‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Swedish schools are mandated to counteract gender norms that restrict students’ life opportunities. School personnel also bear the responsibility of fostering students’ democratic responsibilities and healthy behaviors, which is crucial not only for their me...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/4/502 |
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| author | Karin Bergman Rimbe Helena Blomberg Magnus L. Elfström Sylvia Olsson Gunnel Östlund |
| author_facet | Karin Bergman Rimbe Helena Blomberg Magnus L. Elfström Sylvia Olsson Gunnel Östlund |
| author_sort | Karin Bergman Rimbe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives:</b> Swedish schools are mandated to counteract gender norms that restrict students’ life opportunities. School personnel also bear the responsibility of fostering students’ democratic responsibilities and healthy behaviors, which is crucial not only for their mental wellbeing but also for their academic performance, as stressed by the European Commission. <b>Aim:</b> The purpose of the present study is to explore adolescents’ performativity of gender when discussing social barriers to mental and emotional wellbeing. <b>Methods:</b> Fifty adolescents were interviewed in small gender-divided groups, and the transcribed text was analyzed using thematic analysis. Theoretically, interactionist perspective and gender analytic discourses are applied. <b>Results:</b> Emotional barriers to mental wellbeing were identified based on too cogent gender norms. Boys describe challenging each other and the environment by using a social facade that includes “stoneface” and harsh language, seldom showing sadness, even among close friends. The girls’ facade includes maintaining a “happy face” and trying to be attractive. Both genders underline the need for belonging, and most of them fear social exclusion from peers. According to the interviewees, it is socially acceptable for girls to display most feelings, even mental difficulties such as anxiety or phobia, but among boys, gender norms still hinder them from showing emotional vulnerabilities such as sadness and risking exclusion. <b>Conclusions:</b> Young people’s emotional wellbeing needs to be further developed and included in the curriculum. It is time for adults to focus on boys’ sadness and depressive emotions, as well as girls’ aggressiveness and frankness rather than their appearance, to push the river of equality forward. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b425b9bfad174933b9eb1c81644fe326 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj-art-b425b9bfad174933b9eb1c81644fe3262025-08-20T02:17:25ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672025-04-0112450210.3390/children12040502‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender DemandsKarin Bergman Rimbe0Helena Blomberg1Magnus L. Elfström2Sylvia Olsson3Gunnel Östlund4School of Education, Culture and Communication, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Västerås, SwedenSchool of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Västerås, SwedenSchool of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Västerås, SwedenSchool of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Västerås, SwedenSchool of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 721 23 Västerås, Sweden<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Swedish schools are mandated to counteract gender norms that restrict students’ life opportunities. School personnel also bear the responsibility of fostering students’ democratic responsibilities and healthy behaviors, which is crucial not only for their mental wellbeing but also for their academic performance, as stressed by the European Commission. <b>Aim:</b> The purpose of the present study is to explore adolescents’ performativity of gender when discussing social barriers to mental and emotional wellbeing. <b>Methods:</b> Fifty adolescents were interviewed in small gender-divided groups, and the transcribed text was analyzed using thematic analysis. Theoretically, interactionist perspective and gender analytic discourses are applied. <b>Results:</b> Emotional barriers to mental wellbeing were identified based on too cogent gender norms. Boys describe challenging each other and the environment by using a social facade that includes “stoneface” and harsh language, seldom showing sadness, even among close friends. The girls’ facade includes maintaining a “happy face” and trying to be attractive. Both genders underline the need for belonging, and most of them fear social exclusion from peers. According to the interviewees, it is socially acceptable for girls to display most feelings, even mental difficulties such as anxiety or phobia, but among boys, gender norms still hinder them from showing emotional vulnerabilities such as sadness and risking exclusion. <b>Conclusions:</b> Young people’s emotional wellbeing needs to be further developed and included in the curriculum. It is time for adults to focus on boys’ sadness and depressive emotions, as well as girls’ aggressiveness and frankness rather than their appearance, to push the river of equality forward.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/4/502mental wellbeingemotional wellbeinggendered performativitygendered wellbeingadolescents |
| spellingShingle | Karin Bergman Rimbe Helena Blomberg Magnus L. Elfström Sylvia Olsson Gunnel Östlund ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands Children mental wellbeing emotional wellbeing gendered performativity gendered wellbeing adolescents |
| title | ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands |
| title_full | ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands |
| title_fullStr | ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands |
| title_short | ‘You Should Be Yourself’—Secondary Students’ Descriptions of Social Gender Demands |
| title_sort | you should be yourself secondary students descriptions of social gender demands |
| topic | mental wellbeing emotional wellbeing gendered performativity gendered wellbeing adolescents |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/4/502 |
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