Why Are Women Always Expected to Be More Emotionally Aware?
In Taiwan and many other cultures, women are often expected to possess heightened emotional sensitivity and empathy, while men are generally exempt from such societal expectations. This gender role stereotype is deeply embedded not only in everyday life but also in literature and visual media. The animated series Arcane actively avoids perpetuating this narrative and does so successfully. However, audience discussions about character behavior in the show provide a striking example of this phenomenon in action.
Comparing the audience’s expectations and disappointment in how Vi interacts with Jinx to the discussions around Jayce and Viktor’s diverging relationship reveals a clear disparity. When both characters fail to understand the emotions of those around them, Vi receives significantly more criticism than Jayce.
Society’s Expectation of Women’s Emotional Responsibility: Examining Vi and Jinx’s Storyline
In Arcane, Vi, as the older sister, bears the emotional burden of caring for her younger sister, Jinx. Whether during their youth or after their painful reunion, Vi—despite enduring years of imprisonment—is still expected to be attuned to Jinx’s emotional turmoil and to heal the psychological damage caused by her traumatic childhood.
This expectation is not only imposed by other characters in the show and Vi herself but also by the audience. In Season 1, Episode 8, when Vi fails to recognize Jinx’s suicidal tendencies, she faces harsh criticism from some viewers. These critiques suggest that the audience overlooks Vi’s personal struggles and independence, reducing her role to that of an “emotional caretaker.”
In contrast, the interaction between Jayce and Viktor, another key relationship in Arcane, reflects the lower emotional expectations placed on male characters.
As a promising politician and inventor, Jayce displays a certain degree of emotional insensitivity in his partnership with Viktor. He fails to notice how Viktor’s illness impacts his emotional state, providing little support when Viktor falls into deep despair. However, Jayce does not face the same level of criticism as Vi.
This double standard reveals a societal tolerance for male emotional freedom. Male characters are permitted to focus on their ambitions without being held accountable for the emotional well-being of others, unlike their female counterparts.
Root Causes of Gender Bias: Cultural and Societal Influences
This emotional expectation gap between genders has deep cultural roots. In traditional patriarchal societies, women have been assigned the roles of “nurturers” and “caregivers”—roles that persist in modern society and are continually reinforced in literature and media. In contrast, men are encouraged to embody “rationality” and “strength,” often sidelining their emotional expression and empathy.
In most cultural contexts, women are viewed as “naturally” empathetic, innately capable of perceiving and responding to others’ emotions. Women are seen as more suitable for emotional support roles within families, workplaces, and social settings.
However, this expectation is not inherent but rather a result of prolonged social construction and cultural indoctrination. Women are socially conditioned to be more emotionally sensitive and attentive to others, while men are afforded greater freedom in how they express and process emotions.
This bias extends beyond storytelling into how audiences interpret narratives. Viewers often unconsciously reinforce these stereotypes, granting male characters more leeway for emotional detachment while expecting female characters to be emotionally attuned by default.
Our Perspective
Though the relationships in Arcane are fictional, the gendered emotional expectations they reveal are very real. Vi’s criticism for failing to fully grasp Jinx’s emotions, contrasted with the minimal backlash Jayce receives for neglecting Viktor’s feelings, highlights the societal phenomenon of placing greater emotional responsibility on women.
Challenging gender bias in emotional sensitivity requires both creators to develop more diverse characters and audiences to approach media with gender awareness. Only by addressing these biases can we mitigate their impact on gender dynamics and cultural representation.
Breaking stereotypes is crucial for everyone. Overly expecting women to be empathetic or excessively glorifying male stoicism erodes the individuality and growth potential of every person.
True equality means more than just giving everyone the right to choose—it also means allowing everyone to be genuinely understood and authentically seen. Only when we stop confining characters to rigid frameworks and judging others through narrow perspectives can gender bias truly begin to fade.
