“Just Act Normal” – But What Is Normal?: Facilitating Open Conversations on Gender Norms Among Rural Youth in the Netherlands

Abstract

This thesis explores how open conversations about gender norms and stereotypes can be meaningfully facilitated among rural youth in the Netherlands. While young people in urban areas often have access to diverse networks that foster open dialogue around gender and sexuality, their rural counterparts frequently face barriers rooted in traditional norms, social control, and a lack of inclusive infrastructure. Drawing on engaged research fieldwork conducted at Rutgers, this study contributes to the ongoing efforts of the Jong Gelijk alliance, which seeks to promote inclusive dialogue and youth participation through a gender transformative approach (GTA).

Through qualitative research consisting of nine semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with rural youth aged 16–25, the study investigates which gender norms and stereotypes are experienced, what hinders or enables conversations about these topics, and how a conversation tool can support inclusive dialogues. Findings reveal that while many rural youth experience a degree of openness in their immediate environments, strict binary gender norms persist, particularly around appearance, work, relationships, and emotions. Conversations about gender and sexuality are often seen as sensitive or taboo, though there is a strong desire for more open and non-judgmental spaces.

The study concludes that effectively facilitating such conversations requires authenticity, emotional safety, and tools that are in tune with young people's realities. Game-based interventions and peer-led initiatives are identified as promising strategies. This thesis offers practical recommendations for the development of a conversation tool that enables rural youth to reflect critically on prevailing norms in a way that is engaging, accessible, and respectful of their social context.