Identify formation is a continuous process that attains central and special focus during adolescence. The construction of the entire and cohesive sense of oneself is complicated, and it is characterized by progressive transition towards an integrated and developed psyche. In this case, identity works as a construct that functions to harmonize and organize the dynamic elements of the self-system. Identity development researchers acknowledge the critical role that personality dispositions, including gender, vocational orientations, religion, and politics play, and they have concluded that the individual orientations transform the structure of personality. Gender identify is one of the most researched topics, and studies have explored the influence of gender stereotyping among higher education students in the US and around the world. The conclusion in academia is that the perceptions of one’s gender identity influence their engagement in higher education. It is noted that feminine and LGBTQQ, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Queer—students are less likely to be involved in some programs compared to masculine students because of gender stereotyping.
Gender stereotyping is could be the most popular current issue in gender and gender identity development throughout America. Some students come from cultural backgrounds that identify sex with gender orientation, which means that they understand that individuals are either male or female. Because of the dominance of this type of gender stereotyping, the students would only want to engage in fields and tasks that appear to favor their sexual orientation, which raises the notion of gender-based roles. According to Bryant and Soria (2015), LGBTQQ students experience significant challenges in enrolling for higher education programs, including studying abroad compared to the straight counterparts. For example, some of the students from the LGBTQQ group often encounter different forms of discrimination from their family, friends, and other people within their communities, which exacerbate the difficulties that they experience. The challenges that they face raises the notion that LGBTQQ students are second-class citizens within their own culture (Bryant & Soria, 2015). Furthermore, in higher education, some learners who belong to the LGBTQQ group are often marginalized with their campus communities, which cause them to lack social support and to develop feelings of isolation that would result in the development of psychological issues. Consequently, elements of gender stereotyping, such as belonging to the LGBTQQ, affects the rate at which students enroll and participate in higher education programs.
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Apart from the enrolment and participation of LGBTQQ students in higher educational programs, the perception of the division of gender roles and responsibilities among some communities affects the enrollment of students from different genders to courses. It is noted that as much as boys and girls begin performing at matched paces in subjects related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the gap between their performance widens as they grow, and the effect is more expressed in higher education (Shenouda & Danovitch, 2014). Because of the identified effect, the public has advanced an idea that under-represents women in fields related to STEM. The cited author suggests that a possible cause of the trend is the idea that female students are intimidated by the negative female stereotype in STEM fields. The number of female students who enroll in STEM related subjects in the country has been lagging behind that of their male counterparts, which could another reason why females are under-represented in STEM fields (Leslie et al., 2015). The argument in this paragraph, consequently, strengthens the argument advanced earlier that gender stereotyping is the most noticeable issue in gender and identity development among students in higher education.
The ethical dilemma that exists in the current trend of gender stereotyping is the consideration of whether individuals should be valued because their sexual orientation. The dilemma in the idea is that it ignores the cultural, social, political, religious, biological, and economic factors shape the development of sexual identities among individuals, and instead, it invites people to victimize others who could be having different perceptions. When some groups of people begin to treat others as second-class citizens, tension is likely to arise, and the implications of this behavior could alienate the disadvantaged persons instead of driving communal cohesion.
The challenges that arise in dealing with the problem include the absence of proper legal and policy structures that support the inclusion of people from diverse gender orientation backgrounds in many state and federal programs (Gabdrakhmanova, Khodyreva, & Tornyova, 2016). This argument does not mean that the US does not recognize the need for an inclusive society. The fundamental idea in the argument, however, is that the current system has not protected the wellbeing of persons from LGBTQQ groups. The issue has been politicized too much, which causes a social stigmatization of persons who have these sexual orientations.
Conclusively, gender stereotyping is the most popular current issue in gender and gender identity development among students in higher education. It has been identified that gender stereotyping contributes to the marginalization of students from LGBTQQ, who may fear to enroll in many higher educational programs. The traditional idea on gender-based roles, this essay has explained, affects the rates of graduation and subsequent workforce absorption of female and male students in STEM related subjects and fields. Gender stereotyping, consequently, raise the ethical dilemma of whether people should be treated according to their sexual orientation, since the popular culture stigmatizes individuals from LGBTQQ backgrounds. The essay suggests the need for the US to adopt mechanism that would attain an inclusive society.
References
Bryant, K. M., & Soria, K. M. (2015). College Students' Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Participation in Study Abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 25, 91-106.
Gabdrakhmanova, R. G., Khodyreva, E. A., & Tornyova, B. (2016). Problems of Students Identity Development in the Educational Environment of the University for Humanities. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(3), 95-105.
Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262-265.
Shenouda, C. K., & Danovitch, J. H. (2014). Effects of gender stereotypes and stereotype threat on children’s performance on a spatial task. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 27(3), 53-77.
