“The advice to shop like a man makes no sense” – Radar

Women come from Venus and men from Mars. Women are unstable and men are stable. Women are lingering buyers, men are efficient hunters. These bolts must sound familiar to the ears. Finally, science and history are used to frame contemporary social trends. Now that the shops are allowed to reopen, the cliché emerges that male hunters and collectors are stubbornly reappearing, which is not only downright irritating and wrong, but is also anything but constructive.
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Women come from Venus and men from Mars. Women are unstable and men are stable. Women are lingering buyers, men are efficient hunters. These bolts must sound familiar to the ears. Finally, science and history are used to frame contemporary social trends. Now that the shops are allowed to reopen, the cliché emerges that male hunters and collectors are stubbornly reappearing, which is not only downright irritating and wrong, but is also anything but constructive. The latest headlines: “Women should shop like men soon.” The website adds “Meegraaien, pay and go outside”. This enticing title was made possible by Jorg Snoeck of RetailDetail, who states in the article: “We will have to shop like the cliché of the man who actually reluctantly does it: vote quickly, pay and go home.” In Knack, Snoeck repeats his tactics. “We have to go shopping male. Like a hunter right at your destination. When you enter a store, you need to know what you want to buy in advance. If women want a new dress in the future, women must first choose the online store and then go to the physical store to fit it.” As we stand in delimited squares in front of the shop, Mr. Snoeck puts the people in boxes. Experts say it is incomprehensible how people who do not identify as 100 per cent male or 100 per cent women should shop. The retail expert is not alone with his gender-appropriate shop advice. Osaka’s civilian father, Ichiro Matsui, went one step further, telling reporters in late April that men should take over the task of shopping. “Men can pick things up quickly and go. It is therefore good if they shop and thus avoid human contact.” What about women? They, he says, “take a long time while they look around and doubt this or that.” He defended himself by saying that things are happening in his family. Fool-proof argument. Ms. Matsui besjes as if they still need to be picked, so all Japanese women should stay in their homes until Hubby comes home with the loot. Makes sense, doesn’t it? So it doesn’t make sense. What we have believed in men and women for years is not true in many cases. In her work “Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story”, the British-Indian science journalist Angela Saini cites various clichés. Based on research, she argues that the differences between men and women are much smaller than is thought. One of the stereotypes that gets a jaw blow is that of the male hunter. The science journalist discovered that the hunter’s position is very culturally related. The idea that women around the world have traditionally stayed at home with children and pick berries while men hunt for meat is wrong. For example, the women on the Philippine island of Luzon hunt with knives, spears and arrows and arrows. Also, according to anthropologists, there was much more equality between the sexes in prehistoric times than we always thought. There are physical differences between men and women. There is no denying that. Studies also show in the brain and behaviors differ between the sexes. Where does the shoe pinch? Firstly, these differences are very small, and the chances of distinguishing yourself from your neighbour as a woman as from your neighbour are not at all unthinkable. For example, only three percent of people seem to have a typical male or female brain. According to recent research by neurologist Daphna Joel, we almost all have a “mosaic brain” with male and female characteristics. Secondly, gender differences in our society also lead to gender differences in our brains, and this has dire consequences. For example, Gina Rippon, the British professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging, often emphasizes the influence of persistent stereotypes on test results. Members of minority groups perform worse in tests when the questions are accompanied by stereotypes. If a mathematical question says that women tend to be worse off in it, women will also perform below their level. The assumptions about the sexual brain, also called neurosexism, have all sorts of bad consequences. For example, women are often seen as the sex that is better at multitasking and caring, which gives her almost all homework on her sandwich. No one can create shopping lists at the same time, watch the children, sew mouth masks and do teleworking, not even women. This has been demonstrated by German research. Assuming that women lift the mental charge on their shoulders, she pushes them into a difficult position. This is also a problem in 2020. Although Belgian men have made a solid catch-up in recent decades in the care of children and the presence in the household, there is still a deep gap. In heterosexual relationships, women still spend more time in the household on average than their male partners and earn less on average. In times of crisis, inequalities are usually increased. The time-use study by the Free University of Brussels shows that it is mainly women who today drastically reduce their work in order to accommodate the children. They now work an average of 13.21 hours less than before the crisis, compared to 9.14 hours for fathers. The way in which today’s communication has not exactly helped to uncover these kinds of inequalities. Minister Ben Weyts, for example, tried to highlight his own humanity by saying in an interview: “I also have two children at home. My wife works and connects this with the care of the children. It’s also very hard for them.’ If he wanted to show himself as a man of the people with this statement, then we are mainly dealing with these people, because this statement expresses great proof that it is the woman who takes care of the children, not the man. The (male) journalist lets this happen, or does not notice it, one can of course discuss among themselves responsibilities and agreements between men and women, but this quote continues to show that women who care for children are the status quo. This also speaks of several “jokes” that are now circulating on social media. For example, there is the video of a man testing appliances such as a washing machine, vacuum cleaner and stove in his house. When they all work, he wonders why his wife claims to be bored. The questionable joke only works if you assume that only women use such devices. “It was just a pug,” or “it was kind of.” These reactions are often heard when talking to someone about the use of gender stereotypes. Do we have to lift a line as heavy as “shopping like a man”? Well… Yes, because they spread ideas that just don’t add up. But repeating something often enough sounds like the truth in the long run. In addition, humans are group animals that unconsciously act according to their ilk and you get a vicious circle from which one is sometimes difficult to escape. For example, girls find the road more difficult, STEM directions, or the number of men in nurse uniforms is very low. There are also concrete disadvantages for men in gender stereotyping. On average, it has been shown that men live less healthy lives than women. The root of this is not something biological that lies in itself. How we eat is strongly related to our identity. Men learn that it is better to order a hamburger during a trip with their friends than a salad that fruits and vegetables are not considered very masculine. Of course, if this happens only once, it is not a cause for concern, but if it is part of a pattern. And it does, because on all sides – just look at a random beer advertisement – men are told to eat “hard.” We prefer to develop the post-corona world into an inclusive society in which there is no place for prejudice, pushing children into tightly defined boxes, shrinking opportunities for girls, severely affecting women’s self-esteem, and blowing men’s health. To achieve this, we must first and foremost raise awareness of gender stereotypes and stop spreading gender nonsense. In the sequel, therefore, one does not call “shop in times of social renunciation like a man”, but “shopping without andhe spit on people, be polite and just take a pack of toilet paper.” Hopefully everyone feels addressed and you don’t have stereotypes in your hand. Thank you in advance.