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    Act Like AMan

    Uploaded by

    Anne Manacmul
    This activity examines how cultural messages about gender roles can influence human behavior. Participants are asked to share experiences of being told to "act like a man" or "act like a woman" and discuss what these phrases mean. For "act like a man," expectations include being tough, not crying, yelling, and not showing emotions. For "act like a woman," expectations include being passive, a caretaker, sexy but not too sexy, quiet, and a homemaker. The activity aims to discuss how these gender roles can be limiting and negatively impact relationships and health. It closes by discussing how gender roles are changing but still difficult to live outside of and how society could further support men and women in challenging traditional roles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Act Like AMan

    Uploaded by

    Anne Manacmul
    32 views2 pages
    This activity examines how cultural messages about gender roles can influence human behavior. Participants are asked to share experiences of being told to "act like a man" or "act like a woman" and discuss what these phrases mean. For "act like a man," expectations include being tough, not crying, yelling, and not showing emotions. For "act like a woman," expectations include being passive, a caretaker, sexy but not too sexy, quiet, and a homemaker. The activity aims to discuss how these gender roles can be limiting and negatively impact relationships and health. It closes by discussing how gender roles are changing but still difficult to live outside of and how society could further support men and women in challenging traditional roles.

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    Original Title

    ActLikeAMan

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    This activity examines how cultural messages about gender roles can influence human behavior. Participants are asked to share experiences of being told to "act like a man" or "act like a woman" and discuss what these phrases mean. For "act like a man," expectations include being tough, not crying, yelling, and not showing emotions. For "act like a woman," expectations include being passive, a caretaker, sexy but not too sexy, quiet, and a homemaker. The activity aims to discuss how these gender roles can be limiting and negatively impact relationships and health. It closes by discussing how gender roles are changing but still difficult to live outside of and how society could further support men and women in challenging traditional roles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    32 views2 pages

    Act Like AMan

    Uploaded by

    Anne Manacmul
    This activity examines how cultural messages about gender roles can influence human behavior. Participants are asked to share experiences of being told to "act like a man" or "act like a woman" and discuss what these phrases mean. For "act like a man," expectations include being tough, not crying, yelling, and not showing emotions. For "act like a woman," expectations include being passive, a caretaker, sexy but not too sexy, quiet, and a homemaker. The activity aims to discuss how these gender roles can be limiting and negatively impact relationships and health. It closes by discussing how gender roles are changing but still difficult to live outside of and how society could further support men and women in challenging traditional roles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Act Like A Man, Act Like

    A Woman

    Time: 75 minutes

    Activity Objective:

    Examine how cultural messages about gender can affect human behavior in women and
    men

    Materials:

    Flipcharts, markers, and tape

    Activity:

    1. Ask the participants if they have ever been told to “act like a man” or “act like a
    woman” based on their gender. Ask them to share some experiences in which someone
    has said this or something similar to them. Why did the individual say this? How did it
    make the participant feel?

    2. Tell the participants that we are going to look more closely at these two phrases.
    Explain that by looking at them, we can begin to see how society can make it very
    difficult to be either male or female.

    3. In large letters, print on a piece of flipchart paper the phrase “Act Like a Man.” Ask
    the participants to share their ideas about what this means. These are society’s
    expectations of who men should be, how men should act, and what men should feel and
    say. Draw a box on the paper, and write the meanings of “act like a man” inside this
    box. Some responses might include the following:

    • Be tough.
    • Do not cry.
    • Yell at people.
    • Show no emotions.
    • Take care of other people.
    • Do not back down

    4. Once you have brainstormed your list, initiate a discussion by asking the following
    questions

    • Can it be limiting for a man to be expected to behave in this manner? Why?


    • Which emotions are men not allowed to express?
    • How can “acting like a man” affect a man’s relationship with his partner and
    children? How can social norms and expectations to “act like a man” have a
    negative impact on a man’s sexual and reproductive health?
    • Can men actually live outside the box? Is it possible for men to challenge and
    change existing gender roles?
    • What are the consequences of acting outside the box?
    • Is it different for men and women in rural vs. urban areas?
    • When is it OK for a man to live outside the box?

    5. Now in large letters, print on a piece of flipchart paper the phrase “Act Like a
    Woman.” Ask the participants to share their ideas about what this means. These are
    society’s expectations of who women should be, how women should act, and what
    women should feel and say. Draw a box on the piece of paper, and write the meanings
    of “act like a woman” inside this box. Some responses may include the following:

    • Be passive.
    • Be the caretaker.
    • Act sexy, but not too sexy.
    • Be smart, but not too smart.
    • Be quiet.
    • Listen to others.
    • Be the homemaker.

    6. Once you have brainstormed your list, initiate a discussion by asking the following
    questions:

    • Can it be limiting for a woman to be expected to behave in this manner? Why?


    • What emotions are women not allowed to express?
    • How can “acting like a woman” affect a woman’s relationship with her partner
    and children?
    • How can social norms and expectations to “act like a woman” have a negative
    impact on a woman’s sexual and reproductive health?
    • Can women actually live outside the box? Is it possible for women to challenge
    and change existing gender roles?
    • What are the consequences of acting outside the box?
    • Is it different for men and women in rural vs. urban areas?
    • When is it OK for a woman to live outside the box?

    7. Close the activity by summarizing some of the discussion and sharing any final
    thoughts. A final comment and question could be as follows:

    The roles of men and women are changing in our society. It has slowly become less
    difficult to step outside of the box. Still, it is hard for men and women to live outside
    of these boxes. What would make it easier for men and women to live outside of the
    boxes?

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