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Gender

How Psychology Can Help Make Parks Better for Women

Gender roles and stereotypes can affect experiences of nature and its benefits.

Key points

  • Women seem to limit their use of parks and visit parks less often than men.
  • Gender roles and stereotypes affect how we behave in public spaces.
  • Improving safety in parks, gender-inclusive facilities, and events can make parks feel more welcoming.

By Dr. Anna Bornioli

Spending time in urban green spaces, such as parks or gardens, can boost mental health. However, women and gender minorities often face specific challenges in accessing and enjoying these spaces (Bornioli et al., 2024).

Why Does Gender Matter in Nature Experiences?

Let’s play a game: Next time you are in a park, pay attention to the gender dynamics in green spaces. How many men and women are around you? Who are they with? What are they doing? And how do parents of girls and boys interact with their kids while they play in nature?

Research indicates that gender roles, stereotypes, and safety perceptions often shape how women and men behave in parks.

But first of all, what is gender?

Gender refers to the characteristics of women and men, including norms, roles, and relationships between these groups. Gender is distinct from sex, which concerns the biological and physiological characteristics of females and males—such as reproductive organs, chromosomes, and hormones.

What’s interesting about gender is that it is a social construct rather than an objective fact. This means that societal expectations related to gender are learned from childhood, in settings like families or schools. These expectations include the so-called gender roles. For instance, even today, women are more likely to take on childcare responsibilities and household chores (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2023).

In addition, women and men are often influenced by gender stereotypes—preconceived ideas about how they should behave. Examples include beliefs like “girls should play with dolls and boys with trucks” or “men who spend time with family are less masculine and poor breadwinners.”

Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Nature

These roles and stereotypes also affect behaviour in public spaces. Traditionally, public spaces were considered the domain of men, while women were expected to spend most of their time in private or domestic places (Bondi & Rose, 2003). For example, until the 1980s in the UK, it was legal to refuse service to women in pubs.

But what about parks and nature?

Research reveals some alarming trends. Women appear to visit natural spaces less often than men (Cohen et al., 2021). Girls and women also tend to stay within specific areas of green spaces, whereas men and boys are more likely to explore freely (Pérez-Tejera et al., 2018). Additionally, in UK parks, four in five women walking alone in a park feel unsafe, compared to two in five men (Office for National Statistics, 2022).

Traditional gender roles and stereotypes contribute to these patterns. For instance, societal expectations dictate that women should avoid parks at night, dress a certain way while exercising, or behave in particular ways in public spaces (Krenichyn, 2006).

These influences begin early, shaping how young girls and boys interact with nature. Research shows that parents often discourage girls from engaging in physical activity or rough play (Cristofaro & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008), while encouraging boys to explore and be independent (Lindsey & Mize, 2001).

Women are also more likely to spend their leisure time with children (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2023). This makes them more likely than men to visit nature with their children rather than alone. While this allows for quality family time, it also means mothers may have fewer opportunities to visit green spaces for solitary relaxation and stress relief.

The Elephant in the Room: Safety and Gender-Based Violence

Safety is another crucial factor influencing women’s experiences in nature. Many women do not feel safe in certain green areas (Office for National Statistics, 2022), especially at night or in secluded spaces.

This can be attributed to the fact that women are disproportionately targeted by gender-based violence and sexual objectification (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Statistics show that women are significantly more likely to experience sexual harassment in public spaces than men (Office for National Statistics, 2022a; Madan & Nalla, 2016). In fact, 81 percent of women report having experienced sexual harassment and/or assault, compared to 43 percent of men (Stop Street Harassment, 2018).

These realities make women’s experiences in parks complex and can discourage them from visiting or fully enjoying green spaces. This is why it is crucial to study women’s experiences in nature.

How Can Parks Become More Gender-Inclusive?

There are several ways to improve women’s experiences of parks.

The first aspect relates to safety. Reducing gender-based violence is the main goal.

However, to improve safety perceptions, research has also shown that women tend to prefer well-maintained and well-kept green spaces. Adequate lighting, aesthetics, and open views are also generally important for women in parks (Barker, 2022).

Some facilities are also really important for women. Features like swings and places to sit and talk are important for women and girls, but they're not as common in UK parks as football pitches (Parkwatch, 2021). Restrooms and changing rooms are also important for women, because they tend to use them more often than men.

Another way to make parks more welcoming for everyone is by organizing community events or activities for women or minority groups. Rethinking green spaces as places where women can feel empowered can also help increase visits and improve experiences.

All of these can contribute to the lived experience of women but also benefit every other social group.

About the Author: Dr. Anna Bornioli is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at The University of Surrey. Her research fellowship is funded by the Surrey Future Fellowship program.

References

Bondi, L., & Rose, D. (2003). Constructing gender, constructing the urban: A review of Anglo-American feminist urban geography. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 10(3), 229-245.

Bornioli, A., Hopkins-Doyle, A., Fasoli, F., Faccenda, G., Subiza-Pérez, M., Ratcliffe, E., & Beyazit, E. (2024). Sex and the city park: the role of gender and sex in psychological restoration in urban greenspaces. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 102476.

Cohen, D. A., Williamson, S., & Han, B. (2021). Gender differences in physical activity associated with urban neighborhood parks: Findings from the National Study of Neighborhood Parks. Women's health issues, 31(3), 236-244.

Cristofaro, T. N., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2008). Lessons in mother-child and father-child personal narratives in Latino families. In A. McCabe, A. L. Bailey, & G. Melzi (Eds.), Spanish-language narration and literacy: Culture, cognition, and emotion (pp. 54–91). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815669.006

European Institute for Gender Equality (2023). Sharing the load: who invests more time and energy in childcare? European Institute for Gender Equality. Available at https://eige.europa.eu/newsroom/news/sharing-load-who-invests-more-time-and-energy-childcare#:~:text=The%20distribution%20of%20unpaid%20childcare%20between%20women,25%2C%20at%20least%20four%20times%20a%20week.

Krenichyn, K. (2006). ‘The only place to go and be in the city’: women talk about exercise, being outdoors, and the meanings of a large urban park. Health & place, 12(4), 631-643.

Lindsey, E. W., & Mize, J. (2001). Contextual differences in parent–child play: Implications for children's gender role development. Sex Roles, 44, 155-176.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022). Experiences of harassment in England and Wales: December 2023: December 2023

Pérez-Tejera, F., Valera, S., & Anguera, M. T. (2018). Using systematic observation and polar coordinates analysis to assess gender-based differences in park use in Barcelona. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2299.

Stop Street Harassment. (2018). The facts behind the #metoo movement: A national study on sexual harassment and assault. Stop Street Harassment.

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