Abstract:

Gender stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs concerning the typical characteristics of men and women, including cognitive abilities, social roles, professional choices, and physical appearance. These stereotypes are organized along two fundamental dimensions: agency and communion. Broadly, gender stereotypes can be classified into two types: descriptive gender stereotypes, which refer to attributes commonly associated with a particular gender, and prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes, which define how individuals of a given gender should/should not behave. Such stereotypes inform social norms and expectations, thereby constraining people’s behaviors, motivations, self-views, and aspirations. Consequently, gender stereotypes can have detrimental effects on individuals. While existing research has predominantly focused on the negative consequences of gender stereotypes for women, the adverse impacts on men have received comparatively less attention. This study aims to address this gap by discussing the potential negative consequences of gender stereotypes for men.

Descriptive gender stereotypes negatively impact men by reinforcing the belief that men are inherently less communal than women, thereby discouraging their engagement in female-dominated domains. Such stereotypes have been shown to undermine men’s performance in areas associated with communal traits, including reading ability, dance performance, and emotional intelligence. In parallel, prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes further disadvantage men by promoting the expectation that they should exhibit agency rather than communion. This normative pressure may deter men from entering communal fields, such as health care, elementary education, and domestic roles (HEED), compromise their physical and psychological well-being, and contribute to the perpetuation of masculine-contest cultures in the workplace. Collectively, these effects pose significant challenges to men’s development and adaptation across multiple life domains.

The integrated process model of stereotype threat effects conceptualizes stereotype threat as a situational predicament in which environmental cues activate concerns about confirming negative stereotypes. These cues elicit a series of negative thoughts, evaluations, and emotions, which in turn trigger physiological stress responses and heightened self-monitoring. Individuals may attempt to suppress these negative reactions, leading to the depletion of working memory and other executive resources. This depletion impairs performance and contributes to a range of adverse psychological and behavioral outcomes. Within this framework, the depletion of working memory is identified as a key mechanism through which descriptive gender stereotypes negatively affect men. The role congruity theory posits that individuals who engage in behaviors that conflict with gender norms face social and economic penalties for deviating from prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotyped roles. Accordingly, gender role violations are a central pathway through which prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes harm men. Similarly, the status incongruity hypothesis suggests that perceivers may punish individuals who violate gender-based status expectations as a means of preserving the existing social hierarchy. Under this framework, men may incur negative consequences when they exhibit low-status behaviors (e.g., showing weakness), which are incongruent with traditional masculine norms. Thus, status role violations provide an additional explanation for the harmful effects of prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes on men.

Interventions aims at mitigating the negative effects of both descriptive and prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes on men can be conceptualized from two complementary perspectives: underlying processes and root causes. From the perspective of underlying processes, several theoretical frameworks offer guidance. Drawing on social comparison theory and the influence hypothesis, exposure to positive male role models can help counteract stereotype-based expectations. Based on social identity theory and the multiple identities hypothesis, emphasizing men’s multiple social identities may buffer against the negative effects of gender stereotypes. Similarly, self-affirmation theory suggests that fostering self-affirmation in men can reduce the psychological burden of stereotyped-based threats. From the perspective of root causes, social role theory highlights the importance of altering traditional gender roles to reduce the structural foundations of gender stereotypes. Interventions that promote greater flexibility and diversity in men’s social and occupational roles may therefore serve as a long-term strategy for stereotype reduction.

Several future research directions can further advance the understanding of the negative effects of gender stereotypes on men. First, although this study focused on the detrimental impacts of gender stereotypes, emerging evidence suggests that such stereotypes may sometimes confer advantages to men. This implies that researchers could strategically manipulate relevant moderators—those that influence both the negative and positive effects of gender stereotypes—to activate positive effects that buffer, mitigate, or even eliminate their negative consequences. Second, while scholarly attention to the negative consequences of gender stereotypes on men has grown in recent years, most of this research has been conduced in Western cultural contexts. There remains a critical need to examine how cultural factors shape these effects, particularly within Eastern cultural settings. Third, although increasing evidence documents the adverse impacts of gender stereotypes on adult men, relatively little is known about how these effects emerge and evolve during childhood. Future research should adopt a developmental perspective to explore the early formation and consequences of gender stereotypes. Finally, with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, it is essential to investigate the potential of AI-based interventions to mitigate the harmful effects of gender stereotypes on men.

Key words: descriptive gender stereotypes, prescriptive/proscriptive gender stereotypes, social role theory, role congruity theory, status incongruity hypothesis