There are rules in society that keep it in order, and for good reason. Rules such as no stealing, murdering, abuse, rape, and others natural human laws keep the human race from destroying themselves. However, there have been unspoken rules that society has placed over its people that are not protecting people, but destroying human confidence and identity and ruining the unity of the human race. These unspoken rules are stereotypes. Stereotypes have been placed on race, culture, and personalities, such as Hispanic people being fast, Jews being greedy, and all sports players being jocks. Although these are terrible stereotypes, the worst of all of these, are the ancient stereotypes on gender, and the more modern stereotypes on sexuality. These stereotypes are creating a society of people who can’t just be themselves, but instead are forced to fit these stereotypes or change their own biology. Whether you were born with a penis or vagina, does not and should not determine what you act like, are interested in, or who you like or dislike. People should just be able to be themselves.

Stereotypes on men and woman have been in place for centuries. In every period of history, the same stereotypes are present. Women are meek lowly homemakers who are interested in fashion and beauty, while men are muscular breadwinners, who are interested in things such as sports and shooting. These have been the definitions of men and women for hundreds of years, but they are not all correct. The definitions of the men and women are much simpler than society would have us think. The definition of a man in Merriam Webster’s dictionary is “an adult male human” and the definition of a woman is “an adult female person”. These definitions have nothing to do with being manly or effeminate. Since this is the case, why does society place these stereotypes on men and women? It’s wrong to force people to match these stereotypes. If a man likes fashion and makeup, then that doesn’t make him any less a man than a man who likes hunting and camping. A person’s biology doesn’t determine their nature or role in society. In the novel As Nature Made Him”, by John Colpinto, Colpinto tells of the struggle of David Reimer with gender. He was one of a set of twins, and after a failed circumcision, his parents decided to give him a radical treatment that surgically changed his original gender. His parents gave him this treatment because they followed the stereotypes of men and women. As his mother Janet said “But I thought, with his injury, it would be easier for Bruce to be raised as a girl-to be raised gently. He wouldn’t have to prove anything like a man had to,” (Colpinto 52). Because of Janet’s worry about David being judged because he wouldn’t fit the male stereotype, she changed his gender. However, this didn’t solve the problem, it made it worse. Because David had been partially raised under the stereotypes usually placed on men, then when he was forced under the girl stereotype, he didn’t fit that either. From his kindergarten years on, David was confused about who he was supposed to be. He states in Colpinto’s novel that “You know generally what a girl, and you know generally what is guy is like. And everyone is telling you that you’re a girl. But you say to yourself, I don’t feel like a girl. I liked to do guy stuff. It didn’t match. So you figure, well, there’s something wrong here. If I’m supposed to be like this girl over here, but I’m actually like this guy, I guess I gotta be an it,” (Colpinto 62). Because of the believed stereotypes on gender, David was laughed at bullied, and hurt, all because society told him to act a way he didn’t. society wouldn’t let him just be himself, penis or no penis.

“That’s gay”. Many teenagers say this as a common phrase, but it is a horrible stereotype. The dictionary definition of gay is “of, relating to, or exhibiting sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one’s own sex”. Gay is not an effeminate male, but simply just a person who is attracted to the opposite sex. However, society have forced stereotypes on homosexuals just as they have on men and women. “Effeminacy in men and masculinity in women are without doubt associated with homosexuality. Certainly not all homosexual people give evidence of these characteristics, and many effeminate men and masculine women are not homosexual, but the traits are common enough to create almost universally recognized stereotypes,” Just like David Reimer, effeminate men and masculine women or forced into the gay or lesbian stereotype, whether or not they are straight or gay. These stereotypes are being forced on people who are not gay, or those who are but aren’t effeminate. This is making people uncomfortable with themselves, and they feel as though they must be who society is telling them to be, instead of who they are.

Of course, there are stereotypes that allow people to define you they are. In the arts programs, young musicians like to stereotype themselves by what they play. The trumpets, for instance, are cocky and know it all’s, while the flutes are quiet and ready to please the director. In choir, the sopranos are the most dramatic, and the bases are the most spacy and unintelligent. Even though these stereotypes may not mean anything substantial, they can be easily taken to far, and take away people’s rights to be themselves, just as the stereotypes on gender and sexuality have. And on the subject on people being able to choose to be homosexual, then there’s nothing wrong with this. People can choose for themselves, but the destruction comes in when the world starts to convince people that it is necessary to be part of the stereotype, or you cannot be that thing, whether it be a man or a woman, or homosexual. People can choose their own path without society telling them what is right and wrong.

Through the ages, stereotypes have grown from generalizations to laws of society, and this is wrong. People shouldn’t be pressured under gender or sexuality stereotypes. Stereotypes only create chaos and destruction in society. People who are pushed under stereotypes become confused about who they are, because they are being told to be a certain way. Gender and sexuality stereotypes are the worst of these. Whether or not someone has a penis or a vagina does not make them act “like a woman”, or “like a man”. Human nature is not determined by gender, but by the choices and interests people make and have. Not all gay men are effeminate, not all men are masculine, not all women are quiet caregivers. People are simply people, and should never be judged for that. For society to continue to function, people just need to be people.

Works Cited

-Colapinto, John. As Nature Made Him. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2000, pp. 52-271.

-Merriam Webster staff. Merriam Webster dectionary, 2003.

-Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2005.

-Medinger, Alan P. "Effeminate Men, Masculine Women." Exodus Global Alliance, 1993.