by Chiara Daina
Stereotypical gender differences in prehistory have influenced today’s discrimination and gender asymmetries between men and women
Gender stereotypes lurk everywhere, even in scientific research. Over the centuries archaeologists, studying Paleolithic societies, have handed down the paradigm of the man dedicated to hunting and the woman dedicated to harvesting (fruits, leaves, roots) and caring for children. This sexual division of labor has conditioned the research activity of numerous social disciplines to the point of shaping the roles of men and women within the family and of the community and consolidating specific gender characteristics that attribute greater aggression and less emotionality to the former. and to the second, a tendency to care for and be interested in children. Gender stereotypes that die hard, which have dragged on to the present day.
A study just released in Plos one, conducted by a group of researchers from Seattle Pacific University, undermines the myth of the hunter man and the gatherer woman through a re-reading of the last century’s ethnographic accounts. Thus confirming the recent archaeological investigations on the findings inside burials. From the documentation relating to 63 societies of hunters and gatherers from all over the world (among the 391 registered in an ethnographic database which collects more than 1400 human groups; but only for those 63 there are explicit references to hunting) it emerges that in 50 of these (equal 80%) women went hunting. Not only. For 41 groups there is data also referring to the motivation that drives women to hunt: in almost nine out of ten contexts (87%) it is an intentional choice while in 5 situations (12%) the reasons are opportunistic. In societies where hunting is the main livelihood activity, women always participate. In about half of the groups (46%) chasing small prey, 15% medium sized prey, 33% large sized prey and another 2% of each size.
When women hunt, they often do so accompanied by dogs or children, while men prefer to go alone. Among the weapons used: knives, bow and arrows, nets, maceti, spears, crossbows. Even research in the psychological field for decades has been interested in demonstrating the existence of differences between men and women much more than the possible similarity of attitudes and behaviors, often neglecting the internal variability of these same groups. Although today in Western society we no longer want to talk about stereotyped expectations related to genders, believing that they are outdated, and studies of social psychology have mainly concentrated on other aspects, discrimination and gender asymmetries between men and women exist and are still significant in scope declares Elisabetta Camussi, professor of social psychology at the Bicocca University of Milan and president of the Foundation of the Adriano Ossicini psychology profession. This is also demonstrated by the Global gender gap index, introduced by the World Economic Forum, which in 2023 sees Italy in 79th place in the world ranking on gender equality among 146 countries, losing 16 positions compared to a year ago.
What is a stereotype and how does it arise?
an extreme simplification of traits that are generalized to an entire group of individuals. a principle of categorization of thought and therefore of organization of information in our mind, acts automatically and is learned with socialization, and therefore in the family, at school, in relationships with peers, through old and new media. Stereotypes cannot be eliminated as such because they are a very simple, useful cognitive process that requires minimal mental effort, works well and is lifelong, giving reassurance about what we can expect from others and from relationships. But they are prejudices, trivializing simplifications and certainly not good descriptors of reality. They are social constructions, therefore linked to culture, they have no scientific or statistical basis, but they help people to make sense of the complexity of reality and to communicate with others. For example, the greater propensity for care attributed to women as a natural dimension, an ‘instinct’, instead derives from a millenary history. In prehistoric times up to the last century women did not have the possibility to control pregnancies and spent most of their lives pregnant and looking after their children because there was no alternative. But this does not mean that it is simply “natural”, explains Camussi.
Are we aware of stereotypes, including gender stereotypes, when we use them? No, precisely because they work automatically, preventing us from looking at reality for what it actually is. For this you need to become aware of it. It must be said, first of all, that gender stereotypes produce a greater impact than other stereotypes because we spend our whole lives tending to belong to a single gender, while systematically interacting with the other. And from stereotypes come expectations that lead us to evaluate others through gender roles in all spheres of human action. Whether it’s work, family, school, relationships. These stereotypical expectations are strongly connected to the idea that the dimension of care, kindness, hospitality and dedication exclusively belongs to the feminine, while rationality, determination and control of emotions belong to the masculine. I will give examples on topical issues. According to data on careers, in Italy, just five years after a degree in scientific-technological disciplines, women are already earning less than men, even though the qualifications are identical. One explanation can be found in the fact that the former tend to choose a career with greater social utility, for example dealing with the information systems of a health company or a non-profit organization as an engineer. Conversely, men of the same age mostly prefer to choose more commercial companies or careers which are generally more profitable. This happens because the expectations on the behaviors and attitudes deemed socially more appropriate for women and men by the social context are internalized by the subject. Women, therefore, will tend to settle for a generally lower salary, without negotiating it, often feeling grateful to have obtained that job. In fact, their presence in the public space is too recent and still not adequately supported by a sharing of care loads between partners and by adequate welfare. For this reason we often find gender discrimination even in training within the companies themselves: it happens that women graduates are neither offered nor paid for specialization courses, such as MBAs, with the same frequency as men, because they are considered “less suitable”, although there is no scientific proof of this.
Are gender stereotypes modifiable? Being the result of socialization and that the little ones acquire them from the observation of the daily attitudes and behaviors of adults, as well as from the overall cultural messages, and consequently not being innate, they could be articulated differently. To reduce the impact of a stereotype it is necessary to create an awareness of its automatism and the effects it produces, in order to recognize the influence of stereotypical expectations when we evaluate someone.
The solution, therefore, is to introduce a system of personal self-control. the awareness we were talking about. But to implement a real change, it is necessary to involve all generations and all social strata in this process, starting with those who have apical, organizational and training roles that impact people’s lives. It is necessary to intervene in a systemic and systematic way, i.e. at the same time on several social groups, not only on children, and through training actions that are not isolated and temporary but continuous and throughout the national territory. The objective is to promote gender equality in a substantial way, which can be exemplified through the freedom to receive and give care not according to a preordained gender role, as well as with equal participation in the labor market. Thus overcoming the complementarity between man and woman.
How long does it take to change mindset? The times for changing attitudes and behaviors are much longer than we would like to think and depend a lot on how much the different components of society interact with each other. Change, if carried out only by individual emancipated but minority groups, does not affect the community in the short term.
July 29, 2023 (change July 29, 2023 | 07:59)
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