My research essay is going to be on depression and how gender norms play a role. Explaining what types of gender norms there are and where they came from. Exploring the impact it has on young minds to adulthood. How and why does it impact the workplace? How or even have these norms changed with the movement of the LGBTQ+ community? How the LGBTQ+ community has been impacted by this? My big question is: When did the need for gender norms overcome an individual’s happiness and identity? I want to tie this into depression in society. Mapping out where there seems to be the most depression rates and mental health facilities. The opinions I already have with no research is that while our time period has improved greatly on how society views gender, there are many things we need to work on. Like how in the workplace women still have to work harder than men to get to a high position. This could have a very straining mental impact on the way women view themselves, possibly making women feel as if they aren’t good enough. How young boys have the pressure of being strong and how showing emotions makes you weak. This could cause them to become distant, act out, and not feel good enough as well. While I’m not sure how the LGBTQ+ community has been impacted in the workplace my guess is that it’s even harder to get a job if you do not look the way people expect you to look based on your gender. I also know that the LGBTQ+ community is the community with the most depression rates. So I wish to shed some light on this and how we can possibly change this.