and taking care of their children. As a result, many people don't see their education as necessary.
Schools also play a major role in this regard, as the idea of girls competing with boys is also frowned upon by a large percentage of teachers.
According to a study by UNICEF, 119 million girls don't go to school.
https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education
According to a research paper of Pakistan Social Sciences Review by Maham Khalid and Rabia Arif, dated 12 June 2022: Pakistan’s education sector comprised only 2.7% of the total GDP as of 2009. https://www.ojs.pssr.org.pk/journal/article/view/196
2. Women are not built for STEM majors:
Even in 2025, the mass population thinks that even if education is important, not all careers are considered suitable for girls. They think that being a doctor or a teacher is the best choice for women. STEM, architecture, business and construction are all believed to be men's work.
The sad part is that even those who pursue medicine don't get to practice it afterwards, as most families just like the 'idea' of an educated daughter-in-law.
3. Honor killings:
The name suggests otherwise, but my question is: What 'honor' is even there in killing?
It is usually done by men in the name of honor by stopping those who question patriarchy and fight for themselves. Moreover, women are still being killed over dowry, giving birth to a daughter and doing marriage of their own choice.
According to the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), out of 32,617 cases of gender-based violence in Pakistan in 2024, 547 of them were of honor killings.
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The question is- why are people still okay with this idea? Most of them consider life sacred, but the moment one disobeys, they forget that it's wrong to kill someone, especially for such trivial and harmless decisions.
4. Women are less capable:
Women are thought to be more emotional and fragile. People believe that they experience hormonal deficiencies and their productivity is less than men.
They believe that women have less physical strength and so cannot compete men. They should prioritize family and motherhood over their career.
In offices, women employees often face such 'jokes' that how they have it easier and can just do a job for fun, while men are the breadwinners, so they have it way harder.
An article by Forbes in 2011 tells that women make up only 15% of board seats, 14% of executive officers and 2% CEO's.
Why Is It That Women Are Seen As Less Competent?
Let's be conscious of unconscious assumptions about women's competence. If your comments are overlooked, don't assume you have nothing to contribute or are not a leader. Rather assume an unconscious assumption has kicked in.
www.forbes.com
5. Women can’t handle finances well:
Until 1974, females couldn’t even open a bank account or apply for a credit card. They are considered to give bad advice on investments.
But between 2014 and 2019, a 21% increase was observed in female entrepreneurs (A study by American Express).
6. Beauty stereotypes:
It is still believed that looks are what make a woman’s personality good. The complex of being tall, fair, having a sharp nose and big eyes is still instilled in the roots of society.
A report by Dove Self-esteem project states that 1000 girls aged 10-17 revealed that 1 in 2 girls give toxic beauty advice on social media.
Toxic beauty standards on social media: The stats
1 in 2 girls say toxic beauty advice on social media causes low self-esteem. Read the latest stats about the impact of toxic beauty standards online.
www.dove.com
7. The shame of being 'too ambitious’:
Working women are generally labelled as 'selfish' as the mass population believes that such women neglect their families. They should be willing to give up on their careers and take on all the house labour, while expecting the bare minimum in return.
Their simple dreams and hobbies are crushed under the pretext of "do it after marriage," and afterwards, they don’t even find the time and energy for it.
Conclusion:
While the list just goes on and on about how generation after generation has crushed the confidence of women, the journey to equality still has a long way to go.
See- These stereotypes are the reasons to uplift women and be a part of the solution.
So share your stories in the comments on what other stereotypes you faced in your life and how they can be broken!
