Growing up, men and boys feel pressure to live up to certain standards of what it means to be a man. To be tough, to not show emotion, to be the breadwinner, to be dominant and in control. These standards can impact mental health, our ability to express ourselves freely, and the activities we engage in.

But these standards are not fixed. It’s possible to transform these expectations and address the impacts. In The Masculinities Project workshop series we unpack some of the messages we receive about what it means to be a man, and some of the ways we can challenge these ideas to express our own masculinities.

Sign up for The Masculinities Project and work with us to transform the expectations of masculinity.

Register now (students)

Expression of interest (staff)

What you'll learn

The program consists of four sessions, each 2.5 hours in length.

The program was developed at Monash University and has been evaluated by VicHealth (pdf, 1.76 mb).

Who can participate

The program is designed specifically with university-aged men in mind, but it’s open to all men. This doesn’t mean non-binary, gender-fluid, or other gender-diverse folks can’t attend – the content just might not feel as meaningful. The program looks at men’s experiences, and specifically the social norms that men and boys face.

If you’d like to chat about this further, you can reach out to us at edi@monash.edu.

Student testimonials

“The idea of multiple masculinities was like, I don’t know, something that was really cool. And just kind of like defining your own form of masculinity … and I guess just being however you want and you’re still a man.”

“My thinking has definitely changed… my friends would say downright sexist and misogynistic things and I wouldn’t pull it up. I wouldn’t give it any energy … the reaction would be very different [now].”