Michael Henry is back again with another funny video (and an important message).
It seems Henry has decided to take a break from talking about the gay bottom mafia or the dom top mafia. But, Henry is not through with talking about stereotypes and sexual roles.
The YouTuber’s newest video discusses gender norms and how they’re applied to gay men. Specifically, we see him hanging out with a gay couple, played by Chad Westbrook and Sachin Bhatt, as they walk to the ice cream story. But when Bhatt goes to get his phone in his car, Michael and Chad get to talking.
Michael and Chad end up talking about how Chad is the assumed gay one and how all their friends react because of it. Chad, hilariously, then has a meltdown.
You can watch the video down below.
As with many of Michael Henry’s videos, there’s a deeper message found beneath the extravagant acting and script. Henry, who wrote the video’s script, included some commentary on gender norms and sexuality.
Same-sex relationships are often regulated to fit heteronormative stereotypes and norms. A 2016 study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association agreed with this statement. It found that most Americans believe the “more masculine” partner and the “more feminine” partner should be responsible for stereotypically male and female chores.
The study’s researchers then hypothesized that these cultural stereotypes and expectations could create barriers for gender equality in the home.
“Determining who does what in the home is a complex negotiation that reflects underlying power dynamics in the household,” said co-author Natasha Quadlin of Indiana University. “We have public policies aimed at ensuring that women and men have equal earnings, but those policies will not necessarily advance gender equality in the home if people maintain such gendered attitudes. Even if women have higher earnings than their husbands, they are expected to come home and perform a second shift of chores and childcare.”
For same-sex couples, we have the ability to completely go around these stereotypes and norms. But unfortunately, we’ve allowed ourselves to be labeled by heteronormative standards. Of course, some may like and encourage these stereotypes. But at the end of the day, we have the ability to switch off and “be Dominic and Chad sometimes and sometimes Chad and Dominic.”
And frankly, that’s something we should celebrate.
