Expressions of masculinity in schools
Understanding and shaping healthy masculinity supports leaders and teachers to implement Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) effectively.
A clear understanding of how to address and positively shape expressions of masculinity will assist leaders and teachers to support the successful implementation of RRE in schools.
Expressions of masculinity refer to the varied and culturally shaped behaviours, attitudes and traits considered ‘male’ within a society, encompassing both positive aspects like strength and leadership, and harmful ones such as aggression and emotional suppression.
The role of schools
Schools are critical sites where masculinity can be constructed in positive or harmful ways. Through formal lessons and informal interactions, schools shape how students learn and imitate what it means to be ‘masculine’ and which traits or behaviours are encouraged or discouraged.
Students absorb ideas about masculinity not just from teachers, but also from peers, school rules, activities and the larger school culture.
For example, schools that offer positive male role models and value qualities like caring, respect and help-seeking can teach boys healthier ways to express masculinity. Where this is absent, some boys may feel pressured to act tough, hide their emotions, or engage in risky or aggressive behaviours to ‘fit in’, especially when these messages are reinforced in group settings.
Boys and young men raised free from masculine stereotypes are more likely to enjoy healthy, respectful relationships later in life. RRE helps students question outdated gender stereotypes.
Promoting healthy expressions of masculinity
When we talk about healthy masculinity, we are referring to boys and young men that contribute to a healthy, thriving, gender-equal world that is safe for all people. Schools can model and promote positive and inclusive expressions of masculinity in students, staff and the school community.
- Model and promote a diverse range of masculinities in school programs, resources and leadership that include caring, empathy and emotional expression, challenging the stereotype that these traits are exclusively feminine.
- Develop media and pornography literacy to equip students with the skills to critically analyse online content, including content from ‘manfluencers’.
- Ensure curriculum, programs and resources are inclusive of diverse identities and family structures, including LGBTIQA+.
- Frame discussions around the positive roles boys and young men can play in challenging gender stereotypes and promoting equality for all individuals.
- Destigmatise discussions about mental health and frame emotional awareness and help-seeking as a strength.
- Empower students to be active agents of change and to recognise and celebrate diversity and their own identity.
- By embedding RRE across the curriculum and challenging traditional gender norms and stereotypes, schools play a crucial role in improving student wellbeing and reducing negative health outcomes.
- For further guidance and resources, school leaders and teachers can refer to Our Watch's Change the story and Men in focus.
Understanding the influences on boys and young men
Young men feel pressures to fit a mould and the characteristics of ‘being a man’ at all times. Living up to the pressures of being a man causes harm to young men and those around them, particularly women. To support boys and young men to build healthy identities and expressions of masculinity, it’s crucial to understand the social and cultural influences that shape their attitudes and behaviours.
Boys and young men are influenced by family expectations, community attitudes, school, peers, media and online environments. Together, these influences can discourage boys from expressing vulnerability, empathy or creativity, while rewarding risk-taking or dominance.
Recognising and addressing these social and cultural pressures is key to supporting boys to develop healthier, more respectful, and more diverse ways of being a man.
Research from The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services, outlined in The Man Box report, explores the societal pressures placed on boys and men to conform to a rigid and dominant form of masculinity. The Man Box is described as a set of unspoken rules that are reinforced not only by society at large but also by close relationships with family, partners and friends.
The Man Box report found that a belief in stereotypical masculinity and conforming to rigid gender roles is around 20 times more significant than demographic variables in predicting men’s use of physical violence, sexual harassment and online bullying.
A key finding from this research is that many young men personally hold more progressive views than the ones they feel society expects of them. This creates a conflict where they feel pressure to behave in ways that align with harmful stereotypes – to be seen as a ‘real man’ even if they don't agree with those beliefs.
Popular culture, gaming and social media can normalise rigid gender roles and promote unrealistic or harmful portrayals of masculinity. Boys and young men are increasingly exposed to online content which promotes narrow and unhealthy views and expressions of masculinity. Some internet personalities and influencers promote extremist notions of masculinity and regressive ideas about women, a major factor influencing boys (Wescott, Roberts and Zhao 2024).
Growing evidence indicates an increase in websites and online communities which promote anti-feminist and sexist views and misogynistic discourse. This ongoing and growing content is increasingly influential for boys and young men in Australian schools (ANROWS 2025).
Exposure to sexualised and explicit online content such as pornography has also been shown to influence the views and attitudes of young men towards relationships, consent, bodies, sexual behaviours, aggression and violence.
Harmful masculinities underpin many of the attitudes and behaviours that normalise domination, control, aggression and disrespect towards others, especially women, girls and people of diverse sex, gender or sexuality.
These attitudes and behaviours contribute to gender-based violence in schools, making it vital that teachers and leaders actively work to promote healthy masculinity and RRE to interrupt these patterns early and create safer learning environments.
The impact of harmful masculinities on teachers
The challenges related to harmful masculinities in schools can have a significant impact on teachers, especially women and LGBTIQA+ staff.
Rigid, aggressive or misogynistic expressions of masculinity can create challenging and unsafe school environments for teachers. Teachers’ influence is vital for disrupting harmful stereotypes and fostering inclusive environments, but they need adequate training, resources and leadership support to meet these challenges effectively.
Female teachers are often caught between gendered expectations, such as being ‘caring’ and ‘maternal’, and the need to assert control in the classroom. Increased exposure to sexist, misogynistic and aggressive behaviours from male students, influenced by harmful masculinity norms, can lead to feeling unsafe of during classroom and playground supervision.
This highlights the need for a whole school response where leaders actively challenge these attitudes and behaviours, rather than leaving individual teachers to navigate this difficult position alone. Schools have a fundamental role to play in driving positive social change.
By adopting a whole-school approach, they can play a significant role in challenging gender stereotypes and preventing gender-based violence. In practice, this approach embeds gender equality practices in school culture, leadership, professional learning, curriculum, community partnerships, and through direct support for staff and students.
Schools have an obligation to respond when anyone in the school community, whether a student, staff member, parent or visitor, displays harmful behaviour. This includes anti-social actions, extremist views or misogynistic behaviour.
All staff are required to have knowledge and understanding of the Incident notification and response procedures. This ensures staff know how to respond to an incident when it occurs, who to notify and where they can access support.
Staff should notify principals about all student or staff-related incidents, as well as incidents that impact the school’s operation. Principals need to check that staff have contacted the Incident Report and Support Hotline (staff only) to report the incident.
References
- ANROWS (2025) Supporting secondary school teachers to address online spaces as pathways to gender-based violence for boys and men: interventions to tackle the influence of the manosphere, ANROWS website, accessed 29 September 2025.
- The Men’s Project and Flood M (2024) ‘The Man Box 2024: re-examining what it means to be a man in Australia’, Jesuit Social Services, accessed 29 September 2025.
- Wescott S, Roberts S and Zhao X (2024) 'The problem of anti-feminist “manfluencer” Andrew Tate in Australian schools: women teachers’ experiences of resurgent male supremacy, Gender and Education, 36(2):167–182, https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2023.2292622.