“He’s Expecting”: Lessons on gender roles from the world where men become pregnant

“When he told me that he was pregnant, I unintentionally asked if it’s really mine.”
“It’s usually the man asking that.”
This is a subtle conversation between the main character’s female partner and her friend, and I think these two lines represent the concept of the whole drama series.

What are gender roles when the roles get reversed between men and women? Netflix’s original drama series “He’s Expecting (the original title: ‘The Pregnancy of Kentarou Hiyama’)” is a great drama to learn about the current situation for gender issues, especially women’s wellness in Japan.

A story takes place where the men are the ones who become pregnant. It’s been 50 years since men started to become pregnant but still, pregnant men are relatively rare. They are treated in an indifferent or prejudiced way by some people.

The series raises gender issues in Japan

Kentarou Hiyama, played by Takumi Saitoh, works at an advertising agency as a successful businessman, and one day he finds out he becomes pregnant with the child of Aki Seto (Juri Ueno), a romantic partner of Hiyama’s. Neither of them expects to become parents or spouses because both prioritize their careers over having family and children. Although Hiyama eventually decides to give birth, he is forced to confront social inequities and discrimination against minorities he had never considered before…

The drama series has many scenes that represent current situations regarding gender roles in Japan such as maternity harassment, woman’s pressure to marry, men-dominated companies and discrimination against gender minorities.

The story seems to focus on how Hiyama suffers from many unmanly experiences. However, Hiyama is not alone to be suffering from the pressure to meet role expectations. Seto is pressured to marry by her very conservative parents. Hiyama’s mother has struggled to be a “normal” mother since her husband left her. Some of you may think these descriptions are a bit exaggerated, but unfortunately, these are not unusual things in Japan. Though I studied gender studies at university, I find an unconscious bias within me, too. I subconsciously believe that I have to get married by age 30 and have children only because I am a woman.

No one should be sacrificed because of their expected roles

In a press conference scene from episode seven, Hiyama argues against a reporter when he is asked if he will carry out proper duty as a pregnant man. He finally comes up with a response by offering more questions, “What are roles? Why put people in boxes like ‘ideal father’ and ‘ideal mother’?” In truth, we can never know what position we may be in tomorrow, so it’s critical to be open-minded.

I’d like to sum up the article with my favorite line from Hiyama: “No one should be sacrificed.” Even if women’s wellness is improved, men’s wellness shouldn’t be ignored. It might sound like an overstatement, but I think his positive behavior toward gender roles inspires Japanese society to gradually shift to a new mindset.