Breaking down gender prejudices and stereotypes through humor

Construction of a public campaign that seeks to break gender prejudices and stereotypes through alternative narratives such as critical humor

“I learned to see machismo from another perspective, from a personal perspective, and to understand that I too must question my own actions,” said a woman from Moyobamba.

In Peru, Cuso’s local partner DEMUS launched a public awareness campaign to highlight the consequences of reinforcing gender prejudices and stereotypes. The campaign also aims to demonstrate to the State that decentralized, community‑based prevention strategies can help eradicate harmful attitudes and strengthen policies, programs, and services that address gender discrimination and Gender‑Based Violence (GBV).

A Campaign Rooted in Prevention and Community Action
With this in mind, the Sacude los prejuicios (Shake the Prejudice) campaign was created. The initiative positions comprehensive sexual education as a key tool for prevention and includes a strong social media component along with a community‑mobilization strategy.

At the heart of the campaign is the play ¿Machista Yo? (Am I Macho?), which uses critical humor to confront gender stereotypes and spark reflection. Both the campaign and the play were co‑created with artivist consultants and developed in partnership with more than 40 feminist and LGBTQ2IA+ collectives across eight regions of the country.

Connecting Through Humor and Identity
The goal was to reach audiences who are exhausted by ongoing social violence by creating safe, recreational spaces that use humor deeply connected to Peruvian identity. Through this approach, the campaign encourages people to reflect on and sometimes laugh at their own biases and attitudes that enable discrimination and violence. Each regional version of the project was adapted to local realities and featured activists from feminist and LGBTQ2IA+ collectives as the main performers.

A Transformative Experience
A participant from Moyobamba shared:

“I participated in the play “¿Machista Yo?”, where I had a very intense and unusual experience, as we used humor to represent sexist situations that we have experienced, things that we may have even done. What struck me most was that while we were preparing the scenes, I began to realize some attitudes that I had also normalized.”

Looking Ahead
DEMUS reaffirms its commitment to developing new tools, resources, and narratives that reach people with different learning styles and perspectives. The campaign and the play will continue to expand, with decentralized performances in various regions and plans for a national staging in the future.