: Re: How do I present a future free of gender stereotypes without being jarring or overpowering the narrative? My story takes place in a relatively near future setting where gender stereotypes have

@Jessie137

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My suggestion is to casually alude to it. I'm taking up the 'men is dress' example you mentioned. If you have characters going shopping for clothes, you can have both men and women casually commenting on a particularly nice skirt.

"That red skirt would look great on you, Jason," Anne said excitedly. "It would be perfect for Kate's birthday party."
"Uh... I think it's a bit too short. I don't really like showing off my knees. They're so bony."
"That's nonsense! You've got great knees."
"Excuse me," the shop assistant came up. "Could I help you with anything?"
"Have you got a longer model of this red skirt?"
"Actually, we do!" She smiled. "It is a very popular item, so we've just received a new batch to replenish our stock. What's you size, sir?"

Or, perhaps you could just have a bunch of friends preparing a hunting outing.

"Hey, Jack, are you taking the camo face paint?"
"Uh... you may want to bring something yourself. I'm not sure I've got enough for both of us. But my wife got me this camo nail varnish that is great! I can let you borrow that one."

As for traditional male-female roles...

Jack rocked his six-month-old to sleep and sighed. Finally! Then he leaned over the crib and just gazed at his precious little boy. Oh, well, better get started on the laundry! Sometimes he just didn't understand how men in the past wouldn't want to stay at home and raise their children, at least in the first years, before they went to school. It felt so unnatural! Sure, it was tough having to put the career on hold, but... damn, wasn't it worth it? He picked up the phone and sent his wife a photo of the sleeping child. She missed him terribly, obviously, but someone had to keep on getting the bread on the table and her job having a higher salary, it had been a no-brainer. After loading the washing machine, he called his friend Pete. His girl was now eight months old and Jack figured it was high-time they organised a play-date for the two kids. Maybe next Thursday morning. Pete already had two kids, so he had more experience and it would be nice to have someone to talk to. Maybe they could have his sister pop in with her twins and have lunch outside. The weather was good enough for it.

In these short, a bit on the nose examples, it seems a bit heavy handed with the guys being the ones who apparently are doing 'feminine' stuff, but it's a matter of balancing it better in a longer text. The lunch-play-date can join stay-at-home mums and dads that talk naturally about their old careers, or when they're thinking of going back...
The key is to make it sound natural.

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