Do gender norms affect our health?

By: Suzy Flader

On Sept. 20, 2014, actress and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson gave a speech at the New York UN headquarters discussing the new HeForShe campaign. HeForShe is a “solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other of humanity, for the entirety of humanity.” In her speech Watson argued that in order for women’s rights to be taken seriously, society needs to start tackling male issues that seem to be underlying causes. In her words, “it is time that we all start to perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of as sets of opposing ideals.”

Despite the initial positive responses and its big splash on social media, critics have found flaws with Watson’s argument. Mainly, it is argued that the type of feminism she is supporting is too “watered-down” and “mainstream” to have an actual effect. While it may not have been a perfect speech, it did bring up an interesting point: how do our prescribed gender roles affect us and others in ways we do not necessarily think about?

Globally, we see examples of how gender norms and values are negatively affecting our health. In various parts of the world women are unable able to get to clinics because they are not allowed to travel alone. Teenage boys die in accidents because they are expected to be “bold” risk-takers. Women contract HIV because societal standards encourage a husband’s promiscuity, while preventing women from insisting on condom use. Generally, a country’s lung cancer mortality rate is much higher for men, because smoking is considered an attractive marker for masculinity while it is frowned upon for women.

Evident in these examples is that the gender issues in healthcare are not restricted to developing countries. As Watson reminded us in her speech, there is not one country in the world that can currently claim women and men are given equal rights. It can be easy for us as Canadians to forget about this, as it seems strange for a developed country to lack something as basic as equality for all citizens. Also evident from these examples is that gender norms do not exclusively affect women; societal expectations of men can also negatively impact their health.

The WHO Gender and Health Department’s goal is to “increase health care professionals’ awareness of the role of gender norms, values, and inequality in perpetuating disease, disability, and death, and to promote societal change with a view to eliminating gender as a barrier to good health.” While it is great that a global organization is attempting to solve these problems, it is up to us to start making actual change. Emma Watson’s address may have its flaws, but there were certainly aspects of it that should make us reflect on how we perceive both others and ourselves. Are there certain expectations that we have that may not be conducive to promoting gender equality?

Love it or hate it, Watson’s speech should make us think about how we might want to change our gender norms – not only because it’s the equitable thing to do, but also because it’s the healthier choice.