Using participatory co-design to define and support healthier masculinities.
Young men often align to outdated rigid gender norms that can prove to be harmful to themselves and those around them. Through a university-based intervention, students of all genders were instructed on how to engage in a co-design process in multidisciplinary teams to develop ‘solutions’ to the wicked problem: ‘What could masculinity be?
A seven-day workshop was conducted as part of the Wicked Problems Studio, an undergraduate and postgraduate subject (unit of study) at RMIT University. Students worked with industry partner Man Cave, a non-profit organisation focussed on working with boys ages 12 – 16 to foster healthy masculinity through impactful programs, role models and resources.
The co-design and co-creation process involved the agreement of desired outcomes and a collaborative approach that was aligned with social marketing strategies. This co-design approach was employed to aid the development and design of seven social marketing campaigns related to masculinity. The campaigns focused on young men’s whole sense of being, redefining a broader more inclusive sense of masculinity, and offering safe initiation into adulthood.
Upon completion of the project, participants felt that the value of the co-design process allowed them to shift their perspectives and to be more open to other points of view. In addition, the industry partner was thrilled with the opportunity to be able to implement some of the ideas into their program. Two of the campaigns designed will be combined and implemented as interventions by the university in 2022 and beyond.
