Vintage Indian Posters on Modern Gender Stereotypes

ON MODERN

GENDER

STEREOTYPES

Prepared by Kid Powered Media

based on research with our Funky Boyz Media Club

In this booklet you will find a set of vintage-style, semi-sarcastic posters advertising these conclusions in thought-provoking ways. Feel

free to print these posters and hang them around your homes, classrooms and offices to spark discussions and debates about gender

stereotypes.

Thanks, Kid Powered Mediafor questions contact [email protected]

1. Ideas of masculinity run deep and central when considering breaking gender stereotypes - men are under more pressure than

women to do certain jobs in certain ways.

2. People are proud and eager to talk about women breaking stereotypes but underneath all the positive examples people know,

women still aren’t free to choose their own careers.

3. Generally speaking, men can do any work for pay, outside the house whereas women can do any work inside the house, without pay.

In today’s world, a real man provides for his

family...

...but can’t provide for himself.

LEARN HOW TO COOK

www.kidpoweredmedia.com

1. Ideas of masculinity run deep and central when considering breaking gender stereotypes - men are under more pressure than

women to do certain jobs in certain ways.

Males are less likely to own up to or claim examples of men doing work typically done by women (like washing clothes or cooking) even

though such examples are common.

Males are often teased, or are scared of being teased, for doing girls’ work, whereas girls are proud or inspired by the idea of doing jobs

outside of gender stereotypes.

The students in our all-male media club

were hesitant to admit that they cooked at

home. When we stipulated that it could be

‘just for fun’ they said they did it, but they

didn’t want to take credit for things like

cooking and cleaning if it was suggested as

an official household ‘chore’, despite

knknowing many men who live alone and are

solely responsible for these chores.

Reasons preventing girls from

doing jobs ‘outside the box’ were

cited as strength and safety,

whereas the REPUTATION of

the boy was the major reason

not to partake in stereotypically

‘female’ jobs.

One man, interviewed by club member

Akash, specified that boys can’t “wash

clothes”. Akash asked what the guy would

do if he lived alone. The man clarified,

“boys can wash clothes but they will not

do it the minute there is a woman around

to do it instead.”


Men can wash dishes for pay..but not for the ones they love.

Our research has shown that women pursue jobs out of necessity, not

out of desire, usually because their husbands aren’t providing for the

family as expected.

A woman working outside the house is usually a statement about a

man’s masculinity more than it is a statement about the women’s skills.

2. People are proud and eager to talk about women breaking stereotypes but underneath all the positive examples people know,

women still aren’t free to choose their own careers.

People remember and can reference in

extreme detail examples they know of or

have seen of women breaking job

stereotypes. One participant listed the

exact time and place she saw a woman

cobbler, despite it being over a year ago

and in a completely different

neneighborhood.

As one girl, Sujata, bluntly put it: “Women

can’t drive buses because they have no

knowledge of these things.” Women aren’t

encourage to pursue the training required

to do many jobs - if they do work, they are

thrown into jobs out of necessity and figure

it out as they go.

The community and the kids in

our club were all able to give

inspiring examples of women

working outside of their homes,

but in no example was it due to

the free will and desire of the

woman in question.

The one job that NO ONE had

ever heard or seen a women

doing is driving a cycle

rickshaw; there is no alternative

example for people to reference

for this particular job.

She can make chai at home...


Why can’t she get paid to make it in

a shop?

3. Generally speaking, men can do any work for pay, outside the house whereas women can do any work inside the house, without pay.

Men are expected to be the sole earners in their families; to not be is a negative statement about their masculinity. If a man’s wife or daughter works outside the home, it reflects badly on him and his earning

capabilities.

One of our students, Jony, admitted that his mother runs their family store because his father

drinks all day and can’t manage to do it. His mother working outside the home tells the rest of the community that his father isn’t able to financially provide for his family and therefore he is marked as less of a man; it says little to nothnothing at all about his mother’s capabilities,

business sense or hardworking attitude.

One particiant clarifed: “Women can paint their own house, but they can’t go outside and paint someone else’s house. They would be alone at a stranger’s place and it isn’t safe.” This confirms that even a ‘man’s’ job is open to a women inside her own home. Likewise, participants clarified

that men can do ‘women’s’ jobs for pay - such as wawashing dishes at a roadside eatery or cooking

food at a foodstall.

Often, when a women is offered work for pay, they might choose to do it for

free or at a lower rate instead, therefore not changing the economic dynamics inside their hohouse and threatening

their husband’s masculinity. Specifically,

one student shared an example of his mother getting a ‘job’ cooking food for home delivery aand accepting minimal payment instead of the full amount offered to a

male employee.

His WIFE makes MORE MONEY than him.

Does that make him LESS OF A MAN?


NO, it gives them DOUBLE THE INCOME!

Vintage Indian Posters on Modern Gender Stereotypes

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