Gender across cultures: insights through meta-ethnography and a Cypriot Delphi exploration

Abstract

Gender and sex are two widely researched terms and are of great influence in the development of one’s identity. Children and young people interact dynamically with their environment in the process of establishing their own identities and ways of expression. In terms of gender, individuals have to navigate cultural and heteronormative norms, and failure to conform can have detrimental effects on their development, learning and well-being. Binary constructs such as ‘male’ and ‘female’ or ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ dominate the field, yet experiences have emerged that are not represented by these categories. Importantly, the sense of not being represented by binary constructs is experienced not only by individuals, but also across a wide range of cultures. The present work aimed to explore gender norms and identities on a global scale with the hopes of bringing together voices that are otherwise studied separately.

Two pieces of research were conducted to achieve this aim. The first, used a meta-ethnographic approach to carry out a systematic literature review to gain a better understanding of experiences of masculinities across the world. The focus was on exploring how gender norms may impact perceptions and attitudes on masculinity in children and young people cross-culturally. The systematic review focused on accounts of individuals from across the world, involving the US, Paraguay, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan, and India. A diverse sample from eight different studies contributed valuable insights on masculine identities and the impact of the participants’ sociocultural environments on their perceptions. Following this, an empirical project was undertaken in Cyprus, aiming to expand on the participatory work Wilson et al, (2023) previously conducted in the UK. Using Delphi, a consensus building tool, a panel of interested individuals contributed to creating an understanding of gender. Their views provided an insight from a diverse, post-colonial perspective on the way gender is viewed. As a result, this research has highlighted new insights on gender and its expression relevant for education, research, and policy.

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ORCID for Antreas Anthimou: orcid.org/0000-0003-0209-1121

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