Women Are Eco‐Friendly, so Are They From Venus? Exploring Green‐Feminine Stereotyping and Green Gender Gap

ABSTRACT Marketers and policy makers have tried to bridge the green attitude–behavior gap through the use of pro‐environmental appeals using advertising to convey the “greenness” of their products. However, due to green‐feminine stereotyping, by focusing mainly on the green characteristics of the product, we may have alienated men, who, to safeguard their gender identity, are less willing than women to engage in sustainability efforts. This conceptual paper draws on gender identity theory and cross‐cultural research to examine how green‐feminine stereotyping shapes men's green and eco‐friendly consumption. We develop a conceptual framework explaining how green‐feminine stereotyping can trigger masculinity threat among men and how this mechanism varies across masculine and feminine cultural contexts. The framework further identifies culturally congruent marketing interventions that can mitigate masculinity threat and promote men's engagement in sustainable consumption. We discuss the importance of gender identity maintenance as a culturally learned construct that cannot be universally applied across contexts and show that the adverse effects of green‐feminine stereotyping on men's green behavior are culturally contingent rather than universal.