Introduction
Myths and stereotypes are passed on from one generation to the other. In literature, adverts, culture, traditions, and interactions with other people, nationalized myths and stereotypes are made known. Stereotyping refers to the act of attributing some characteristics to an individual because of his or her membership to a certain group. For example, it becomes a stereotype when one believes that Asian students perform very well in math or if it gives the description of how girls and boys are supposed to be. Myths, on the other hand, refer to stories that have a meaning in a community. They exist in each and every community. Myths may contain some truth. Myths and stereotypes are important in transmitting national identity through stereotypes and myths people develop mental images that may be known all over the world. Myths have the power to a times control our lives. They neither have a specific time for their occurrence nor a specific place that they occur in (Lim, 2006).
Myths vary; there are myths that give an account of how the earth came into existence, myths explaining how human life came into existence, and others that talk of different heroes. There are many myths that are in existence in various cultures today. These myths have been in existence since the beginning of life in the world and are present in all cultures. Myths and stereotypes are related and they have both negative and positive impacts on human life. Stereotypes try to give an explanation of the occurrence of certain behaviors and experiences in life.
Gender
One major area that has been influenced by myths and stereotypes is Gender. People in various cultures tend to believe that that there are some differences that are there between males and females in society and hence the term opposite sexes. To them, an individual’s gender predicts his or her capability and the likes of that person. Hence if a person is a boy or a girl people presume that they know almost everything about them and there is no need to question them. This statement is not correct as having the knowledge of an individual’s sex may only give more biological information of the person but it cannot reveal other personal details of that person (Baker, 2002).
In the educational sector, there is a myth that details the performance of girls in math and science subjects. It assumes that real women perform poorly in mathematics since they are qualitative while men perform well because of their quantitative nature. Hence the performance of students in various levels of learning was highly influenced by these myths. Girls who have the thought that Math can only be done by males; do not enroll in the subject while those who enroll with the same idea in mind do not perform well. As a result, girls do not take up careers related to math like engineering and physical sciences.
Perpetrators
The perpetrators of this myth are both society and scientists. Society considers women to be the weaker sex and science and mathematics as tough subjects. Hence when girls fail in this subject it is not seen as a weakness. Biologists on the other hand came up with the idea that there exists a sex gene related to math. According to their findings, the male has the hormones that are linked with math performance. Parents have used this assumption in judging their children in schools. They have lower expectations of girls in math and science while on the other hand, they have high expectations for boys taking the same subjects. Educators use these results to give an explanation for their gender bias nature in the classrooms. Biology has been used as a tool to explain the fewer numbers of girls in math and science classes (Skaine, 1996).
Myths in the modern world
These myths and stereotypes are still in existence in the modern world. In schools, female students do not perform well in the sciences. Careers that are linked to math are mostly taken by men. This includes engineering and even teaching science subjects. The performance of girls in sciences is not questioned as to that of boys at the same level. Most girls are not encouraged to enroll in the math-related course as they are thought of as not able to tackle those subjects. These myths can be chased in various ways. First, the mention of things that shows that women cannot perform well in math should be stopped. Secondly, we should be ready to challenge people who give negative comments about girls and math.
The other thing is giving both girls and boys examples of women and girls who perform very well in math as a subject and math-related courses. Another solution that can deal with the issue of gender is to create awareness among individuals that there is no evidence of the existence of a gene linked to math and that practice is important in math improvement and the development of science skills among girls. Students should also be given enough time for practice to improve their performance in math and its related subjects. The other solution is to encourage students to study science keenly so as to be able to differentiate facts and opinions (Beiner, 2005).
Conclusion
The need to do away with the stereotypes that are in existence in society is possible in various ways. The major challenge lies with the willingness of various individuals to do away with the stereotypes. It only requires an individual to dedicate time and energy to face the reality and meet with the issue head-on.
References
Baker, J. M. (2002). How homophobia hurts children: nurturing diversity at home, at school, and in the community. New York: Routledge.
Beiner, T. M. (2005). Gender myths versus working realities. New York: NYU Press.
Lim, R. F. (2006). Clinical manual of cultural psychiatry. New York: American Psychiatric Pub.
Skaine, R. (1996).Power and gender: issues in sexual dominance and harassment. New York: McFarland.