7 Double Standards That Hurt Men and Women

I have followed and read The Good Men Project for years. I find their commitment is very helpful in shaping how, as a culture, we move forward toward equality and raising amazing boys and girls. I wanted to share with you 7 Double Standards That Hurt Men and Women. The double standards it highlights illustrate how we can create negative impressions of men and women without even noticing. These stereotypes hurt all of us. I am curious of the seven double standards they explore, which is the one that you find the most glaring?

7 Double Standards That Hurt Men and Women - Michael Swerdloff Providence Holistic Counseling Services

Men who live life differently often run into these tough double standards.

American culture is rife with bias against women, minorities and LGBT people. So much so, that it’s easy to forget that there is also damaging bias against men.

Here are seven double standards that hurt men (and women). They’re made to retweet with one click!

These double standards are seemingly simple, but the prohibitions that lie behind them are complex and far-reaching. They effect how we men are encouraged to raise our children, what we are expected to provide to our partners, how we are expected to spend our time, and what we are allowed to show of our emotional selves.

There have always been rules by which American men are expected to behave like “real men.” These rules are referred to as Living in the Man Box. Charlie Glickman explains it beautifully here.

We need to define manhood as a much wider-ranging set of options and possibilities. If we don’t, the Man Box will continue to enforce limited options and limited lives for men and women alike.

To learn how the rules of Man Box are actually killing the men we love, read: Why Traditional Manhood is Killing Us.

Double Standard #1 (With thanks to Lisa Duggan)

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Double Standard #2

7 Double Standards that Hurt Men (and Women) – via

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Double Standard #3

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Double Standard #4

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Double Standard #5

7 Double Standards that Hurt Men (and Women) – via

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Double Standard #6 (With thanks to Theresa Byrne)

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Double Standard #7 (With thanks to Luke Davis)

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Do you agree with all of these double standards? Is there one particular double standard that you think needs to shift the most? Double standard #5 is the one that I think needs to shift the most: “A woman sitting in a children’s park is a mom. A Man sitting in a children’s park is a child molester”.

Other posts you may enjoy:

It’s Never Too Late To Be Amazing

Building Bridges or Building Walls

Why Nice Guys Stay Single – So Do Bad Boys

Number One Reason Most Relationships Struggle

Spiritual Bypassing, Relationships and The Shadow

Listening as an Art and Skill to Improving Relationships

Michael Swerdloff

Providence Holistic Counseling Services

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