What men really think? When it comes to eco, better make it macho

It turns out that a typical alpha-ish male's Greenness is kind of related to to his penis* 

Research into gender specific behaviour in relation to who really cares about better environmental products and sustainable consumption is ramping up as the green dollar is of increasingly interest to marketers. Recent Scientific American research has explained something that many of us have been frustrated by for years.

Pretty much any wife, partner or mother on any urban street in any country in the world has been droning on for years about the seeming inexplicable poor eco behaviour of our male partners. Not only do they not seem to care about being more green, but at times, some seem to actively work against it.

This research explains a lot of what many of us have been witnessing at home or in business. And by better understanding response motivation, the research offers some real options to more usefully influence male behaviours and attitudes.

Although attitudes around gender are shifting and this research does appear to focus on the stereotypical male, it is actually a representative sample of a general population. It was conducted across 2,000 Americans and Chinese, which is a decent sample, but honestly, time is best invested in wondering if the reported outcomes are possible and if so, how that might assist better lives and marketing. (As opposed to arguing about the relative merits of the methodology.) 

IT TURNS OUT THAT BOTH MEN AND WOMEN VIEW ECO FRIENDLY BEHAVIOUR AS BEING FEMININE. AND ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THIS VIEW PLAYS OUT, IT WILL BE EASIER TO EXTRACT MORE ECO FRIENDLY ACTIONS FROM SEEMINGLY RECALCITRANT MALES. 

The reason the feminine view of eco friendly behaviour is so important is because men tend to be more concerned with the preservation of their gender-identity than women. In the face of a green-feminine stereotype, many men are motivated to avoid green behaviours in order to preserve a macho image. (Bear in mind that this is a general population sample and so, even as gender constructs are changing, it is clear that many men respond traditionally.)

The series of seven studies provides evidence that the concepts of greenness and femininity are cognitively linked and show that accordingly, consumers who engage in green behaviours are stereotyped by others as more feminine. This same observation is even applied to the individuals of themselves as they also perceive themselves as more feminine when they engage in green behaviour.  

WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT MEN WILL TYPICALLY CHOOSE TO BE LESS ECO IN THEIR ACTIONS IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THEIR MASCULINITY. AND WILL EVEN ENGAGE IN MILD SABOTAGE IF THEY SENSE THEIR MASCULINITY IS THREATENED. 

When you understand that a man's willingness to engage in green behaviours can be influenced by threatening or affirming their masculinity, as a partner, house mate or business, you suddenly have a whole arsenal of opportunity to better manage his behaviour. Or more correctly, to manage your messaging in a way that improves the likelihood of you getting buy in to your green agenda.

The experiments & influencing male behaviour

In one experiment, participants of both sexes described an individual who brought a reusable bag to the supermarket as being more feminine than someone who used a plastic bag - regardless of whether the shopper was a male or female.  While the ban on plastic bags would no doubt now assist in providing a different result, it's probably advisable to offer your male mate a manly looking bag if you want reusable bag buy-in; not something pink, hippy green or frilly.



In another experiment, participants of both sexes recalled a time when they did something good for the environment and bad for the environment like recycling at the beach. It turns out that men felt that they were perceived as more feminine when they had to trek a little farther to toss their recyclables instead of just leaving the trash where they had been consuming the contents.

Another yet another experiment, which we will call the Sabotage Experiment was particularly interesting and might help understand the times when males seem to deliberately make non-environmentally friendly choices. It turns out that males actually do have a heightened tendency to reassert masculinity under certain circumstances (like when it's under threat).

In this experiment, one group of men were given a pink Gift Card with a pretty floral design and asked to buy a backpack, lamp and batteries. Another group were given a standard Gift Card and asked to purchase the same items. The group of men with the pink gift card were far more likely to choose the non-eco alternatives than the men with the standard gift card, thereby using the purchase decisions to reassert their masculinity. 

Simple tip for those seeking to influence

In a second part of the Gift Card experiment, some males were told they scored “off the charts” in masculinity based on a writing sample. They were also given the two different Gift Cards and asked to choose the same items. And guess what? This group were more likely to choose environmentally friendly options afterwards – floral Gift Card or not. 

So while those seeming sabotage behaviours are starting to make sense, so are the easy antidotes. 

Other considerations for eco marketers & business owners

Given the clear evidence of the association between femininity and the more typical green branding, if you are marketing to males as well as females, you might tweak branding account for more masculinity in colour, fonts, choice of language, images & photography. It's really not much of a shift to ensure eco marketing messages affirm men’s masculinity and it certainly makes it easier to sell males your product if you can give them the confidence to overcome their fear of being judged as feminine.

While there is an increasing number of males who are secure with their own identity and comfortable being green, they are just part of a huge potential market and if you can win the macho males, it's potentially a huge ongoing market. 

THERE IS NO SUGGESTION IN THE RESEARCH THAT MEN ACTIVELY DESIRE NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES. THEY ARE SIMPLY RESPONDING TO SOCIAL CUES. BOTH POINTS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE SIMPLE FACT THAT FRAMED THE RIGHT WAY, MEN WILL MAKE BETTER CHOICES AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T MAKE THEM  LOOK TOO FEMININE.

Notes for advocates or activists

If you are an advocate or activist looking for donations, you might also be interested in the experiment that asked for money, and which reaffirms the masculine marketing point.

The group were presented with two options - one company 'logo' was a black and dark blue howling wolf and called "Wilderness Rangers" and the other company 'logo' was a traditional green and light tan tree and called "Friends of Nature".  Men were more likely to donate to the Wilderness Rangers.

Make it more manly and you're more likely to get the outcome you desire. 

A side note on females & the planet

While women aren't so sensitive as men to their gender identity and are generally far more likely to recycle more and litter less, women are largely responsible for the biggest polluter and waster on the planet - the fashion industry. As well as the ridiculously unnecessary feminine identity enhancer, the beauty industry. 

While women may make more sustainable decisions about purchase choices more often than men, the issue of whether they even need to purchase the product in the first place is a far more complex matter and related to consumption marketing. 

Original research was conducted by Aaron R. Brough, James E. B. Wilkie,  Jingjing Ma,  Mathew S. Isaac and  David Gal and published in Oxford Academic's Journal of Consumer Research. (You can buy the full report for around $15).

*For those more concerned with being technically specific than rhyming, green-ness is related to a male's view of his masculinity, so more correctly, this should have said, 'has a commonality with his penis' or something like that. 

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