Damaging gender stereotypes: Are we close to shattering the glass ceiling?
Posted Sep 1, 2023 7:38 pm.
Last Updated Sep 1, 2023 7:44 pm.
On the outside, it appears society has evolved when it comes to living out gender norms, but have we made enough progress?
Michael Kehler, a research chair in masculinity studies at the University of Calgary, says there’s a lot of pressure for males to fit a masculinity mould.
He says it is to “be aggressive and dominate conversation, or dominate others to show strength.”
Kehler says gender norms and expression go far beyond pronoun pins, and no matter how you identify, the stereotypes are damaging.
“Not being able to communicate is a longstanding stereotype, so we assume boys don’t want to talk … and we know how damaging that can be in terms of their mental health,” Kehler explained.
He says the boys’ locker room has historically been associated with aggressive, homophobic, and male-dominating behaviour, a space many males don’t feel safe in.
“The kind of surveillance that goes on in those locker rooms … whether it be around your sexuality or gender expression or whether it’s around fear of showing your body – these are all intersecting issues,” he said.
While strides have been made, Kehler says there’s still work to do… and as a whole – we need to be more proactive to not only create safe spaces but support them and redefine what it means to be masculine or feminine.
“I’m willing to think differently about diverse genders, diverse sexual orientation, and gender expression, and that does require work.”
