When boys are wild and loud, it is considered as being totally normal. But if girls act this way, it is reason to worry. Girls are “naturally” more dedicated to their school studies and more helpful than boys, but on the other hand, more fearful of and worse at Mathematics. Girls really want to be liked by boys and therefore prefer to wear dresses, jewelry and long hair, rather than baggy jeans and an undercut. Furthermore, all girls are looking for the love of their life and want to have children. Boys, on the other hand, are often unfaithful and prefer to be free and unattached.
Do these statements sound familiar you? Probably yes, and that is because we hear these and many others every day, sometimes from parents, teachers and even from people of the same age, but also on YouTube and Bravo. In Hip-Hop videos, for example, women are often not supposed to do more than shake their booties and look good. When it comes to choosing a profession, social work is often suggested to girls, because they supposedly get along with people better than boys do. Without even realizing it, we develop the idea of how a “real girl” should be. If we don’t fit into this mold, we are very quickly made to feel that something is wrong with us. At school or university, girls hear many derogatory terms, such as “butch woman”. However, it should be noted that not only girls suffer from the spreading of these gender stereotypes, but also boys. It can be very stressful to be a tough guy all the time - and someone who is not might be called a “faggot” or a “loser”.
Of course, that was all much worse in the past. Back then, girls were expected to help in the household, they often could not go to school and had children, while they were often only children themselves. This is different today, and there are books, movies and many girls and women in real life that do not represent these clichés at all; they show us that it is great to find our own way. Yet the typical roles of girls - and boys - are still so deeply ingrained into our society and cannot be easily erased. Try not to let these thoughts discourage you and do your own thing - even if it does not please everybody.