Dust is present in our daily lives. Since dust is minuscule and almost invisible, it is easy to turn a blind eye to the harmfulness of it. What will happen if we do not clean it? A clump of dust will be formed, and more time and effort will be needed to get rid of it. Our society is aware of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination happening in various areas of our lives and is making an effort to resolve these problems. However, there is still too much discrimination, aversion, and violence in our lives, just like the dust in our lives.

When it comes to communicating with the world, what would be the first gate we encounter in life? It is social categorization. When we meet someone, we try to categorize the person into a particular group based on gender, age, disability, region, race, sexual orientation, and so on. We generalize that all members of a group have the same characteristics. This is what is known as a “stereotype.” Saying “Men are goal-oriented and women are relationship-oriented” is a typical example of a stereotype. These stereotypes will lead us to the second gate to communicate with the world: the gate of prejudice. It is either inferiorizing or degrading one trait over another, causing a negative connotation. This negative attitude will set fire to the fuse of discrimination, hatred, and violence like a domino.

To resolve this issue, it is of paramount importance to acquire and enhance gender sensitivity, which is “an ability to recognize discrimination and violence happening in our daily conversations or behaviors, to check whether this stereotype leads to discrimination and violence, and to make an effort to alleviate the situation.” To cultivate gender sensitivity, we first need to screen our society and its stereotypes and discrimination. It does not require much effort to clean out the dust, but it is not a one-person job wiping out stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and hatred. Once we get together to fight the dust, respect and equality will rise in our daily lives.

By Yang Dong-ouk, Lecturer, Department of Psychology