Topic 5 Do we react differently?
Activity 1: Gender Roles & Gender Stereotypes
Do gender roles and gender stereotypes affect teenage relationships? Is dating experienced differently by boys and girls?
“A gender stereotype is a generalized view or preconception about attributes or characteristics, or the roles that are or ought to be possessed by, or performed by, women and men. A gender stereotype is harmful when it limits women’s and men’s capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional careers and/or make choices about their lives (OHCHR)”.
Watch these two videos about gender roles and gender stereotypes. Then, type/discuss the social “rules” that affect boys and girls in terms of behavior, likes, dislikes, and expectations.
Activity 2: Reactions
Dating violence can cause from mild to severe reactions to the victims. The reactions can range from distress to depression, anxiety, and even substance use. The trauma caused by dating violence can be physical, psychological, or both.
Question: Do you think that boys and girls react differently to dating violence or are they equally affected by abuse?
Everyone cries and it’s OK
Girls often report an intense emotional reaction, such as fear, after dating violence. Research also shows that they often have physical injuries from dating violence. Some girls suffer in silence, if they do not have the support to talk about what they experienced.
Boys often report that they are not bothered by such relationship incidents.
It is not always easy to get boys to seriously talk about being the victims of dating violence because of society’s idea about masculinity. They are taught from a young age that “big boys don’t cry”.