Fragile masculinity is the anxiety among males who feel they do not meet cultural standards of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

. Evidence suggests that this concept is necessary to understand their attitudes and behaviors. Research has shown that this anxiety can manifest in various ways, including aggressive behavior, resistance to changing gender norms, and difficulty in expressing vulnerability.

Concept

Psychology research has endorsed the concept of " precarious manhood", in which males face social pressures to publicly demonstrate their manliness. Under precarious manhood, threats to

can result in a loss of one's status as a man. Unlike femininity, masculinity is thought to be "elusive and tenuous," needing to be proven repeatedly. It is neither inevitable nor permanent; it must be earned "against powerful odds". As a result, men who have their masculinity challenged may respond in ways that are unpleasant, or even harmful.

Factors

Race and ethnicity

Race is a factor in American standards of masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is denied to men of color, as well as working class white men. This has profound implications for the life trajectories and attitudes of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

men.

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

men are frequently unable to be perceived as masculine in American society, and there is growing anger from young Asian-American men that they cannot be made to fit the standard of American masculinity. It is a common complaint among young Asian-American men that they struggle to compete with White American men for Asian women. This anger has led to the formation of online communities for Asian men who are concerned about their reputation, and two such communities on

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

have been implicated in the

online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...

of Asian women who are in interracial relationships with

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

men. On the other hand, some Asian-American men have rejected the hegemonic notion of masculinity and embraced their own alternative form of masculinity, which values education and law-abidingness over American notions of masculinity.

Age

As young men try to find their place in society, age becomes an important variable in understanding male fragility. Men in the 18–25 age range display riskier and more aggressive behavior. In some places, younger men have constant threats to their manhood and have to prove their manhood daily. The more the manhood was threatened, the more the aggressiveness.

Parenthood

Research has found that fathers are less likely to view masculinity as fragile compared to non-fathers. This suggests that the experience of being a father might reinforce a man's masculine identity. However, low self-perceived masculinity after parenthood was a predictor of sexual depression among fathers.

Behavior

When men feel their masculinity has been threatened, they often attempt to regain their sense of authority. The threats may include having a female supervisor or being given a job traditionally viewed as feminine. They may react by engaging in harmful behavior, such as undermining and mistreating colleagues, lying for personal gain, withholding help and stealing company property.

Online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...

is a common response from men who are intimidated by displays of strength by women. A 2012 study, using a racially diverse sample of jail inmates, found that those who scored high on measurements of "fragile masculinity" tended to feel uncomfortable around women.

Health

A 2014 study found that men who endorsed traditional values of masculinity had worse health outcomes. Men with traditionally masculine beliefs are more likely to exhibit behaviors such as aggression (when externally challenged) and self-harm under stress (when internally challenged). Men with strongly held masculine beliefs are half as likely to seek preventative healthcare; they are more likely to smoke, drink heavily and avoid vegetables; men are less likely to seek psychological help. A review of recent research found a link between the endorsement of precarious masculinity and poorer health outcomes in men. Although the link was "modest" it nevertheless accounted for some of men's poorer health outcomes, relative to women.

Sexual relationships

Women who believed their partner had fragile masculinity (such as in relationships where women earn two times as much money as their partners) were more likely to fake orgasms and were less likely to provide honest sexual communication. However these authors cautioned against the assumption that either partner is to blame in such cases, pointing out that American standards of masculinity are nearly impossible to meet.

Political beliefs

A link has been shown between male fragility and aggressive political stances, such as

climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...

. This suggests that "fragile masculinity is crucial to fully understanding men's political attitudes and behaviors." The 2024 Trump campaign emphasized restoration of the traditional male role, likely motivating a rightward and conservative shift in young men.

Proposed solutions

Based on their research, Maryam Kouchaki and colleagues have suggested that acknowledgement of fragile masculinity is a crucial first step toward improvement. They point out that many men are not even aware that they feel threatened, and that they are not even aware of toxic behaviors that may result from a threat. Increased self-awareness may allow men to break this pattern. Embracing healthy forms of masculinity was also suggested. Finally, these authors suggested that dismantling toxic workplace structures which encourage harmful masculine attitudes is a vital step in reducing fragile masculinity. According to Stanaland and colleagues, less rigid expectations of what masculinity should be could allow for a more resilient form of masculinity.

Popular culture

The 2016 film ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

'' has been called a "masterclass in masculine fragility." One of the characters in the film,

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

, is said to have embraced his fragility as a path to self-discovery.

References

{{Reflist Aggression Workplace harassment and bullying Masculism Psychology Industrial and organizational psychology Sociology Control (social and political) Social psychology concepts Psychological adjustment Behavioral concepts Gender and society Masculinity Orgasm Role theory Role status Gender roles Gender-related stereotypes