Society has constructed expectations based on genders. How we are supposed to dress, act, how we express our emotions are all based on these societal expectations. This has a great impact on stress, health and self- esteem especially when these gender roles are forced upon people.

During our research and through the interviews we have conducted, we took the time to analyse the outcome and we realised the importance of how these gender norms have an impact on individuals. According to the New York Times, boys tend to report a higher level of gender typicality (meaning that they define themselves by one's own identification) and feel pressure for gender conformity more than girls. Boys said strength and toughness were the male character traits most valued by society. Three-quarters said they felt pressure to be physically strong, and a majority felt pressure to play sports. However, individuals shouldn’t feel the pressure to conform to traditional gender roles or behaviour. Despite living in a more progressive time, gendered expectations are still deeply rooted in our society and so it is important to create a safe space for genders to express themselves how they wish to.

As a whole, this was an interesting topic for our final project because we do not necessarily pay great attention or question these norms but rather see them as part of how we should be. People comply with norms because they fear negative reactions from others if they don’t. Nevertheless, with social media and movies or tv shows bringing more awareness to breaking these social constructs and including non binary genders, we thought it would be great to share how we are progressing towards a better society. Genders and gender roles are not clear-cut categories that can be applied to everyone in society. You cannot fit everyone into one category of boy and girl or under one category of how they should behave according to their gender. This can lead people to believe that those who do not fit neatly into the set gender roles might be flawed somehow, which can result in problems like discrimination or mistreatment. Instead, gender should be thought of as behaviours and personal identifications that exist along a spectrum. One way to solve this problem in society is for the media to show more relatable, positive portrayals of people who do not follow traditional gender roles. Or creating safe spaces for men to express the full range of their emotions and letting women know that their voices matter. This can start small, between friend groups and expand to the workplace and schools by being more inclusive in sports played by women and men or giving equal amounts of hard work in an office to both men and women.

We are all equals and need to accept people the way they are.