Sasha Fazloon, Hiba Usman*

Abstract: Generation Z’s increasing rejection of traditional gender roles, which have long defined the expectations, behaviours and attitudes of both men and women, is evident in contemporary society. The vastly progressive perspective of Generation Z on traditional gender roles, has caused a generational divide with older generations, causing conflicts between families, in workplaces, and in overall social interactions. Previous research suggests these unaddressed conflicts can influence the level of harmony in relationships, specifically the multigenerational ones. Hence, this study aims to explore the factors behind Generation Z’s rejection of traditional gender roles, in the hope that building an understanding of such would lead to the development of strategies to bridge the generational gaps. Through a social constructivist paradigm, a focused ethnography was conducted with a select group of participants in order to gauge the underlying nuances and narratives that determine what the perceptions are with regard to the values and beliefs of these individuals over a three-phased focus discussion. The study found that the identified strategies would involve an alignment through varying levels of normalisation, augmentation and liberalisation.

Keywords: Gender roles, rejection of traditional roles, Gen Z, multigenerational gaps