[LIFE ★]
PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE GENDER STEREOTYPES
(P1) Old beliefs die hard—especially the habit of STEREOTYPING people based on GENDER. Even though a lot has changed for women over the years, a study just published in Psychology of Women Quarterly shows that many of our beliefs about gender have stayed the same.
(P2) The researchers compared survey results from 195 college students in 1983 to those from 191 people in 2014, and they looked very similar. Both men and women continue to associate men with masculine TRAITS like COMPETITIVENESS and technical professions like ENGINEERING, while many still think of women as kinder and more likely to enter CARING PROFESSIONS like NURSING. And even more people now than 30 years ago believe men are unlikely to take HOUSEHOLD and childcare responsibilities.
(P3) “The current study finds that people EXAGGERATE the extent to which men and women are different from one another,” the researchers said.
(P4) There was one positive FINDING, though: People are now more likely to expect women to be in control of their finances, and that reflects an actual increase in women’s earnings and education. And another recent study found that EXPECTATIONS for relationships have changed along with gender roles, with men caring more about brains and less about household skills.
(P5) It may take a while for our own beliefs to change, but at least we’re making progress.
WORDS: 224
SOURCE: http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2016/03/gender-stereotypes-study
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Do you think that men and women are very different, or not that different?
- Are gender stereotypes common in your country?
- Why would the caring professions have more women?
- Why don’t men help more with household work?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Caring profession
