Gendered Stereotyped Behaviors in Women

Most definitions of stereotypes link stereotyping to more general cognitive structures, or schemas, that help organize concepts and information. Some further link the stereotypes to consensus in a culture or group about the nature of the stereotypes. Stereotypes describe characteristics presumed to be common in a social group, such as traits, occupational choices, activity preferences, or role relationships. Gender stereotyping may be different from other stereotypes based on social categories such as race, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality, in that gender for women may be associated with privilege in ways that membership in other social categories may not. Gender stereotyping may intersect with sexism, or biased attitudes based on gender, in that sexism may be based on stereotypical conceptions of women’s behaviors.