Common ideas of how men and women ‘should’ act influence the types of roles they are expected to fulfill.
Gender norms can be particularly harmful for women, as traditional female roles are commonly less valued. When male power is the norm, violence, including harassment and verbal abuse, can be used to ‘punish’ women who step outside of their expected roles.
What are the solutions?
Encourage and support children, young people and adults to reject rigid gender roles and develop positive personal identities that are not constrained by gender stereotypes.
Challenge aggressive, entitled and dominant constructions of masculinity and subordinate or sexualised constructions of femininity.
Promote and support gender-equitable domestic and parenting practices, including through workplace initiatives.
The Mums Can, Dads Can Project, run by the Tangentyere Family Violence Prevention Program (TFVPP), aims to challenge rigid gender stereotypes regarding the parenting roles of men and women.
The Man Box: A study on being a young man in Australia is the first comprehensive study that focuses on the attitudes to manhood and the behaviours of young Australian men aged 18 to 30.
