Real Men Don’t Drive Green: How Gender Identity Threats Impact Men’s Emotional Responses and their Rejection of Sustainable Products
(A2025-126157)

AUTHORS

Michelle Schwarz, IQS School of Management, Universitat Ramon Llull; Jan-Hinrich Meyer, Universitat Ramon Llull, IQS School of Management; Jorge Matute Vallejo, IQS School of Management, URL

ABSTRACT

The rejection of sustainable products, such as electric vehicles, poses a significant challenge, particularly due to psychological barriers like the green-feminine stereotype that associates sustainability with femininity. This stereotype plays a critical role in men’s reluctance to adopt eco-friendly alternatives. Drawing on three experimental studies, this paper explores how gender identity threats influence sustainable consumption, with a focus on emotional activation and environmental self-identity. Using neurobiological measures like EEG and GSR, the study provides valuable insights into emotional responses, revealing that positive emotional expressions may serve as compensatory behaviors. The findings highlight the impact of gender stereotypes on sustainable consumption and the need for targeted marketing strategies that challenge these stereotypes to encourage more sustainable behaviors among men.