tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/men-1849/articlesMen – The Conversation2024-02-08T13:40:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210782024-02-08T13:40:56Z2024-02-08T13:40:56ZThe myth of men’s full-time employment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572004/original/file-20240129-25-80mw1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C46%2C5114%2C3478&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">He's not alone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businessman-made-redundant-royalty-free-image/643678742">Image Bank/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Men’s employment in the U.S. reached a 20-year high in 2023, with <a href="https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2023/october/mens-falling-labor-force-participation-across-generations/">nearly 90%</a> of men ages 25 to 54 in the workforce, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/labor-force-participation-rate-for-people-ages-25-to-54-in-may-2023-highest-since-january-2007.htm#:%7E:text=Among%20men%20ages%2025%20to,pandemic%20level%20in%20April%202023.">the Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. This supports the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243216649946">broad expectation</a> – some might say stereotype – that full-time employment is the norm for American men. </p>
<p>Yet examining employment at a single point in time leaves out important information about whether people are able to maintain stable work. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231197031">Our recent study</a> of male baby boomers’ working lives – spanning more than two decades – tells a very different story. </p>
<p>In fact, men’s labor force participation has been <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001">steadily declining</a> since the 1970s, and workers are experiencing greater labor market precarity – that is, shorter job spells, greater job insecurity and more long-term unemployment. </p>
<p>In our research <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VoDOQ44AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">as experts</a> in the study of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zTqwiBYAAAAJ&hl=en">people’s employment</a> over time, we have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-016-0464-z">previously challenged the myth</a> that most women “opt out” of the workforce, establishing that the majority of women work steadily and full time. That led us to suspect that the picture of men’s employment could also be incomplete.</p>
<p>To understand these long-term trends, we studied data from about 4,500 men collected over more than 25 years. We were looking for patterns in the amount of time these men spent employed, unemployed and looking for work, and out of the workforce and not looking for work. </p>
<p>We were surprised to find that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231197031">only 41%</a> of late baby boomer men – those who were between 14 and 21 years old in 1979 – worked steadily and continuously, which we defined as working almost every week of the year between ages 27 and 49. This is a cohort of men who were widely thought to have taken a “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Career_Mystique/dIDgkBiqMO8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=phyllis+moen+roehling&pg=PP13&printsec=frontcover">lockstep</a>” approach to work: entering the labor market when they finished their schooling and remaining employed until retirement.</p>
<p>We found most men didn’t fit this stereotype. About a quarter didn’t reach steady employment until they were nearly 50. Another quarter either found themselves increasingly unemployed and out of work as they aged or able to find only intermittent work. Finally, a smaller group of men left the labor market entirely – some leaving paid work at relatively young ages, while others leaving as they reached middle age.</p>
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<h2>Problems with precarity</h2>
<p>We don’t know exactly why these men followed such a wide range of work patterns during what economists call their “prime earning years.” But we think increasing labor market precarity – which researchers say is driven in large part by <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_State_of_Working_America/WdM77z0HUcAC?hl=en&gbpv=0">increases in layoffs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab012">decreases in unionization</a> – played a big role. </p>
<p>For example, we found that men who worked as “<a href="https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1980.shtml#operator">operators, fabricators and laborers</a>” or in “<a href="https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1980.shtml#precision">precision production, craft and repairs</a>” were at greater risk of unemployment. These are jobs that provided our own grandfathers with good, well-paying work, but they are also jobs that have become <a href="https://arnekalleberg.web.unc.edu/books/good-jobs-bad-jobs/">increasingly rare</a> since the 1970s.</p>
<p>We also found that men were at greater risk if they lived in counties with a higher unemployment rate or in states with more unionized jobs when they first entered the labor market. That latter point likely put them at greater risk of job loss <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023116656847">when those jobs went overseas</a> in the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
<p>Men who experienced unemployment, more job turnover before the age of 25 or transportation barriers to finding a good job also followed less steady work patterns, suggesting that they may have been forced to take “bad jobs” that provided fewer opportunities to move up the ladder or to earn a living wage.</p>
<p>Our findings paint a troubling portrait of employment in America. If this kind of unsteady employment characterizes the work patterns of the baby-boom generation, what awaits those of us who follow them? Is there anything we can do about it?</p>
<h2>Ideas for improvement</h2>
<p>The good news is there are solutions for workers, employers and the federal government. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231197031">research</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/07308884231162949">shows</a> that a college degree could protect men from the risk of unemployment or time out of work. The government can support this goal by <a href="https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/academy/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/CFUE_Economic-Impact/CFUE_Economic-Impact.pdf">making college more affordable for workers</a>, as the current administration has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/10/29/a-proclamation-on-national-college-application-month-2021/">proposed doing</a>. </p>
<p>For employers, our findings suggest that making work less precarious – in other words, making it more stable, with better pay and more schedule control – would be a win-win proposition. Research suggests that employers consistently <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/06/the-financial-case-for-good-retail-jobs">underestimate the costs</a> of losing employees. Given how hard it’s been for employers to stay fully staffed – especially in retail and service work – making jobs more appealing to workers could pay off in terms of retention. </p>
<p>Walmart, for instance, has <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/12/the-right-thing-to-do">increased pay and schedule control</a> for its workers. Such moves have been shown to benefit both the employers, through the <a href="https://equitablegrowth.org/improving-u-s-labor-standards-and-the-quality-of-jobs-to-reduce-the-costs-of-employee-turnover-to-u-s-companies/">reduction in employee turnover costs</a>, and the employees, through improved work conditions and work benefits.</p>
<p>The government could also implement policy changes, such as the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/20">Protecting the Right to Organize Act</a>, to promote workers’ right to unionization, since unionization is consistently linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2017.08.003">higher wages</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411414817">lower levels of inequality</a>. </p>
<p>We don’t think the U.S. needs the jobs that our grandfathers held to return; instead, it needs to turn today’s available jobs into good jobs. The recent National Labor Relations Board “<a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/pages/node-9558/joint-employer-fact-sheet-2023.pdf">joint employer</a>” ruling, for example, should do this by making it easier for workers at national chains to unionize across franchises, which could improve the working conditions of millions of people in the service industry.</p>
<p>Finally, government can take action to make unemployment a less miserable experience. Our findings, both here and elsewhere, suggest that unemployment does considerable harm to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/07308884231162949">workers’ careers</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643221091775">and health</a>. <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/section-5-benefit-levels-increase-ui-benefits-to-levels-working-families-can-survive-on/">Reforming the current unemployment insurance</a> system by expanding eligibility and creating progressive wage replacement rates may make it easier for workers to <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w27574">find jobs that better fit their skill set</a>, which <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tolls_of_Uncertainty/DkgHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en">our research</a> suggests could help them return to stable employment.</p>
<p>Our findings are the canary in a coal mine. They suggest that for future generations, steady employment may be a thing of the past. But the good news is that we can heed the warning and take steps to give everyone access to better jobs and more stable employment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Damaske receives/has received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Science Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the American Sociological Association, and the Pennsylvania State University and its Population Research Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrianne Frech has received funding from the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Think the norm is to join the workforce straight after school, work for five decades and then retire? Think again.Sarah Damaske, Professor of Sociology and Labor and Employment Relations, Penn StateAdrianne Frech, Associate Professor of Population Health, Ohio UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215482024-01-31T13:34:59Z2024-01-31T13:34:59ZWhat Americans can learn from Danish masculinity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571990/original/file-20240129-17-otfcjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1268%2C594%2C4019%2C2560&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Denmark's King Frederik X wipes away a tear as he waves to a crowd of 300,000 people.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/DenmarkRoyalAbdication/3a1b8392aaf449a6ae9a6b4a02aa79df/photo?Query=frederik&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=now-30d&totalCount=73&currentItemNo=41">Martin Meissner/AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a leader cries in public, is it a sign of weakness? </p>
<p>On Jan. 14, 2023, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik was crowned King Frederik X after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, announced she would be abdicating the throne during her annual New Year’s Eve speech.</p>
<p>After the queen signed a declaration of abdication in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfNDzO2KvM">private meeting</a>, the king stepped out on the balcony of the Danish parliament – Christiansborg Palace. In front of a throng of <a href="https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/13770145/kong-frederik-samlede-hele-danmark-knap-300000-danskere-deltog-i-fejringen?publisherId=13561616&lang=da">300,000 people</a>, the king waved, teared up and waved again, before <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vLsBQAaGDc">wiping away the tears with his white-gloved hand</a>. He later shed more tears as his wife and children joined him on the balcony.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The proclamation of Denmark’s King Frederik X on Jan. 14, 2024.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/14/world/europe/king-frederik-denmark.html">The New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/14/denmark-king-frederik-succession-queen-margrethe/">The Washington Post</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/jan/14/frederik-x-denmark-proclaimed-king-video">The Guardian</a> eagerly noted the emotional moment. One <a href="https://www.weekendavisen.dk/opinion/kongens-taarer">Danish newspaper</a> headline simply read, “The King’s Tears,” while a Danish <a href="https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelige/danmark/gribende-billeder-der-siger-det-hele-kong-frederik-maatte-toerre-taarer-bort">celebrity magazine</a> featured a series of images of the king wiping his eyes.</p>
<p>In much of the world, tears and masculinity don’t mix. Crying can signal vulnerability and weakness, particularly for men in charge. Showing your emotions is viewed as too effeminate. </p>
<p>But in Denmark, the king’s tears didn’t minimize his popularity. In fact, they burnished it: Showing a feminine side is a core part of Danish masculinity.</p>
<p>As a native Dane <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Uaz22I8AAAAJ&hl=en">and a psychologist</a>, I’ve studied Denmark’s unique conception of manhood, which contrasts with masculine ideals in the U.S.</p>
<h2>What makes a man?</h2>
<p>Different cultures have different expectations for how men should act, look and express themselves. </p>
<p>American men <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538114056/Hegemonic-Masculinity-Formulation-Reformulation-and-Amplification">are often expected</a> to be tough, strong and stoic. It’s important that they don’t appear too effeminate.</p>
<p>Research shows that in Denmark it can be acceptable – even desirable – for men to show a feminine side. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000062">In a study</a> on masculinity and manhood in the U.S. and Denmark, my colleagues Sarah DiMuccio and Megan Yost and I found that among young heterosexual men, Danish men were more likely than American men to describe ideal men as being caring, loving, considerate and empathetic, which in the U.S. are usually seen as <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/manhood-in-america-9780190612535?cc=us&lang=en&">feminine characteristics</a>.</p>
<p>Many of the young Danish men in our study celebrated these qualities in their male friends, for whom they expressed deep affection. They recounted long phone conversations and hugs. They’d routinely say, “I love you,” or use heart emojis in their text messages.</p>
<p>They didn’t seem too concerned about being seen as too effeminate, because they didn’t see avoiding being girly as part of manhood.</p>
<p>Instead, a number of the Danish participants in our study described manhood in opposition to boyhood. Put simply, you are a man when you are no longer a boy. </p>
<p>This made their manhood seem less precarious: It was seen as purely developmental, rather than something that needed to be constantly reinforced.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drawing of males at different stages of development." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572003/original/file-20240129-21-xm3liq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Danes tend to see manhood simply as a developmental stage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/mans-aging-process-scribbles-royalty-free-illustration/908532074?phrase=evolution+of+boy+to+man+drawing&adppopup=true">A-Digit/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In contrast, the American men viewed manhood in contrast to womanhood: You’re a man when you’re not a woman. For example, we asked one participant how his brothers responded if he did something they deemed unmanly. </p>
<p>“By beating (me up) a little bit and calling me a girl,” he replied.</p>
<p>The positioning of manhood against womanhood makes it more precarious: It must continuously be reinforced. To the American men in our study, suppressing any feminine qualities, including showing emotion, was one way for them to make sure others saw them as “man enough.” </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2015.1046918">In another study</a> examining masculinity among Danish men, the men said that ideal men should have an emotional side; to them, it was a sign of balance and authenticity. </p>
<p>When the men were asked about a public figure or male celebrity who showed the most acceptable masculinity, many of them even mentioned then-Crown Prince Frederik. They saw him as having a good mix of traditionally masculine qualities – he’d served in the military and is athletic – and softer, more feminine qualities: He is considerate of others, talks about his feelings and is engaged with raising his children. He even picks up his children from day care <a href="https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/far-frederik-saetter-graenser">on his cargo bike</a>. </p>
<p>The men in the study added that any good father should be more than a provider. He ought to be present, caring and engaged with his children. </p>
<h2>Gender in the land of equality</h2>
<p>Why are there such profound differences in conceptions of masculinity between these two Western nations?</p>
<p>It could have something to do with the fact that Denmark has some of the highest ratings of gender equality in the world. For example, in 2021, the U.N. ranked the U.S. 44th <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/thematic-composite-indices/gender-inequality-index#/indicies/GII">in gender equality</a> after assessing health outcomes, political representation and workforce participation among men and women. Denmark, on the other hand, was ranked as the most gender equal country in the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.globalledelse.dk/eng/img/pdf/Danish%20Leadership%20Style%20in%20a%20Global%20Perspective_210x280_WEB.pdf">In the Danish workplace</a>, employees and employers are on more equal footing. Managers tend to wield a participatory and democratic leadership style that is informal, open and trusting. There’s an emphasis on a good life-work balance. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.573">This leadership style</a> upends traditional notions of masculinity because it focuses on communal values: empathy, collaboration and relationship-building. It contrasts with traditionally masculine leadership, which in psychology is called “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-04018-011">agentic leadership</a>,” and which centers on dominance, power and achievement. </p>
<p>The U.S. <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/cultures-consequences/book9710">tends to champion more masculine values and attitudes</a> in the workplace. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000175">In one experimental study</a>, American men who cried in response to a negative performance evaluation were judged more harshly than women who cried in the same circumstances, because it violated expectations of appropriate masculine behavior. </p>
<p>Royalty in an egalitarian country such as Denmark might seem odd to some people. But King Frederik X, whose role is more cultural and ceremonial, is simply embodying Danish sensibilities. </p>
<p>At his party, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsnIt1p978">he can cry if he wants to</a> – <a href="https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/ny-maaling-viser-hoej-opbakning-til-kronprinsparret">and he’ll be all the more beloved for it</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221548/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie Helweg-Larsen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>American men see manhood in opposition to womanhood. Danes, on the other hand, see manhood as not acting immaturely, as a boy would.Marie Helweg-Larsen, Professor of Psychology, Dickinson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116752023-11-21T23:30:20Z2023-11-21T23:30:20ZHere’s what happens to your penis as you age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558209/original/file-20231108-29-2x75fz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1000%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-stethoscope-yellow-banana-on-blue-1070813387">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All parts of your body age and the penis is no exception. </p>
<p>Changes to how your penis looks or works can be signs of underlying health issues and can affect your quality of life. So understanding which changes are normal and when to seek help is important.</p>
<p>Here’s what you can expect to happen to your penis as you age, and when to be concerned.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-i-clean-my-penis-125135">'How do I clean my penis?'</a>
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<h2>Will my penis shrink?</h2>
<p>There is no definitive evidence your <a href="https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bju.13010">penis length and girth</a> will naturally change as you age, despite what you may <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/mens-health/penis-shrinkage">read</a>.</p>
<p>This is because there is no study that follows the same adults and their penis measurements over decades; existing studies only compare penis size between different adults of different ages. </p>
<p>There are also many different ways to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-019-0157-4">measure</a> penis size – including stretched, flaccid (floppy) and erect. This makes it difficult to compare studies.</p>
<p>However, for some people, conditions associated with ageing can appear to decrease penis length. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>obesity (which hides the base of the penis)</p></li>
<li><p>the effects of <a href="https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1016/j.juro.2007.03.119">prostate surgery</a> (temporarily)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/peyronies-disease">Peyronie’s disease</a> (where scarring in the fibrous layer of the penis causes it to bend abnormally).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Erect penis length may also decrease with age due to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>erectile dysfunction (the inability to achieve erections sufficient for sexual activity)</p></li>
<li><p>less <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1459150/">penile elasticity</a>, which reduces how much the penis expands.</p></li>
</ul>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-chemicals-shrinking-your-penis-and-depleting-your-sperm-heres-what-the-evidence-really-says-160007">Are chemicals shrinking your penis and depleting your sperm? Here's what the evidence really says</a>
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<h2>Will I still have erections?</h2>
<p>Erectile dysfunction affects 15% of men in their 50s to almost 90% of men over 80, according to an <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-014-0465-1">English study</a> of more than 6,000 people. Existing health conditions increased the risk significantly, and the risk was more than doubled in those who rated their health as fair to poor.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/erectile-dysfunction">Medications</a> such as sildenafil (Viagra) and tadalafil (Cialis) can help. But they do not reverse the underlying blood vessel and nerve damage that cause erectile dysfunction. Eventually other treatments – such as injections or <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/news/what-are-penis-pumps-and-how-do-they-work">penile pumps</a> – may be options.</p>
<p>Other changes that occur with age include <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9836563/">decreased penis sensitivity</a>, which might reduce arousal. Ejaculation is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8254833/">delayed</a> and happens <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0302283816003778">less often</a>.</p>
<p>Semen volume and the force of ejaculation <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27652226/">decrease</a> with age. The time taken to “recover” from ejaculating and become sexually responsive again (known as the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31405769/">post-ejaculatory refractory time</a>) also increases with age. </p>
<p>Reaching orgasm is “impossible” or “moderately difficult” for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25624001/">33% of men</a> in their 70s.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-the-hard-facts-on-viagra-58289">Weekly dose: the hard facts on Viagra</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Will the shape of my penis change?</h2>
<p>The shape of your penis is not usually expected to change with age. However, Peyronie’s disease (an abnormally bent or curved penis) becomes <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/peyronies-disease">more common</a> with age. This may be because of accumulation of damage from minor injuries over time.</p>
<p>This condition affects <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11890244/">6.5% of men</a> over 70 and can cause short-term pain and long-term erectile dysfunction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older smiling man holding banana in each hand, one large, one small" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558561/original/file-20231109-15-6so9wq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No, your penis doesn’t automatically change shape as you age. But you might notice other changes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-country-doctor-smiling-while-comparing-758197381">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will I pee more?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/urinary-problems-luts">Lower urinary tract symptoms</a> such as incontinence, a weak urine stream, problems with starting and stopping peeing, and nocturia (frequent night time urination) increase as we get older. </p>
<p>These symptoms are moderate to severe in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17070357/">almost 50% of men</a> over 65, and in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18554695/">70% of men</a> over 80. This is likely due to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6206240/">higher rates</a> of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) as men age, which has various effects, including on urine flow.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-can-your-doctor-tell-from-your-urine-74990">Health Check: what can your doctor tell from your urine?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Changes can take their toll …</h2>
<p>Physical and functional changes in the penis can affect a man’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25624001/">health and wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>Problems with erections or ejaculating can reduce someone’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30554952/">quality of life</a> if they still want to have sex. So <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/partners-guide">open discussion</a> with a partner, seeking support and professional advice can help.</p>
<p>Lower urinary tract symptoms can also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15814179/">affect</a> a man’s mental health and personal relationships. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older gay couple sitting on sofa, one with hand on shoulder, looking at open laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558565/original/file-20231109-25-sl40tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Be open with your partner about any concerns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/older-same-sex-male-couple-browsing-2356931529">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>… but can be sign of disease</h2>
<p>Erectile dysfunction can also hint at serious health problems <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/erectile-dysfunction">such as</a> heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and disorders of the nervous system.</p>
<p>In this way, the penis reflects vascular health in the rest of the body. So having erectile dysfunction can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30665816/">predict</a> your risk of a future heart attack or stroke.</p>
<p>Lower urinary tract symptoms are also often associated with sexual dysfunction, and can <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au/mens-health/urinary-problems-luts">increase the risk</a> of urinary tract infections and chronic kidney disease.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-it-matter-if-you-sit-or-stand-to-pee-and-what-about-peeing-in-the-shower-206869">Does it matter if you sit or stand to pee? And what about peeing in the shower?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s normal and when should I see my GP?</h2>
<p>Normal ageing includes changes to the penis’ blood vessels, nerves, and associated organs, such as the prostate. So, as you age, it is normal to have:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>minor changes in the size and shape of the penis</p></li>
<li><p>a gradual decrease in erectile function and sensitivity</p></li>
<li><p>mild urinary symptoms that don’t bother you.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28217447/">Staying healthy</a>
and regularly seeing your GP to <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/essential-screening-tests-for-men">check for</a> common conditions (such as high blood pressure) should slow down these age-related changes. Other health conditions (such as diabetes) accelerate these changes.</p>
<p>However, it is important to seek medical attention if:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>there is a significant change in size or shape of the penis, or if you develop unusual lumps</p></li>
<li><p>there is pain or discomfort in or around your penis</p></li>
<li><p>erectile dysfunction becomes persistent or bothers you</p></li>
<li><p>urinary symptoms occur suddenly or bother you.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><em>For more information about men’s health, including resources for partners, see the <a href="https://www.healthymale.org.au">Healthy Male website</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Moss works for Healthy Male, a website to promote men's health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jinghang Luo and Rob McLachlan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding which changes are normal and when to seek help is important. Here’s what you need to know.Rob McLachlan, Professor and clinician in fertility medicine, Hudson InstituteJinghang Luo, Andrology Fellow, Hudson InstituteTim Moss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134902023-10-11T15:15:40Z2023-10-11T15:15:40ZWhy ‘toxic masculinity’ isn’t a useful term for understanding all of the ways to be a man<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551355/original/file-20231002-17-jilxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C8%2C5812%2C3874&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Masculinity is complex, diverse and can be expressed in multiple ways.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-back-lonely-standing-man-high-1469768498">yanik88/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There seem to be as many interpretations of what “<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-masculinity-what-does-it-mean-where-did-it-come-from-and-is-the-term-useful-or-harmful-189298#:%7E:text=The%20phrase%20emphasises%20the%20worst,%22toxic%22%20for%20two%20reasons.">toxic masculinity</a>” means as there are uses of the term.</p>
<p>Some believe it’s a way to criticise what they see as specific negative behaviour and attitudes often associated with men. Others, such as broadcaster Piers Morgan, claim that media interest in toxic masculinity is part of a “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/wake-up-why-the-world-has-gone-nuts-piers-morgan?variant=33046214377506">woke culture</a>” that aims to emasculate men. Others believe toxic masculinity is a fundamental part of <a href="https://oneworld-publications.com/work/boys-will-be-boys/">manhood</a>. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380385231172121#bibr26-00380385231172121">research</a> into working-class young men in south Wales shows how masculinity is changing. Some men remain hostile to the notion of toxic masculinity and see the term as a vehicle for shaming men. And some are caught in a conflict between changing ideas of masculinity and traditional, unhealthy expressions of manhood. This is further complicated by the term itself.</p>
<p>In its simplest sense, toxic masculinity refers to an overemphasis or exaggerated expression of characteristics <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Toxic_Masculinity.html?id=9FzBDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">commonly associated</a> with masculinity. These include traits such as competition, self-reliance and being stoic, which produce behaviours such as risk-taking, fear of showing weakness, and an inability to discuss emotions. These have negative implications for both men and women. </p>
<p>For example, a rejection of weakness and vulnerability may prevent some men from <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Dying-to-be-Men-Psychosocial-Environmental-and-Biobehavioral-Directions/Courtenay/p/book/9780415878760#:%7E:text=Description,In%20this%20book%2C%20Dr.">discussing issues</a> such as mental health. Similarly, an inability to express emotion may expose itself through frustration, anger and acts of physical violence. </p>
<p>But masculine traits such as being stoic can equally be valuable in some circumstances, such as emergencies and making lifesaving decisions. In essence, masculinity is complex, diverse and can be expressed in multiple ways.</p>
<h2>More than one type of masculinity</h2>
<p>However, masculinity that involves courage, toughness and physical strength has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3149/jms.0703.295">historically</a> been held in high regard by society. </p>
<p>Masculinity is socially, historically, culturally and individually determined, and subject to change. It can be influenced by a person’s status, power, place, social class and ethnicity. So, a person’s differing circumstances establish or enable different expressions of masculinity. </p>
<p>For example, traditionally high rates of manual employment in heavy industries and family relationships helped establish the gender roles of the male breadwinner and female homemaker. This reinforced masculine traits such as toughness and stoicism in men.</p>
<p>In recent decades though, the way people in western countries work has changed a lot. Manual jobs have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-10792-4_6">decreased</a> while service sector work has increased. These alterations have contributed to the increase in <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/introducing-gender-and-womens-studies-9781352009903/#:%7E:text=With%20fully%20revised%20chapters%20written,examples%20and%20questions%20to%20consider.">the number of women</a> working, and their wages have became an <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Redundant+Masculinities%3F%3A+Employment+Change+and+White+Working+Class+Youth-p-9781405105866">important part</a> of household incomes.</p>
<p>Movements like <a href="https://metoomvmt.org">#MeToo</a> and brands like Gillette and its We Believe: The Best Men Can Be advert have led to further <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/15/gillette-metoo-ad-on-toxic-masculinity-cuts-deep-with-mens-rights-activists">examination</a> of masculinity. They have challenged negative expressions of masculinity, encouraging men to change their behaviour and instead adopt a <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442232921/Masculinities-in-the-Making-From-the-Local-to-the-Global">more positive</a> version of masculinity. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EkRxdtmJ4L4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gilette’s We Believe The Best Men Can Be advert from 2019.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Against this backdrop, we urgently need to reassess what the current research tells us about men and masculinity.</p>
<h2>Men are changing</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Inclusive-Masculinity-The-Changing-Nature-of-Masculinities/Anderson/p/book/9780415893909">studies</a> suggest that men are changing their behaviour as society and the economy change. For example, studies of white, middle-class men who attend university have found that they are more likely to express their emotions verbally and physically.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-78819-7">critics</a> of that idea say that such young men can transgress typical notions of masculinity because of their higher social status.</p>
<p>A new wave of qualitative research has shown that some <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Young-Working-Class-Men-in-Transition/Roberts/p/book/9780367473723">working-class</a> young men are changing their behaviour. They are more open about their emotions, admit to feeling vulnerable and have more egalitarian views on housework. However, they still sometimes use sexist and homophobic language. </p>
<p>My recent <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380385231172121#bibr26-00380385231172121">study</a> is part of a growing criticism of how masculinity is defined and talked about. I carried out my research at a youth centre and focused on a group of working-class young men aged between 12 and 21. I talked to the young men about their school experiences, work ambitions and looked at their behaviour. </p>
<p>The study was based in the Gwent valleys, a former coal mining community. It is a place known for its traditional ideas of masculinity, such as being strong and tough. But also I found that these young men showed softer sides of masculinity, such as empathy, compassion and sensitivity.</p>
<p>These changes and softer sides of masculinity coexisted with behaviours often linked with negative expressions of masculinity, such as violence and crime. I describe this as “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380385231172121#bibr26-00380385231172121">amalgamated masculinities</a>”.</p>
<p>My findings strengthen the idea that positive changes in masculinity are happening socially. </p>
<h2>Changing the narrative</h2>
<p>We must be aware of the harm caused by exaggerated masculine traits but language like “toxic masculinity” can be unhelpful. We should focus on promoting the benefits of positive expressions of manhood, such as emotional openness and empathy. </p>
<p>We should also do more work to try to understand why positive changes in masculinity are happening. Once we understand this, we can think about how to encourage these positive changes to make them more common in society. This could help to make masculinity better for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Gater works for Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data. He receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>A new wave of research shows how working-class young men are changing their behaviour. But some remain hostile to the term “toxic masculinity” and see it as a vehicle for shaming men.Richard Gater, Postdoctoral research fellow at the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2115582023-08-22T12:25:41Z2023-08-22T12:25:41ZOnline gaming communities could provide a lifeline for isolated young men − new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543047/original/file-20230816-15-gx4a3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5104%2C2858&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many gamers discuss deeply personal and sensitive topics with each other.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/back-of-the-head-shot-of-an-african-american-gamer-royalty-free-image/1448557185">gorodenkoff/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online gaming communities could be a vital lifeline for young men struggling silently with mental health issues, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2023.2199171">according to new research</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dn6NJr4AAAAJ">My</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Rj7Jpt8AAAAJ">colleagues</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=TOKNbGcAAAAJ">I</a> analyzed an all-male online football gaming community over the course of a year. We discovered that members who reported more depressive symptoms and less real-life support were roughly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2023.2199171">40% more likely</a> to form and maintain social ties with fellow gamers compared with those reporting more real-life support.</p>
<p>This finding suggests the chat and community features of online games might provide isolated young men an anonymous “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/04/third-places-meet-new-people-pandemic/629468/">third place</a>” – or space where people can congregate other than work or home – to open up, find empathy and build crucial social connections they may lack in real life. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Mental health issues like depression and suicide are on the rise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717002781">among young men</a> in the U.S., yet social stigmas and traditional masculinity often inhibit them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.002">from seeking professional assistance</a>. Up to <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29393/2019NSDUHFFRPDFWHTML/2019NSDUHFFR1PDFW090120.pdf">75% of people</a> with mental illnesses go without treatment, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017224">men especially unlikely to pursue counseling or therapy</a>. </p>
<p>Online social spaces, like gaming communities, may offer an alternative avenue to find connection and discuss serious personal problems without the barriers of formal mental health services. The social features of online games allow players to privately chat and build friendships, potentially creating vital informal support networks. While not a substitute for professional care, these virtual forums could encourage discussion of mental health challenges among young men facing social isolation and untreated depression. </p>
<p>More comprehensive research is still needed, but the social features of online games may literally provide young men a lifeline when they have nowhere else to turn.</p>
<h2>How we do our work</h2>
<p>We asked members of a small online gaming community to tell us specifically who in the community they talked to about important life matters. Using an open-ended survey, we then asked about these conversations. We also asked them to report how often they felt certain depressive symptoms, as well as their feelings on in-person and online social support.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man with gaming headphones looks distressed while staring at his screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542863/original/file-20230815-21-1h8pry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Virtual friendships can have real-life impacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/asian-gamer-is-upset-royalty-free-image/1395300802">PonyWang/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found some members discussed deeply personal and sensitive topics with each other. Many mentioned talking about struggles like stress, anxiety and depression. Some brought up relationship problems they were facing with romantic partners or family members. Others sought advice on major life decisions related to jobs, moving or going back to school. </p>
<p>Several participants specifically said they confided about topics they felt unable to discuss with people in their real lives, suggesting these online friendships provided an outlet they were otherwise lacking. The depth of sharing indicates these online friendships had moved beyond superficial topics into deeper emotional support and bonding.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Our research was limited to 40 male participants interested in college football video games. Further investigations using larger, more diverse samples across various gaming genres are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.</p>
<p>A key question is whether online social support directly improves depression – or are depressed individuals simply more inclined to seek connections virtually? Despite a massive industry and audience for online gaming, its mental health impacts remain murky. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I are launching studies that analyze the impact of multiplayer games on teamwork, leadership and social skills in high school and college students compared with traditional extracurricular activities. We are also investigating how involvement in esports can cultivate lasting social relationships and foster a sense of community. </p>
<p>Through multiyear studies, we hope to understand online gaming’s risks – alongside its promise for improving mental health, social integration and life skills.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211558/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tyler Prochnow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For young men who struggle with mental health or lack connections in real life, chat and community features of online games can be a source of support.Tyler Prochnow, Assistant Professor of Health Behavior; School of Public Health, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2114062023-08-17T12:34:39Z2023-08-17T12:34:39ZWhat Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s canceled cage match says about masculine anxiety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543092/original/file-20230816-17-330xso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C26%2C5838%2C3699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Would a fight help them prove to themselves that they are 'real men,' despite their soft − probably manicured − hands?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/meta-and-threads-app-from-elon-musk-vs-mark-zuckerberg-seen-news-photo/1583887287?adppopup=true">Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the cage fight between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-zuckerberg-cancels-cage-fight-elon-musk-meta-threads-tesla/">seems to be on hold</a>, if these men do ever end up sparring, it’ll give a whole new meaning to the term “tech bro.”</p>
<p>The two billionaires’ business interests have butted heads in the past: Musk’s 2016 test launch of a <a href="https://time.com/4476416/mark-zuckerberg-elon-musk-rocket-explosion-satellite/">SpaceX rocket destroyed Zuckerberg’s US$200 million satellite</a>. In 2022, Musk said Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/15/elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg-sun-king-louis-xiv">shouldn’t dominate social media</a> and encouraged people to abandon Meta-owned Facebook. Meta also recently launched Threads, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/meta-launches-twitter-competitor-threads-as-zuckerberg-and-musk-rivalry-intensifies">which competes directly</a> with Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.</p>
<p>But threatening to beat the pulp out of each other represents a new – if not bizarre – form of one-upmanship for the two men. At one point, it was rumored that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ufc/musk-zuckerberg-fight-colosseum-ufc-b2390844.html">the livestreamed fight would take place in Rome’s Colosseum</a>, where gladiators once gruesomely battled to the death.</p>
<p>What in the name of <a href="https://gladiator.fandom.com/wiki/Maximus_Decimus_Meridius">Maximus</a> is going on?</p>
<p>Though Musk and Zuckerberg have attempted to frame their pugilistic pursuit as a once-in-a-generation event, they are far from alone. They join the ranks of other high-profile men in public and political positions who have shown off their physical strength to burnish their status.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=E4xQpIgAAAAJ&hl=en">As a gender scholar</a>, I’ve seen how these fights – let’s call them “performances of virility” – tend to coincide with beliefs that masculinity is either in crisis or under attack. </p>
<h2>Money can’t buy masculinity</h2>
<p>You don’t usually see two wealthy white billionaires duking it out. So what would Musk and Zuckerberg gain from fighting each other? </p>
<p>As sociologist Scott Melzer writes in his study of fight clubs, “<a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/manhood-impossible/9780813584911">Manhood Impossible</a>,” fighting is culturally associated with masculinity, and U.S. culture celebrates men’s violence in the right contexts. </p>
<p>For white-collar white men, Melzer explains, fighting can help them to feel they have passed a test of adulthood and fulfilled the cultural requirement of strength. The fighting helps them prove to themselves that they are “real men,” despite their soft – probably manicured – hands.</p>
<p>To me, the chest puffing between Musk and Zuckerberg is a desperate display of masculinity for two tech nerds with deep pockets. They say money can’t buy happiness. Perhaps money can’t buy masculinity, either.</p>
<p>Kris Paap, author of “<a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801472862/working-construction/#bookTabs=1">Working Construction</a>,” explains that men who don’t take risks are often seen by their peers as weak and effeminate. Men who risk their health and well-being, on the other hand, prove their bravado for the respect of their peers. </p>
<p>This is particularly the case for working-class men. But politicians have also put on gloves to fight for admiration – and political clout – through displays of physical prowess.</p>
<p>In 2012, Justin Trudeau squared off against Senator Patrick Brazeau <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12067">in a boxing match</a>. A member of Canada’s Parliament who came from money and political royalty, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/02/god-save-justin-trudeau-film-boxing-canada-patrick-brazeau">Trudeau declared before the match</a> that he was “put on this planet to do this … I fight – and I win.”</p>
<p>After emerging from the bout victorious, Trudeau’s image as a scrawny <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/what-is-a-nepotism-baby.html">nepo baby</a> all but evaporated. Three years later, he became prime minister <a href="https://www.biography.com/political-figures/pierre-trudeau">just like his dad</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cover of comic book depicts smiling man sitting in corner of boxing ring wearing boxing gloves and a red and white pinny with a maple leaf logo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543078/original/file-20230816-44322-afpteq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a boxer in a 2016 issue of the Marvel comic book series ‘Civil War II: Choosing Sides.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-cover-of-us-publisher-marvels-comic-book-featuring-news-photo/598119942?adppopup=true">Marc Brainbant/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are countless examples of other powerful men looking to showcase their virility. Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/17/8796659/vladimir-putin-shirtless-video">infamously rode horses shirtless</a>, while U.S. President Joe Biden once said that when he was in high school, he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump/index.html">would have taken Donald Trump “behind the gym and beat the hell” out of him</a>.</p>
<p>For almost two centuries, performances of masculinity – from William Henry Harrison to Donald Trump – have been a part of successful <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/opinions/bridges-trump-macho-candidates/index.html">U.S. presidential campaigns</a>.</p>
<h2>The end of men … again and again</h2>
<p>It is no coincidence that Musk vs. Zuckerberg comes at a time when there is popular perception that masculinity is in crisis. Women are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/08/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion/">obtaining college degrees at a faster clip than men</a>, while income gaps are closing. Suicides and overdoses among men – often termed <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide">“deaths of despair”</a> – are on the rise. </p>
<p>Belief in a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Cultures-of-Masculinity/Edwards/p/book/9780415284813">“crisis of masculinity”</a> spikes during times of progressive social change. And proponents of this view tend to blame feminists and other social progressives for critiquing traditionally masculine mores and values, which, they claim, is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/style/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life.html">causing men to spiral</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3683791.html">Gender scholars</a> point to the turn of the 20th century and the 1990s as other moments of social change that sparked similar anxieties.</p>
<p>In 1890, moves toward coeducation stoked debates around girls and boys being taught the same curriculum. Advocates suggested that sex shouldn’t matter in the classroom and that girls’ education should prepare them for jobs outside the home.</p>
<p>This didn’t go over well with men who benefited from gender segregation. The Boy Scouts of America actually emerged in 1910 so that boys were assured a space where girls and women weren’t allowed – and <a href="https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1978.tb02548.x">where boys would be “sufficiently” acquainted with masculinity</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, the emergence of identity politics in the 1990s, which highlighted rights-based ideologies, scrutinized, in particular, <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/marked-men/9780231112932">the privileges of white men</a>. </p>
<p>Today, social progress – whether it’s more women in the workplace, <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-record-breaking-number-of-women-were-elected-governor-in-2022-here-are-7-things-to-know-about-how-that-happened-195871">more women in political office</a> or girls permitted to join what is now referred to as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-scouts-new-name-scouts-bsa-girls-joining-ranks/">“the Scouts”</a> – seems to stoke men’s insecurities. You can see it in the popularity of men’s rights advocates like Jordan Peterson, who claims men are being asked to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmKrEil9-Ag">castrate themselves</a> in the name of equality. And you can see it in conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s <a href="https://www.them.us/story/barbie-movie-ben-shapiro">scorn toward</a> the “Barbie” movie, which has been lauded for calling out patriarchal values.</p>
<p>In these moments, men have historically taken predictable actions to reclaim the idea that they are inherently different from women – and thus belong in different spaces.</p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Caveman-Mystique-Pop-Darwinism-and-the-Debates-Over-Sex-Violence/McCaughey/p/book/9780415934756">Martha McCaughey</a> has pointed out how evolutionary biology has become the popular way to argue that men just can’t help their “innate propensities.”</p>
<p>This includes the urge to dominate others, whether that’s in business, in bed – or, yes, in the ring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Barber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Performances of virility’ tend to coincide with beliefs that masculinity is either in crisis or under attack.Kristen Barber, Associate Professor of Race, Ethnic and Gender Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas CityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086142023-08-15T09:15:15Z2023-08-15T09:15:15ZThe orgasm gap and why women climax less than men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541030/original/file-20230803-29-k3l5ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C60%2C6709%2C4396&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sex isn't just about penetration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/legs-couple-bed-1086622124">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine a steamy sex scene involving a woman and a man from your favourite television show or movie. It’s likely that both parties orgasm. But this doesn’t reflect reality.</p>
<p>Because during heterosexual sexual encounters, women have far fewer orgasms than men. This is called the orgasm gap. And it has been documented in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-020-00237-9">scientific literature</a> for more than 20 years. </p>
<p>In one <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28213723/">study</a> of more than 50,000 people, 95% of heterosexual men said they usually or always orgasm when sexually intimate, while only 65% of heterosexual women said the same. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03616843221076410?casa_token=EIMMOZmLRmwAAAAA%3AKmP6abzrDfsJRvoSO5LN9EOWUgnXBZGQepNAw9oFPzf-dZE-T-6g9HU1vScVwyNrNdGEuzaGslo">Research</a> shows that some people believe this gap is because women’s orgasms are biologically elusive. Yet, if this were true, women’s orgasm rates would not differ depending on circumstance. Indeed, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hite-Report-National-Female-Sexuality/dp/1583225692/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G68WDZ96BFZV&keywords=Hite+report&qid=1691488140&sprefix=hite+repor%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1">many</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0092623X.2011.628440">studies</a> show that women orgasm more when alone than with a partner.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/womens-health-matters-143335">Women’s Health Matters</a>, a series about the health and wellbeing of women and girls around the world. From menopause to miscarriage, pleasure to pain the articles in this series will delve into the full spectrum of women’s health issues to provide valuable information, insights and resources for women of all ages.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/science-experiments-traditionally-only-used-male-mice-heres-why-thats-a-problem-for-womens-health-205963">Science experiments traditionally only used male mice – here’s why that’s a problem for women’s health</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>At least 92% of women orgasm when pleasuring themselves. Women also orgasm more when having sex in relationships compared with casual sex. In a <a href="https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/orgasm-in-college-hookups-and-relationships">study</a> of more than 12,000 college students, only 10% of the women said they orgasm during first-time hookups while 68% said they orgasm during sex that occurs in a committed relationship. </p>
<p>Women also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-017-0939-z">orgasm more</a> when having sex with other women. In one <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616660412331330875">study</a> 64% of bisexual women said that they usually or always orgasm when being sexually intimate with other women. </p>
<h2>Why does this happen?</h2>
<p>In all these scenarios where women are climaxing more, there is a greater focus on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-clitoris-a-brief-history-196817">clitoral stimulation</a>. The majority of women need clitoral stimulation to orgasm – which makes sense given that the clitoris and the penis originate from the same kind of tissue. And both the clitoris and the penis are chock full of touch-sensitive nerve endings and erectile tissue. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Cliterate-Orgasm-Equality-Matters/dp/0062664557/ref=rvi_sccl_4/140-9533092-3796527?pd_rd_w=CRFWT&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_p=f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_r=PK44YHEX9GFG4VED8TNR&pd_rd_wg=QmJlm&pd_rd_r=0289449b-513a-4ade-ba30-cac1e6ed4d2b&pd_rd_i=0062664557&psc=1">my work</a>, I’ve asked thousands of women: “What is your most reliable route to orgasm?” Only 4% say penetration. The other 96% say clitoral stimulation, alone or paired with penetration.</p>
<p>The main reason for the orgasm gap, then, is that women are not getting the clitoral stimulation they need. And cultural messages about the supremacy of intercourse feed into this. Indeed, countless films, <a href="https://hellogiggles.com/tv-shows-women-orgasm/">TV shows</a>, books and plays portray women <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2017.1332152?casa_token=902PI2QuMXYAAAAA%3AYh7bCZV7QyaAja715u13wPWv-F3aZkcS6R0gVJDlVag8lD9JG_FsHOvxl4_EnW_rISFvNNAj6UI">orgasming from intercourse alone</a>. </p>
<p>Popular men’s <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a19523926/4-sex-positions-that-guarantee-her-orgasm/">magazines</a> also give advice on intercourse positions to bring women to orgasm. And while some of the positions do include clitoral stimulation, the message is still that intercourse is the central and most important sexual act.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women in bed together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541031/original/file-20230803-29-pvbxh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are much more likely to orgasm from same-sex encounters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-two-women-1215709/"> pixels/mahrael boutros</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The language used in these articles – and in the culture as a whole – reflects and perpetuates this overvaluing of intercourse. We use the words “sex” and “intercourse” as if they are the same. We relegate the clitoral stimulation that comes before intercourse as “foreplay”, implying it is a lesser form of sex. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-020-00237-9">Multiple studies</a> have demonstrated that such messages give the idea that sex should proceed as follows: foreplay (just to get the woman ready for intercourse), intercourse, male orgasm and sex over. In this version of sex, it’s the man’s job to “give” a woman an orgasm by lasting a long time and thrusting hard. </p>
<p>No wonder <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2017.1283484">research</a> finds that men feel more masculine when their partner orgasms during intercourse. And, it’s no surprise that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-013-0212-z">women fake orgasms</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224490903171794">primarily during intercourse</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2013.838934">to protect their partner’s egos</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, studies suggest that between <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-013-0212-z">53%</a> to <a href="https://journals.ekb.eg/article_29394.html">85%</a> of women admit to faking an orgasm. Some <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-019-01510-2">research</a> indicates that the majority of women have faked at least once in their lifetime.</p>
<h2>Closing the gap</h2>
<p>There is hope though, because given that cultural factors are responsible for the orgasm gap, changing how we view sex and intercourse will help to improve women’s sexual experiences. Indeed, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886919305604?via%3Dihub">educating</a> people on the fact that women don’t have a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iaXrAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA99&ots=etC2y_CwaZ&sig=7SzjXzrkutfYuPnB9YIGeIHmnBE#v=onepage&q&f=false">limited biological capacity for orgasm</a> is important. Likewise, education for both men and women about the clitoris could be a game-changer. </p>
<p>Still, such knowledge alone is unlikely to close the orgasm gap on a personal level. According to a chapter in a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Practice-Sex-Therapy-Sixth/dp/1462543391/ref=sr_1_5?crid=ZODK2JIGHTZO&keywords=Sex+therapy&qid=1689803436&sprefix=sex+therapy+%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840">sex therapy textbook</a>, women need skills to put this knowledge into practice. This means women must be encouraged to masturbate to learn what they want sexually. And this needs to be coupled with training in communication so they can share this information with partners. </p>
<p>Women need to feel entitled to pleasure and empowered to get the same type of stimulation alone as with a partner. This means heterosexual couples’ must rid themselves of the old script that calls for foreplay followed by intercourse after which sex is over.</p>
<p>Instead, they can take turns having orgasms using oral sex or manual stimulation where she orgasms followed by intercourse. Alternatively, women can touch themselves with hands or a vibrator during intercourse. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19453881/">Research</a> shows that women who use vibrators have more orgasms. And because many women worry about how they look during sex or if they are pleasing their partner, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31570137/">research</a> shows that mindfulness can help, too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Vibrators and sex toys on pink background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541032/original/file-20230803-27-d46oqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are more likely to experience orgasms when using a vibrator.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/sex-toys-5187378/"> Pexels/anna shvets</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But orgasm equality is about so much more than quality sex. Multiple women have told me that once they felt empowered in the bedroom, they were more confident in the rest of their life. </p>
<p>Importantly, according to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0361684320917395?casa_token=Vy8RNRR1p_oAAAAA%3A47r5DQh2M1CkFNZxj4i0kiH6bobsX8JgyNY7xxbXdifhnoQkbuOOlgda1DRP6kAaSl4V2SUioOk">one study</a>, feeling entitled to pleasure increases a woman’s agency in telling partners what they want sexually and their agency in protecting themselves sexually. </p>
<p>Indeed, the study found that feeling entitled to sexual pleasure increased women’s confidence in both refusing to do sexual acts they were not comfortable with and using protection against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. </p>
<p>According to another <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305320">article</a> on sex education and pleasure by two US health researchers, when young people learn that sex should be pleasurable, they may be less likely to use it in manipulative and harmful ways. So teaching that sex is about pleasure for both partners, rather than something done to women for men’s pleasure, might also help to decrease levels of sexual violence. </p>
<p>Clearly, teaching about women’s pleasure will do more than increase orgasm rates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Mintz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women have fewer orgasms than men. But this gap is cultural, not biological. Closing it is possible, both on a societal and personal level.Laurie Mintz, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113052023-08-13T13:32:58Z2023-08-13T13:32:58ZBarbie: 5 ways to be more like Allan than Ken<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542417/original/file-20230811-27-wzoqet.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C5%2C1914%2C902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Barbie movie has a lot of folks upset about the patriarchy. Here Barbie (Margot Robbie) referees a standoff between two Kens (Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling). Ken's friend, Allan (not shown) is depicted in the film as a more suitable ally. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Warner Bros.)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/barbie-5-ways-to-be-more-like-allan-than-ken" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><em>Barbie</em> is this summer’s hit movie, breaking all kinds of records at the box office. Many, including myself and family — as well as Canada’s prime minister and son — dressed in pink to watch a team of live-action Barbies confront the patriarchy. </p>
<p>The film has caused a media storm, even before <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/so-glad-i-m-not-canadian-piers-morgan-mocks-justin-trudeau-after-pm-shares-photo/article_f6bdbba9-9ec1-58ef-a1d5-32a2067e3ae3.html">the photo of the pink-clad Justin Trudeau and his son circulated on social media</a>. Much of the conversation about <em>Barbie</em> zoned in on men and masculinity.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1688265604799574016"}"></div></p>
<p>First, the frequent use of the word patriarchy by the Barbies in the film upset some commentators. They claim the film is <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/07/22/barbie-attacked-right-wingers-anti-man-feminist-trash/">“anti-male.”</a> </p>
<p>Conservative British journalist <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9882650/kitchener-mayor-piers-morgan-justin-trudeau-twitter/">Piers Morgan responded to the photo of Trudeau with son, both dressed in pink,</a> with a tweet saying “so glad I’m not Canadian” (to which many Canadians responded, “we’re glad too”). </p>
<p>Of course, others argue <a href="https://columbiachronicle.com/op-ed-new-barbie-movie-is-honest-not-man-hating"><em>Barbie</em> didn’t go far enough</a> in its critique of the patriarchy. </p>
<p>If you have not seen the film, Barbie and Ken live in a woman-centered (plastic) world until they accidentally find the real world. Once there, they have to confront the reality of patriarchy. Ken (played by Ryan Gosling), finds the “real world” empowering. He became “super cool” donning a big fur coat, showing off his rippling muscles and abs and adding ubiquitous horse motifs to his home. </p>
<p>The strong independent Barbies, however, suddenly find themselves in subservient roles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Ken in a striped shirt waves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541981/original/file-20230809-15-b42ojv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Allan (played by Michael Cera) is Ken’s friend who shows up for the Barbies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Warner Bros.)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, Allan, Ken’s best friend (played by Michael Cera), remains his helpful, quiet self. Although <a href="https://mashable.com/article/barbie-allan-michael-cera">seen as awkward by some</a>, he is clearly an audience favourite. Requests for the Allan doll <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/barbie-allan-doll-price_n_64c01cb2e4b093f07cb637ec">have spiked</a> and many have <a href="https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931753/allan-doll-michael-cera-greta-gerwig-barbie-movie-review">called for men to be more like Allan</a>.</p>
<p>Ken, in the end, learns he doesn’t need to be the macho man and he is “Kenough” as he is. That is, he is OK with leaving the patriarchy behind.</p>
<p>Can men in the real world follow Ken’s lead? Can we stop trying to prove we are manly men, and instead be “Kenough?” Can we aspire to be more like Ken’s best friend, Allan — a more suitable ally to women? </p>
<p>And crucially: How do we know if we are more like Ken or Allan? </p>
<h2>What does allyship look like?</h2>
<p>Although not exactly the same, this concept of how to be more like Allan — or an “ally to women” — was basically the topic of my most recent collaborative study. My research focuses on white men’s allyship looking at anti-racism, anti-colonization and gender justice.</p>
<p>I spent the past five years working with the <a href="http://www.Albertamen.com">Alberta Men’s Network</a> and the <a href="http://www.aniw.org">Alberta Network of Immigrant Women</a> to look at white men’s allyship.</p>
<p>I worked with a group of diverse study advisers. Together, they <a href="http://www.albertamen.com/toolkits-1/2023/5/10/community-leaders-perspectives-on-white-mens-allyship-infographic-series">developed a curriculum to teach white men about allyship.</a> </p>
<p>The study included the wisdom and guidance of community leader’s expectations of allyship and also white men who shared their experiences of what it was like to try to become an ally.</p>
<p>Those white men aiming to achieve allyship shared their starting points and experiences. They all spoke about struggling with the expectations of being a man. </p>
<p>Some also spoke about being bullied and not wanting anyone to experience that kind of pain. Those that had been bullies in the past talked about experiencing intense regrets. </p>
<p>Many of the men identified a turning point that changed their lives and put them on a path toward allyship. For some, it was learning about patriarchy in university. For others, it was hearing the stories of people who faced oppression and marginalization that challenged their view of the world as a meritocracy. In this way, they began to make commitments to human rights and social justice.</p>
<p>For all of them, the work they did was helped along by women, who took the time and energy to mentor them.</p>
<p>If you are struggling with whether you are a Ken or an Allan, here are five questions to ask yourself.</p>
<h2>Are you a Ken or an Allan?</h2>
<p>1) <strong>How do I act with the group I want to ally with?</strong></p>
<p>How and why are you joining a group? What kinds of things should I be doing in the group? How can I be open to learning from critique and feedback? </p>
<p>For example, in the <em>Barbie</em> movie, Allan shared why he was motivated to help Barbie. Allan helped the Barbie’s plans, but he didn’t come in and take over. </p>
<p>Also, accept that you will inevitably say the wrong thing. Just learn from it and keep showing up when it gets uncomfortable.</p>
<p>2) <strong>How do I act with other allies?</strong> </p>
<p>Refrain from being competitive with other allies. Instead, create safe groups to support each other and share what you are learning. </p>
<p>3) <strong>How do I act within organizations of power?</strong> </p>
<p>Do you defend them? Do you simply think about making them more “diverse-friendly,” or do you listen to women and marginalized people and support what they are doing? For example, what should Allan do when Mattel offers him the position of Executive VP of Barbie Inclusion?</p>
<p>4) <strong>How do I act in my relationships with people who are not committed to justice and challenging the patriarchy?</strong> </p>
<p>Building relationships takes time. Everyone needs some space to learn and grow. Can you put in the work to help Ken’s become “Kenough?”</p>
<p>5) <strong>Can I be accountable for changing how I behave?</strong> </p>
<p>What is your relationship to your masculinity? Like Ken at the end of the movie, can you become “Kenough” and be open to what women have to say? Can you critique masculinity, and what it means for injustice in the world? Can you support the goal of equality?</p>
<p>If you’re a man, you can do all this while looking cool. Just do the work, don’t be a jerk. Strive to become “Kenough,” or an Allan, and follow Barbie, women and others who are marginalized in the fight to overthrow patriarchy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Halvorsen receives funding from MITACS and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Halvorsen is also an active member of the Alberta Men's Network and consultant with the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women.</span></em></p>The Barbie movie has caused a media storm, even before the photo of the pink-clad Canadian PM and his son circulated on social media. Much of the conversation has zoned in on men and masculinity.Jeff Halvorsen, Post-Doctoral Associate, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2087322023-07-10T12:28:24Z2023-07-10T12:28:24ZWhy guys who post a lot on social media are seen as less manly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535898/original/file-20230705-21-31qp4g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C54%2C6028%2C4143&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do men post less often on social media because they fear being judged as effeminate?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/guycellphonebench-royalty-free-illustration/1384045726?adppopup=true">A-Digit/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For better or worse, much of life is categorized along gendered lines: Clothing stores have sections for men and women, certain foods are considered <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-steak-became-manly-and-salads-became-feminine-124147">more manly or more feminine</a>, and even drinks can take on a gendered sheen (“<a href="https://thesuburbansoapbox.com/the-manmosa-recipe/">manmosa</a>,” anyone?). </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2022-0883">Our newly published research</a> finds that even social media is a canvas for rigid gender stereotyping.</p>
<p>Specifically, we show that men who post often on social media are seen as feminine, a phenomenon we refer to as the “frequent-posting femininity stereotype.” We observed this bias in four experiments featuring over 1,300 respondents from the U.S. and U.K.</p>
<h2>To post is to be seen as unmanly</h2>
<p>As consumer behavior researchers, we have long been interested in the contradictions, peculiarities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029826">and restrictions</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/upshot/gender-stereotypes-survey-girls-boys.html">associated with masculinity</a>.</p>
<p>These dynamics have far-reaching implications in the world of marketing. It is widely known, for example, that Coke Zero was created as an alternative to Diet Coke, a product that men notoriously shied away from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/11/13/gender-contamination-why-men-prefer-products-untouched-by-women/?sh=4df9d0898f0b">for its perceived ties to women who wanted to lose weight</a>. There’s even a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/711758">tendency for people to think it is unmanly to sleep more</a>, because needing rest is connected to being weak and vulnerable. </p>
<p>We thought about how some of these notions might come into play on social media. Polling data suggests that men and women use social media platforms in very different ways: For example, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/?tabId=tab-45b45364-d5e4-4f53-bf01-b77106560d4c">men tend to be on fewer platforms overall</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/why-are-more-women-than-men-on-instagram/485993/">don’t post as often as women on apps like Instagram</a>.</p>
<p>We wondered if gender biases had anything to do with why. Are men judged harshly when they share on social media?</p>
<p>To test this question, we ran a series of experiments in which respondents were asked to evaluate a “normal, average, ordinary” man who either frequently or rarely posts on social media. To provide a more concrete picture, we described the man as someone who posts online for fun and has a moderate number of followers. </p>
<p>Respondents consistently rated the man as more feminine when he was described as a frequent social media poster. This was true regardless of assumptions made about the man’s age, education, wealth and preferred social media platform. We also controlled for the gender, age, political beliefs and social media use of the people who participated in the study.</p>
<p>Notably, we used an identical scenario to describe a woman’s posting behavior – and post frequency had no effect on how feminine people thought she was.</p>
<h2>An aversion to appearing needy</h2>
<p>What, then, explains this somewhat unusual effect? </p>
<p>We discovered that anyone who frequently posts, regardless of their gender, comes across as a person who seeks attention and validation. But this projected sense of neediness only translates to perceived femininity in men. </p>
<p>This makes sense. After all, research has shown that <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0029826">rejecting femininity is crucial to conventional notions of manhood</a>, while avoiding masculinity is not necessarily crucial to conventional womanhood. Indeed, ads, TV shows, movies and music continue to reinforce ideas that men be resolutely <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029826">stoic and self-sufficient</a>. Our results indicate that by posting frequently online, men come across as the opposite.</p>
<p>Not only that, but the “frequent-posting femininity stereotype” effect turned out to be even more stubborn than we expected. </p>
<p>Two of our experiments attempted, but ultimately failed, to curb this bias. </p>
<p>First, we examined whether men were judged differently when sharing content about others as opposed to themselves – the idea being that this form of posting behavior would come across as considerate and not as validation-seeking. Second, we examined whether male influencers – who post largely for professional reasons – faced the same stereotype. </p>
<p>In both cases – and to our surprise – frequent posting caused participants to see these social media users as more feminine.</p>
<h2>Broadening the definition of manhood</h2>
<p>There’s a lot we don’t know about this unique prejudice.</p>
<p>For example, it’s unclear to what degree the frequent-posting femininity stereotype affects how men are judged in different cultures. While men around the world <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00390-1">are often considered less masculine when they appear needy</a>, our research only included participants from the U.K. and U.S. </p>
<p>Just as critical: How can the connection between frequent posting and femininity be broken altogether? Our research suggests that this link is durable and reflects persistent gender dynamics. </p>
<p>Still, it’s worth exploring how platforms can curb this prejudice through their design. For example, <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-bereal-app-how-does-it-work-2022-4">BeReal</a> is an app that prompts users to quickly share an unedited photo snapshot of what they’re doing at a random time throughout the day. Functions like these seem to emphasize authenticity, routine and community. Is this the recipe that’s needed to change the association between posting and validation-seeking?</p>
<p>Notably, men are experiencing <a href="https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/">historic rates of social isolation</a> and facing <a href="https://ofboysandmen.substack.com/p/some-news-i-cant-wait-to-share">dire mental health consequences</a>. This health crisis is likely exacerbated by pervasive biases that make men <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01297-y">feel like they can’t talk about their problems or ask for help</a>. The frequent-posting femininity stereotype reveals another instance in which men are judged for attempting to express themselves and build social connections.</p>
<p>As New York Times correspondent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/upshot/gender-stereotypes-survey-girls-boys.html">Claire Cain Miller wrote</a> in 2018, there are “many ways to be a girl but one way to be a boy,” both in Western cultures and around the world. </p>
<p>What will it take for that rigid definition of manhood to be broadened?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows that frequent posters appear needy, which pushes up against the expectation that ‘real men’ be stoic and self-sufficient.Andrew Edelblum, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of DaytonNathan B. Warren, Assistant Professor of Marketing, BI Norwegian Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2068692023-06-16T03:37:43Z2023-06-16T03:37:43ZDoes it matter if you sit or stand to pee? And what about peeing in the shower?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532080/original/file-20230614-29-n8jj3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1000%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-young-caucasian-man-using-his-656574232">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you sit or stand? That is the question about <a href="https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/0l6u6ha4yz/YouGov%20-%20Sit%20down%20urination%20men%20international.pdf">7,000 men</a> around the world <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2023/05/16/where-world-are-men-most-likely-sit-down-wee">have been asked</a> about how they pee.</p>
<p>We’ll get to their answers soon. But the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/urologist-reveals-men-are-emptying-their-bladders-wrong/news-story/b3a86aeab9cc97825554dfef5b28a7f0">media interest</a> that followed prompted one urologist <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/the-health-benefits-of-sitting-down-to-pee/">to recommend</a> some men sit to urinate, especially as they age.</p>
<p>What is the best way to urinate? Does that apply to women? We research the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21688370.2022.2099214?journalCode=ktib20">bladder</a> and <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00441.2022">lower urinary tract</a>. Here’s what the evidence says.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-can-your-doctor-tell-from-your-urine-74990">Health Check: what can your doctor tell from your urine?</a>
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</p>
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<h2>Do most men stand to pee?</h2>
<p>The survey found men in different countries differ in how they pee. </p>
<p>In Germany, 40% of men report sitting while they pee every time, as do 25% of Australians. In the United States, it’s just 10%. </p>
<p>Some people even view <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/1/1174/1281.1">standing to pee</a> as “superior” and sitting inferior. In German, the word <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sitzpinkler">Sitzpinkler</a> means
someone who sits to pee; it can also be used as an insult.</p>
<p>But habits may be changing. In Australia, for instance, the survey found younger men are more likely to sit down than older men. Some 36% of younger men sit down most or every time, while only 20% of men aged 55 and older report doing so.</p>
<h2>So should men stand or sit?</h2>
<p><strong>When it doesn’t matter</strong></p>
<p>In general, the literature suggests it <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101320">doesn’t matter</a> if a healthy man stands or sits when he pees.</p>
<p>Regardless of the position, there seems to be no difference in the time taken to pee, the flow rate, and how completely the bladder is emptied.</p>
<p>So long as there are no urinary concerns, men are free to choose their preferred position. If you chose to stand, just be sure to aim well.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-urine-sterile-do-urine-therapies-work-experts-debunk-common-pee-myths-191862">Is urine sterile? Do urine 'therapies' work? Experts debunk common pee myths</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>When it can</strong></p>
<p>Recommendations for sitting or standing become less clear for men with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nau.24839">lower urinary tract symptoms</a>. These include issues such as having poor stream (for example, a dribble rather than a steady flow of urine), straining while urinating or feeling the bladder has not <a href="https://www.ics.org/committees/standardisation/terminologydiscussions/feelingofincompletebladderemptying">completely emptied</a> after finishing.</p>
<p>For some of these men <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101320">sitting</a> is preferred to help increase the flow and empty the bladder. Others find the same relief comes from standing.</p>
<p>For men with <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/news/novembers-all-about-mens-health-so-whats-bph-anyway">benign prostatic hyperplasia</a>, otherwise known as an enlarged prostate, there is evidence <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7361486/">standing</a> may help fully empty the bladder. But this advice may not work for all. That’s because how much the prostate has become enlarged, and the impact this has on urinary flow, can be different between people.</p>
<p>As standing or sitting <em>can</em> matter, for some men, it’s worth having a chat with your doctor about what’s best for you.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-men-really-take-longer-to-poo-152233">Do men really take longer to poo?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about women?</h2>
<p>The structure of the female pelvic area is quite different to males, as it accommodates the vagina, uterus and reproductive structures. And the female anatomy is just not designed to pee standing up. So, making a habit of, say, peeing in the shower, is not advised.</p>
<p>Females do not have a prostate, which helps supports the male bladder while standing. This lack of support can place extra strain on the bladder region when not sitting down, making it harder for the bladder to fully empty.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of female pelvic floor muscles and urinary tract" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When standing, women’s pelvic floor muscles don’t relax properly, so their bladder may not fully empty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/female-pelvic-floor-labeled-157672304">Alila Medical Media/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The structure of the <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/about-continence/continence-health/pelvic-floor">pelvic floor</a> muscles are also different in females. For females, it is particularly important to allow these muscles to fully relax to allow the urine to flow freely.</p>
<p>If the bladder doesn’t <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/types-incontinence/urinary-incontinence/chronic-urinary-retention">empty fully</a>, it can lead to increased infections, bladder stones, and even impact kidney health in the long term.</p>
<p>Even with one leg up, the pelvic floor does not rest properly, so the bladder may not be able to fully empty. As such, sitting down is usually the best position to let these muscles relax.</p>
<p>Standing and “hovering” over the loo may keep these muscles slightly constricted, making it hard to fully empty the bladder. A contracted pelvic floor can also cause the urine to spray more than usual, which is why you might often find drops of urine on a toilet seat after someone before you has tried to hover over it.</p>
<h2>How about peeing in the shower?</h2>
<p>Peeing in the shower not only makes it harder for your muscles to relax, it can be unhygienic. It might also cause an association between water and urination, leading to issues where hearing water might make you need to rush to the bathroom.</p>
<p>So, for both males and females, peeing in the shower is a clear no-no.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you or someone you know has bladder or bowel issues, the Continence Foundation of Australia has <a href="https://www.continence.org.au">online resources</a> and a <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/get-support/who-can-help/national-continence-helpline">helpline</a> (1800 33 00 66).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The recent survey confirmed what many people think – men prefer to stand when peeing. But is that the best way?Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond UniversityCharlotte Phelps, PhD Candidate, Health Science and Medicine, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2038342023-04-20T20:02:00Z2023-04-20T20:02:00ZLike father, like son: new research shows how young men ‘copy’ their fathers’ masculinity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521992/original/file-20230420-3111-6zjdof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6699%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today’s men express their maleness in different ways. Some adhere to more traditional models of masculinity, characterised by beliefs in male superiority and endorsement of risky or violent behaviours. Others embrace more progressive stances.</p>
<p>But how do men develop their ideas, beliefs and behaviours in relation to masculinity?</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-023-01364-y">new study</a> addresses this question by focusing on one important factor influencing how young men express their masculinity – their fathers.</p>
<p>Our research set out to ask: do young men “copy” their fathers’ masculinity?</p>
<p>We found that young men whose fathers support more traditional forms of masculinity are more likely to do so themselves.</p>
<p>This highlights the critical role fathers play in steering boys towards healthier ideas about masculinity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-a-real-man-most-australians-believe-outdated-ideals-of-masculinity-are-holding-men-back-147847">Who is a real man? Most Australians believe outdated ideals of masculinity are holding men back</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Measuring masculinity</h2>
<p>We analysed data from 839 pairs of 15-to-20-year-old men and their fathers. These data were taken from a large, Australian <a href="https://tentomen.org.au/">national survey</a> on men’s health. </p>
<p>The survey asked men a set of 22 <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ft27381-000">scientifically validated questions</a> about how they felt and behaved in relation to many issues around masculinity. For example, they were asked about:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the significance of work and social status for their sense of identity</p></li>
<li><p>their take on showing emotions and being self-reliant</p></li>
<li><p>their endorsement of risk-taking and violent behaviours</p></li>
<li><p>the importance they assigned to appearing heterosexual and having multiple sex partners</p></li>
<li><p>and their beliefs about winning, dominance over others and men’s power over women.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Taken together, the answers to these questions offered us a window into whether the men participating in the survey adopted more of a traditional or progressive type of masculinity. They also enabled us to compare fathers’ and sons’ expressions of masculinity.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1611118336385110017"}"></div></p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We found that, on average, young men are slightly more traditional in how they express their masculinity than their fathers.</p>
<p>On a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating high conformity to traditional masculinity and 0 indicating low conformity, the average masculinity score for young men was 44.1, and for their fathers, it was 41.</p>
<p>Using statistical models, we then examined whether there was an association between how traditional a father’s masculinity is and how traditional their son’s masculinity is. To make sure we isolated the effect of fathers’ masculinity, the models took into account other factors that may also shape young men’s expressions of masculinity. These included their age, education, sexual orientation, religion, household income and place of residence, among others.</p>
<p>The results were clear. Young men who scored highly on the traditional masculinity measures tended to have fathers who also scored highly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521414/original/file-20230417-14-rydizx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The red dots denote the size of the association between the fathers’ and sons’ scores. The further away from zero, the stronger the association.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-023-01364-y#citeas">Francisco Perales et al, Sex Roles, Springer Nature</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We identified similar results for 20 of the 22 individual masculinity questions. The strongest father-son associations emerged for questions about the endorsement of violence, importance of appearing heterosexual, and desirability of having multiple sexual partners.</p>
<p>This indicates these aspects of masculinity are comparatively more likely to be “passed on” from fathers to sons.</p>
<h2>What our findings mean</h2>
<p>As is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X21000740?via%3Dihub">well-established</a>, social learning is important in shaping young people’s attitudes and behaviours. While fathers aren’t the only influence, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-023-01364-y">our study</a> suggests young men learn a lot about how to be a man from their dads. This is an intuitive finding, but we had little empirical evidence of it until now.</p>
<p>Confirming that dads “pass on” their masculinity beliefs to their sons has far-reaching implications. For example, it goes a long way in explaining why traditional models of masculinity remain entrenched in today’s society. Our study indicates that breaking this cycle requires bringing fathers into the mix.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-draw-of-the-manosphere-understanding-andrew-tates-appeal-to-lost-men-199179">The draw of the 'manosphere': understanding Andrew Tate's appeal to lost men</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Policies, interventions and programs aimed at promoting <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216955">healthy masculinity</a> among young people are more likely to work if they also target their dads. This proposition is consistent with a growing body of programs focused on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31495253/">engaging fathers</a> in positive parenting.</p>
<p>What’s more, our findings underscore the potential long-term effects of successful intervention. If a program manages to help young people develop <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Adolescent-Boys-and-Young-Men-final-web_0.pdf">positive masculinity</a>, it’s likely that — as they themselves become fathers — their own children’s masculinity is also positively affected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203834/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella Kuskoff receives funding from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Project ID CE200100025). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Flood has received funding from the AFL, Australia Institute, Australian Research Council, Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute Foundation, BHP, Department of Defence, Diversity Council of Australia, Human Rights Commission, Jesuit Social Services, NAPCAN, NRL, Our Watch, PwC, UNWomen, Victorian Government, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, White Ribbon Australia, and World Health Organization.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tania King receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DE200100607 & LP180100035)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francisco Perales does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is an intuitive finding, but we had little empirical evidence of it until now. It highlights the critical role fathers play in steering boys towards healthier expressions of masculinity.Francisco Perales, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Social Science, The University of QueenslandElla Kuskoff, Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, The University of QueenslandMichael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of TechnologyTania King, Associate professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981182023-04-13T15:17:09Z2023-04-13T15:17:09ZPlanning for a baby? Why both men and women should consider quitting alcohol before and during pregnancy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520784/original/file-20230413-14-lfsl69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C57%2C5390%2C3571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You might want to make booze a thing of the past.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/positive-multiethnic-couple-drinking-wine-with-guests-5876657/">pexels/monstera</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a couple is planning on having a baby, it’s often the woman who is seen as responsible for the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749379716000660#bib8">health of the unborn child</a>. </p>
<p>In the UK, the chief medical officer’s <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545937/UK_CMOs__report.pdf">drinking guidelines</a> recommend that women should abstain from alcohol consumption during pregnancy. This is because it’s known to increase the risk of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31194258/">miscarriage</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/foetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder/">foetal alcohol spectrum disorders</a> (FASD). </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-foetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders-could-be-a-hidden-epidemic-52835">FASD</a> is an umbrella term used to describe a range of emotional, behavioural, developmental and learning challenges that are linked to a baby’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/up-to-17-of-children-in-the-uk-could-have-symptoms-of-foetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-according-to-latest-estimates-107649">exposure to alcohol</a> while in the womb.</p>
<p>The guidelines also recommend that if you’re planning to become pregnant, the safest approach is <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-risks-of-light-drinking-in-pregnancy-confirms-that-abstention-is-the-safest-approach-83753">not to drink</a> at all to minimise the risks to your pregnancy.</p>
<p>But evidence from large surveys shows that not all women stop drinking before pregnancy – whether the pregnancy was intended or not. In a 2017 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28277356/">study</a> of 5,036 women in the US, the prevalence of alcohol consumption before pregnancy was similar between those with intended (55%) and unintended pregnancies (56%). </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-important-things-you-should-have-learned-in-sex-ed-but-probably-didnt-202177">Five important things you should have learned in sex ed – but probably didn’t</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/mens-fertility-also-declines-with-age-heres-what-to-know-if-youre-planning-to-wait-to-have-kids-187498">Men’s fertility also declines with age — here’s what to know if you’re planning to wait to have kids</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-research-can-teach-us-about-having-better-sex-according-to-a-sex-therapist-199360">Five things research can teach us about having better sex, according to a sex therapist</a></em></strong></p>
<hr>
<p>In another 2015 <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aogs.12816">study</a> of 3,390 Swedish women, weekly alcohol consumption was not significantly different between women with a “very planned pregnancy” (11%) compared with women with a “very unplanned pregnancy” (14%). </p>
<p>And a 2013 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13625187.2013.851183">survey</a> of 258 Danish women found that although 77% of their pregnancies were “very” or “fairly well planned”, one out of five reported binge drinking early in the pregnancy. Among women with unplanned pregnancies, this rose to one out of three.</p>
<p>But while the focus tends to be on a woman’s relationship with alcohol before and during pregnancy, an increasing amount of evidence indicates that men’s alcohol use also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749379716000660#bib8">plays a role</a> when it comes to the health of the baby. </p>
<p>Indeed, alcohol can <a href="https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(08)02037-1/fulltext">affect sperm DNA</a>, in some cases reducing <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mens-damaged-sperm-could-play-significant-role-in-recurrent-miscarriage-109683">fertility</a> and the potential to conceive. </p>
<h2>Why stop drinking?</h2>
<p>Better health outcomes for babies <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/729018/Making_the_case_for_preconception_care.pdf">begin before conception</a>, with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4293222/">clear links established</a> between the health of men and women before pregnancy and the health of their offspring. </p>
<p>Research shows that if couples are trying to conceive, it makes sense for them both to quit the booze <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/03/health/dads-trying-to-conceive-stop-drinking-wellness/index.html">at least six months before pregnancy</a>. This helps to reduce the risk of potential negative outcomes for the baby such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2047487319874530?journalCode=cprc">congenital heart disease</a>.</p>
<p>It also has <a href="https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/how-to-reduce-your-drinking/the-benefits-of-drinking-less">benefits</a> for the <a href="https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/32647/1/R-de-Visser-Dry-January-evaluation-2019.pdf">expectant parents</a>, such as better sleep quality, increased energy, and enhanced concentration levels.</p>
<p>Research has also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379716000660#bib8">found</a> that if a couple lives together and the male partner drinks, there is a higher chance that the woman will drink alcohol before and during the pregnancy.</p>
<p>One of the reasons why this might be the case is explored in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1757975912441225">another study</a> where women said that drinking with a partner, whether before or during pregnancy, provided a sense of social connection.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pregnant woman holding belly." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515255/original/file-20230314-3238-lcctzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s best to avoid alcohol altogether if you are wanting to conceive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/smiling-pregnant-woman-caressing-tummy-in-house-room-5427247/">Pexels/Amina Filkins</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The period before pregnancy, known as preconception, is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5975952/pdf/emss-77899.pdf">window of opportunity</a> for would-be parents to improve their health and increase their likelihood of conceiving. And <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/729018/Making_the_case_for_preconception_care.pdf">alcohol consumption</a> should be thought about as part of this. </p>
<p>As part of our recent research, we <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772653322000405?via=ihub">reviewed the literature</a> exploring people’s and health professionals’ views about information and support for reducing drinking in the period before getting pregnant. </p>
<p>We found that women were aware that lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol can affect their pregnancy and increase the risk of poor outcomes for the baby. But there was a notable lack of awareness of the importance of men reducing their alcohol consumption when planning for pregnancy, too. </p>
<p>Indeed, men <a href="https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/26/2/196.full.pdf">don’t usually go to clinics</a> to get information about preconception health, as this is usually left to the woman. </p>
<h2>Quit together</h2>
<p>While there is some indication that men, as well as women, are open to changing their drinking behaviour when planning for pregnancy, our literature review found that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877575617300940?via=ihub">very few studies</a> have explored men’s or partners’ views on preconception health.</p>
<p>And while there are promising results from interventions and approaches aimed at enhancing preconception health in men and women, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877575617300940?via=ihub">alcohol screening</a> followed by counselling and health education on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877575617300940?via=ihub">changing behaviour</a>, there’s still not enough emphasis placed on men’s health at the preconception stage. This needs to change because, as the research shows, a baby’s health is influenced by both mum and dad. </p>
<p>So if you are considering trying for a baby, now could be the time for both partners to set new goals and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/drinking-alcohol-while-pregnant/">cut down on drinking</a> together. And if you’re concerned about the amount you drink, or are dependent on alcohol, you should get <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-misuse/treatment/">professional advice and support</a> on cutting down safely.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Other Quarter Life articles you may be interested in:</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ivf-add-ons-why-you-should-be-cautious-of-these-expensive-procedures-if-youre-trying-to-conceive-180198">IVF add-ons: why you should be cautious of these expensive procedures if you’re trying to conceive</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/anxiety-can-lead-to-erection-problems-in-young-men-but-reaching-for-viagra-isnt-always-the-solution-191980">Anxiety can lead to erection problems in young men – but reaching for Viagra isn’t always the solution</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-are-drinking-less-heres-an-alternative-to-try-on-your-next-night-out-197465">Young people are drinking less – here’s an alternative to try on your next night out</a></em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>We would like to thank Lisa Schölin, Queens Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh; Andrea Hilton, Department of Paramedical, Perioperative and Advanced Practice, University of Hull and Anand Ahankari, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey who are part of the research team and helped with writing and reviewing this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lesley Smith received funding from the National Institute of Health Research, The Institute of Alcohol Studies, the former Alcohol Research UK (now Alcohol Change UK) and The Joseph Rowntree Foundation for alcohol-related research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jayne Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cutting down on alcohol consumption before pregnancy can benefit the health of both men, women and their baby.Lolita Alfred, Lecturer in Mental Health, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City, University of LondonJayne Walker, Senior lecturer| Professional Lead. School of Paramedical, Peri-Operative and Advanced Practice. Faculty of Health Sciences., University of HullLesley Smith, Professor of Women's Public Health, Institute of Clinical and Applied Health Research, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1995312023-02-24T17:19:47Z2023-02-24T17:19:47ZThe art of balding: a brief history of hairless men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509817/original/file-20230213-16-23xyos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C19%2C737%2C724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Man With a Tankard, by Frans van Mieris the Younger (1739).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/1674">The Fitzwilliam Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Balding is really common, affecting more than <a href="https://www.alopecia.org.uk/androgenetic-alopecia-pattern-hair-loss">50% of men</a>. It’s also physically inconsequential (bald men live just as long as haired men). So why, in his memoir <a href="https://theconversation.com/prince-harry-early-leaks-came-from-a-spanish-translation-causing-confusion-about-what-was-really-said-198556">Spare</a>, does Prince Harry refer to his brother’s baldness as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/prince-harry-william-alarming-baldness-diana-resemblance-spare-memoir-1771856">“alarming”</a>?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A balding man working at a loom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509504/original/file-20230210-22-74qj84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Ancient Egyptian depiction of a balding man.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000000DCF8#?cv=1152&c=0&m=0&s=0&xywh=-1869%2C-705%2C5031%2C3639">John Gardner Wilkinson / British Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a social psychologist with a special interest in balding (and author of an upcoming book entitled Branding Baldness), I know this didn’t used to be the case – as the presence of balding men in art history demonstrates.</p>
<p>Historically, baldness was treated with neutrality, as a regular part of daily life. In 2019, <a href="https://journals.ekb.eg/article_77625.html">Egyptology professor Samar Kamal</a> found evidence of 122 bald men painted in private Ancient Egyptian tombs, circa 2613 to 525 BC.</p>
<p>Most of these men were visibly aged (their remaining hair was white). They were depicted in varied spheres of Egyptian society, from farming and fishing to sculpting and scribing. </p>
<p>The art suggests that the Ancient Egyptians didn’t treat bald men any differently from their haired peers.</p>
<p>Kamal also observed that the Ancient Egyptians had <a href="https://hairanddeathinancientegypt.com/2013/07/17/hathor-and-baldness-in-ancient-egypt-symbolism/">specific terms for male baldness</a>, included a “baldness line” during mummification, and had different balding hairstyles (e.g. short all over or long at the back).</p>
<h2>Balding men in European paintings</h2>
<p>European art also showcases baldness’s historical ordinariness. Vincent van Gogh’s painting On the Threshold of Eternity (1890) features the balding Dutch pensioner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrianus_Jacobus_Zuyderland">Adrianus Zuyderland</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A painting of an old man in a blue suit sat in a wooden chat. His head is in his hands which reveals his bald head to the viewer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=993&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=993&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509506/original/file-20230210-28-cn8tff.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=993&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vincent van Gogh’s On The Threshold Of Eternity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://krollermuller.nl/en/vincent-van-gogh-sorrowing-old-man-at-eternity-s-gate">Kröller-Müller Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the painting evokes a sense of existential despair, Zuyderland’s baldness is an incidental – even attractive – feature of the artwork. Van Gogh <a href="https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let286/letter.html">described the painting</a> in his letters, writing: “What a fine sight an old working man makes, in his patched bombazine suit with his bald head.”</p>
<p>Zuyderland is not an exception – there are many other bald men featured neutrally in historical art. For example, Dutch Golden Age painter <a href="https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/man-with-a-tankard-5245">Frans van Mieris the Younger’s Man With A Tankard</a> (1793) depicts a bald man contentedly enjoying a pub lunch.</p>
<p>Balding men have also historically been idealised in art. For example, Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese’s 16th-century <a href="https://www.meisterdrucke.ie/kunstwerke/500px/Paolo_Veronese_-_The_Eternal_Father_-_(MeisterDrucke-1196344).jpg">The Eternal Father</a> features a balding God performing an ethereal miracle. </p>
<p>Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (circa 1632) shows multiple balding doctors studying dissection. Impressionist Pierre-August Renoir’s <a href="http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/gallery/807b72cf.html">Portrait of Ambroise Vollard</a> (1908) depicts the eponymous balding art collector.</p>
<p>And there is plenty of other historical evidence to challenge the claim that baldness is “alarming”.</p>
<p>Balding religious figures exist across <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Hair/PuZFAAAAYAAJ?hl=en">almost every faith</a>. There’s Buddha, the Christian saints Jerome and Augustine, and then there are bald deities including the Japanese gods <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fukurokuju">Fukurokuju</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hotei">Hotei</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Six balding doctors gather round to watch a demonstration of a dissection." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509510/original/file-20230210-713-le3eqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt (1632).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/146-the-anatomy-lesson-of-dr-nicolaes-tulp/">The Hague</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Religious and political directives have also promoted baldness. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2011.08.004">ranges from</a> Christian monks’ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsure">tonsure</a>, where hair was grown around a centrally shaved part of the scalp, to the Manchu <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle)">“queue” haircuts</a>, where hair at the back of the head was grown into a long plait while the rest of the head was shaved.</p>
<h2>How baldness became ‘alarming’: advertising and mass media</h2>
<p>The mass marketing of anti-baldness products in the 20th century changed how baldness was seen. It transformed the perception of baldness from a benign aesthetic to a disadvantageous disease in need of “cure”. </p>
<p>Such “cures” ranged from expensive and ineffective “snake oil” products to the regulatory approved formulations that have some (though limited) hair regrowth properties, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/starting-to-thin-out-hair-loss-doesnt-have-to-lead-to-baldness-34984">minoxidil</a>. </p>
<p>The advertising of these products fostered the idea that baldness is alarming. In 2013, sociolinguistics professor <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2013.777596">Kevin Harvey</a> observed that online anti-baldness adverts characterise haired men as attractive, successful and happy. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1WhfB4884wo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Rogaine television advert from 2001.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In contrast, the same adverts promoted the claim that baldness was a disease that severely distressed and disadvantaged men. Adverts for anti-baldness shampoo <a href="https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/suicide-hair-cliff">Renaxil</a>, for example, depicted hair follicles on the verge of suicide. Renaxil bottles are shown extending a hand to save them. </p>
<p>In contemporary mass media, baldness is rarely seen beyond the few actors (such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqynKYDab2w&t=6s">Jason Statham</a>, <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/news/article/2001458020/vin-diesel-named-hottest-bald-man-alive">Vin Diesel</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp9XCwxKPtQ">Bruce Willis</a>) who have made lack of hair their unique selling point. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem5002_7">Research conducted in 2006</a> found that just 3% of 1,356 characters in US popular children’s TV shows were balding. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"518371093694799872"}"></div></p>
<p>In a study I led of 5,000 images of men in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.07.010">popular magazines</a> published between 2011 and 2012, we found that just 8% were balding.</p>
<p>There are also negative stereotypes in many contemporary depictions of baldness. The website <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BaldOfEvil">TV Tropes</a> indicates that bald TV and film characters tend to be <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Bald_Like_Me/aL-KAAAACAAJ?hl=en">villains or aged</a>. <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Bald_Like_Me/aL-KAAAACAAJ?hl=en">Another study</a> found that more than 60% of 1980s TV actors portrayed bald characters who were “ugly”, incompetent or lazy. </p>
<p>Alarm around baldness is even promoted in academic research. Myself and Dr Hannah Frith <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13591053211024724">recently found</a> that about 80% of baldness psychology studies had links to businesses. The studies tended to depict baldness as a disease (77%), and promoted anti-baldness products (60%) without meaningful discussion of their limitations (68%).</p>
<p>Baldness representation matters. Modern depictions in TV, advertising and research sanction the claims that hair loss is a disadvantage and a disease. But a look at the art history of the balding man shows this hasn’t always been the case. Bald men can be healthy, successful and content – just as much as their haired counterparts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glen Jankowski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Historically, baldness was treated with neutrality, as a regular part of daily life. Ancient Egyptians had different balding hairstylesGlen Jankowski, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1991792023-02-12T19:11:50Z2023-02-12T19:11:50ZThe draw of the ‘manosphere’: understanding Andrew Tate’s appeal to lost men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509373/original/file-20230210-26-tt88s5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C5%2C3874%2C1988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mega-influencer Andrew Tate <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-02/andrew-tate-loses-appeal-against-30-day-detention-in-romania/101919940">is once again back in the news</a> as he battles charges of organised crime and human trafficking in Romania.</p>
<p>Tate gained infamy last year after <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62602913">being banned</a> on most major social media platforms for promoting a variety of aggressively misogynistic positions designed to stir controversy and draw attention to his brand.</p>
<p>But while widespread public attention was drawn to Tate only recently, his reputation as a thought leader and “<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/everything-we-know-about-top-g-andrew-tate-his-brother-tristan-1770414">top g</a>” in the online “manosphere” community has been longstanding.</p>
<p>Indeed, Tate’s ability to stoke and exploit the anxieties and grievances driving the manosphere <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-andrew-tate-and-the-107377245/">are unprecedented</a>, and have played a key role in him amassing <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/viral/internet-cant-stop-talking-andrew-tate-tiktok-rcna42744">millions</a> of fans and hundreds of millions of dollars.</p>
<h2>The lure of the ‘manosphere’</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news-blogs/what-is-the-manosphere-and-why-is-it-a-concern">manosphere</a> is an overlapping collection of <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/978-1-83982-254-420211004/full/html">online men’s support communities</a> that have emerged as a response to feminism, female empowerment, and the alienating forces of neoliberalism.</p>
<p>While this is widely understood, a lot less energy has been directed to understanding why and how men are attracted to these extreme communities in the first place.</p>
<p>The manosphere’s appeal can be perplexing, particularly for parents, teachers or friends trying to make sense of how the men in their lives <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/30/whats-the-matter-with-men">suddenly adopt aggressively misogynistic views</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-online-hierarchy-of-credibility-that-fuels-influencers-like-andrew-tate-197292">The online 'hierarchy of credibility' that fuels influencers like Andrew Tate</a>
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<p>But while the community’s content presents deeply concerning perspectives on women, it also offers explanations for, and solutions to, a very real set of issues facing young men. </p>
<p>A tranche of data illustrates these growing challenges. Men <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/08/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion/">are</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/young-men-college-decline-gender-gap-higher-education/620066/">rapidly</a> <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/10/08/the-male-college-crisis-is-not-just-in-enrollment-but-completion/">falling</a> behind in education engagement and outcomes. Rates of young male economic inactivity have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/388440d8-2dc7-4e3f-8107-b4b55edb8c6c">risen considerably</a> over the past two decades. </p>
<p>The intimate relations of young men also appear to be in decline. One report suggests rates of sexual activity have dropped by <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db366.htm">nearly 10%</a> since 2002.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/fef61104-dbe5-4f91-bdb2-fc50f7c55177/Suicide-self-harm-monitoring-Data.pdf.aspx?inline=true">Suicide rates</a> have risen significantly in men in particular over the past decade.</p>
<p>We’re also <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsongreatbritaindata">facing</a> a <a href="https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america">loneliness</a> <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/social-isolation-and-loneliness-covid-pandemic">crisis</a>, which is particularly concentrated in <a href="https://headspace.org.au/our-organisation/media-releases/over-half-of-young-australians-are-lonely-says-new-research/">young people</a> and <a href="https://www.happiness.com/magazine/health-body/male-loneliness-time-bomb-killing-men/">men</a>.</p>
<p>The manosphere appeals to its audience because it speaks to the very real lives of young men under the above factors – romantic rejection, alienation, economic failure, loneliness, and a dim vision of the future.</p>
<p>The major problem lies in its diagnosis of the cause of male disenfranchisement, which fixates on the impacts of feminism. Here it contrasts the growing challenges faced by men with the increasing social, economic and political success experienced by women. This zero-sum claim posits that female empowerment must necessarily equate to male disempowerment, and is evidenced through <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/3/4/43">simplified and pseudoscientific theories</a> of biology and socioeconomics.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1598372253703745536"}"></div></p>
<p>For many young men, their introduction to the manosphere begins not with hatred of women, but with a desire to dispel uncertainty about how the world around them works (and crucially, how relationships work).</p>
<p>The foundations of the manosphere may <a href="https://fastcapitalism.journal.library.uta.edu/index.php/fastcapitalism/article/view/447">not strictly centre on misogyny</a>, as is popularly imagined, but in young men’s search for connection, truth, control and community at a time when all are increasingly ill-defined. </p>
<h2>Profiteering off anxiety</h2>
<p>Since its inception, the manosphere has been rife with predatory influencers seeking to profit off the anxieties unleashed by this ambiguity.</p>
<p>Driven by a desire to reassert a romantic masculine aesthetic ideal in a world of <a href="https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/men-social-media-body-image">social media unrealities</a>, members of the manosphere often become willing consumers of a wide variety of products and services to “solve” their problems. These range from vitamin and gym supplements, personal coaching, self-help courses, and other subscription-based services.</p>
<p>But the influencers aren’t just capitalising on a sense of crisis passively – they actively cultivate it, <a href="https://fastcapitalism.journal.library.uta.edu/index.php/fastcapitalism/article/view/447/524">as our research shows</a>.</p>
<p>Figures like Tate, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and “alpha” strongman Elliott Hulse expend huge amounts of energy and capital fomenting a sense of crisis around these issues, and positioning themselves at the centre. No more clearly was this illustrated than in Tate’s “Hustler’s University”, which created a series of exclusive chat rooms promising men a solution to their fears and centred on Tate’s personage and teachings.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1584163018858168321"}"></div></p>
<p>Such communities solidify the claims made by their leaders, creating feedback loops that contribute to a climate of tension and hysteria. Members are actively encouraged to ridicule those who aren’t willing to acknowledge the “feminist conspiracies” that supposedly underpin the social and political world. Non-believers are seen as contemptible, weak and ignorant, dismissed through an ever-growing newspeak lexicon as “simps”, “cucks” and “betas”.</p>
<p>The community can also be mobilised to spread the message and brand of the influencer to the wider public, <a href="https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/how-andrew-tate-gains-influence-through-his-media-literacy#:%7E:text=After%20getting%20banned%20on%20conventional,his%20ideologies%20on%20these%20platforms.">as demonstrated by Tate</a>.</p>
<p>Having successfully isolated and indoctrinated community members, influencers can then rely on them as a persistent source of support and revenue, allowing them to further reinvest and continue this cycle of growth. This suggests a key way to push back on the wider effects of the manosphere is the targeted disruption of such feedback loops and the prevention of future ones emerging.</p>
<h2>Empathy, patience and support</h2>
<p>Tate and the manosphere didn’t manifest spontaneously. They’re symptoms of a deeper set of challenges young men are facing.</p>
<p>These problems won’t be addressed by simply deplatforming people like Tate. While this may often be necessary in the short term, savvier influencers will inevitably emerge, responding to the same entrenched issues and employing the tactics to greater effect, while avoiding the mistakes of their predecessors.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-masculinity-what-does-it-mean-where-did-it-come-from-and-is-the-term-useful-or-harmful-189298">'Toxic masculinity': what does it mean, where did it come from – and is the term useful or harmful?</a>
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<p>In confronting the manosphere we need to understand and take seriously its appeal to lost men and the centrality of influencers in this process. We can be as critical of it as we want to be. But we also need to understand what it provides for many: a community and place of belonging, a defined enemy, direction, certainty, solutions to deep and systemic issues and, perhaps most importantly, hope.</p>
<p>We also need to avoid the kneejerk stigmatising and dismissal of people who fall into the manosphere. Simple ostracism tends only to entrench attitudes and reinforce the narratives of persecution spun by Tate and his ilk.</p>
<p>Instead, we need to use empathy, tolerance and patience to support men in ways that lead them away from these unpleasant boroughs of the internet and make them feel connected with wider society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Rich has received funding from the US State Department as part of a project on combatting extremism and disinformation. This includes components addressing the manosphere.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Bujalka has received funding from the US State Department as part of a project on combatting extremism and disinformation. This includes components addressing the manosphere.</span></em></p>The manosphere may not strictly be centred on misogyny, but in young men’s search for connection, truth, control, and community at a time where all are increasingly uncertain and ill-defined.Ben Rich, Senior lecturer in History and International Relations, Curtin UniversityEva Bujalka, Co-director, Curtin Extremism Research Network (CERN)., Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1949132022-11-23T23:09:12Z2022-11-23T23:09:12ZIs your partner a man-child? No wonder you don’t feel like sex<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496899/original/file-20221123-20-hz5m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C998%2C649&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/couch-potato-doesnt-help-his-wife-186284441">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A man sits on the couch, watching TV. His partner, a woman, prepares dinner, while mentally ticking off her to-do list. That includes returning her partner’s shirts she’d ordered online for him last week, and booking a GP appointment for their youngest child.</p>
<p>He walks in and asks her “what’s for dinner?”, then goes back to the TV.</p>
<p>Later that night, he’s surprised she’s not interested in sex.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1543696285378691072"}"></div></p>
<p>The people in this scenario are a woman and a man. But it could be a woman and her child. The dynamics are very similar – one person providing instrumental and emotional care, and the other receiving that care while showing little acknowledgement, gratitude or reciprocation.</p>
<p>You’re reading about a man who depends on his partner for everyday tasks that he is actually capable of. Some people call this the “<a href="https://www.instyle.com/lifestyle/hump-day/what-is-a-man-child">man-child</a>” phenomenon. </p>
<p>Maybe you’ve lived it. Our <a href="https://t.co/zDWcUZYsVn">research</a> shows it’s real.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sorry-men-theres-no-such-thing-as-dirt-blindness-you-just-need-to-do-more-housework-100883">Sorry, men, there's no such thing as 'dirt blindness' – you just need to do more housework</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The man-child is real</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-021-02100-x">man-child phenomenon</a> (or perceiving a partner as dependent, as we call it) describes the blurring of roles between a partner and a child. </p>
<p>You may hear women describe their male partners as their “dependent” or one of their children.</p>
<p>When a partner starts to feel like they have a dependent child, it’s not surprising if that affects a woman’s sexual desire for him.</p>
<p>We set out to explore whether this might explain why many women partnered with men <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-014-0027-5">report</a> low sexual desire. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, until our study, there were no studies that had tried to directly measure the impact of the man-child phenomenon on women’s sexual desire.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-women-for-low-libido-sexual-sparks-fly-when-partners-do-their-share-of-chores-including-calling-the-plumber-185401">Don't blame women for low libido. Sexual sparks fly when partners do their share of chores – including calling the plumber</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://t.co/zDWcUZYsVn">two studies</a> with more than 1,000 women from around the world, in relationships with men. All our participants had children under the age of 12. </p>
<p>We asked the women to rate their agreement with statements like, “Sometimes I feel as though my partner is like an extra child I need to look after.” We also asked them about the division of household labour in their relationship, and their level of sexual desire for their partner.</p>
<p>We found consistent evidence that: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>when women performed more household labour than their partner, they were more likely to perceive their partner as dependents (that is, the man-child phenomenon)</p></li>
<li><p>perceiving a partner as a dependent was associated with lower sexual desire for that partner. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>When taken together, you could say women’s partners were taking on an unsexy role – that of a child.</p>
<p>There could be other explanations. For instance, women who perceive their partners as dependents may be more likely to do more around the house. Alternatively, low desire for a partner may lead to the partner being perceived as a dependent. So we need more research to confirm.</p>
<p>Our research highlights a pretty bleak snapshot of what people’s relationships can involve. And while the man-child phenomenon may not exist for you, it reflects broader gendered inequities in relationships.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yet-again-the-census-shows-women-are-doing-more-housework-now-is-the-time-to-invest-in-interventions-185488">Yet again, the census shows women are doing more housework. Now is the time to invest in interventions</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is there a man-child equivalent in same-sex relationships?</h2>
<p>Our research was solely about relationships between women and men, with children. But it would be interesting to explore if the man-child phenomenon exists in same-sex or gender-diverse relationships, and what the impact might be on sexual desire.</p>
<p>One possibility is that, in relationships between two women, men, or non-binary people, household labour is more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10894160.2016.1142350?casa_token=Qz37Pcn3THYAAAAA%3AD81uS-d6AQ5ZaV41IXTIXIsE2RmsUqIOIkoQqBC8ThSMyfYhs8GAjy4uLEP6bkxTXARWpSfeI-wRMAE">equitably negotiated</a>. As a result, the mother-child dynamic may be less likely to emerge. But no-one has studied that yet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man wiping dishes while looking after two young children" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496895/original/file-20221123-13-2c5cbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In relationships between men, household labour may be more evenly split.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-looking-after-his-kids-while-1334464727">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another possibility is that one person in the relationship (regardless of gender identity) takes on a more feminine role. This may include more of the mothering, nurturing labour than their partner(s). If that was the case, we might see the man-child phenomenon in a broader range of relationships. Again, no-one has studied this.</p>
<p>Perhaps, <em>anyone</em> could be the “man-child” in their relationship.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-arent-better-multitaskers-than-men-theyre-just-doing-more-work-121620">Women aren't better multitaskers than men – they're just doing more work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What else don’t we know?</h2>
<p>Such future research may help explore different types of relationship dynamics more broadly. </p>
<p>This may help us understand what sexual desire might look like in relationships where roles are equitably negotiated, chosen, and renegotiated as needed.</p>
<p>We might learn what happens when household labour is valued like paid labour. Or what happens when both partners support each other and can count on each other for daily and life needs.</p>
<p>Women might be less likely to experience their partners as dependents and feel more sexual desire for them. In other words, the closer we are to equity in actively caring for each other, the closer we might be to equity in the capacity for feeling sexual desire with our partner.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>We thank Aki Gormezano, who was a coauthor on the paper discussed in this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sari van Anders receives funding from the Canada 150 Research Chair program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Men could be doing more around the house. And it’s affecting relationships in ways no-one has explored, until now.Emily Harris, Postdoctoral fellow in psychology, The University of MelbourneSari van Anders, Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, & Gender/Sex, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1892982022-09-21T20:01:36Z2022-09-21T20:01:36Z‘Toxic masculinity’: what does it mean, where did it come from – and is the term useful or harmful?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485235/original/file-20220919-60031-3kyhyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1433%2C799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jacob Elordi as Nate in Euphoria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">HBO</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard to avoid encountering the term “toxic masculinity” these days.</p>
<p>It has been linked to Australian soldiers’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-soldiers-commit-war-crimes-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-185391">war crimes</a> in Afghanistan, the Morrison government’s low credibility <a href="https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-the-scott-morrison-horror-show-has-a-way-to-run-yet-188985">with women</a> in the lead-up to this year’s election – and further afield, the rise of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-place-is-a-shithole-it-depends-on-your-gender-90342">Donald Trump</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-trump-to-putin-why-are-people-attracted-to-tyrants-186988">Capitol riots</a>. </p>
<p>It is regularly applied to pop-culture characters as diverse as the hypersensitive dinosaur nerd Ross Gellar from Friends, the alcoholic adulterer <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-mad-men-don-draper-and-american-masculinity-24800">Don Draper</a> in Mad Men, and the violent, repressed Nate in <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-euphoria-challenges-viewers-expectations-of-what-a-television-show-should-be-179991">Euphoria</a>, who regularly tells his girlfriend, “If anyone ever tried to hurt you, I’d kill them.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485258/original/file-20220919-875-7qpetf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Donald Trump is an example of toxic masculinity in many ways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore">Gage Skidmore/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The term “<a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-scolding-men-for-being-toxic-113520">toxic masculinity</a>” was obscure in the 1990s and early 2000s. But since around 2015, it has become pervasive in discussions of men and gender. </p>
<p>So what does it mean?</p>
<p>“Masculinity” refers to the roles, behaviours and attributes seen as appropriate for boys and men in a given society. In short, masculinity refers to society’s expectations of males. </p>
<p>In many societies, boys and men are expected to be strong, active, aggressive, tough, daring, heterosexual, emotionally inexpressive and dominant. This is enforced by socialisation, media, peers, and a host of other influences. And it plays out in <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-man-box-how-rigid-ideas-of-manning-up-harm-young-men-and-those-around-them-143081">the behaviour of many boys and men</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-soldiers-commit-war-crimes-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-185391">Friday essay: why soldiers commit war crimes – and what we can do about it</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>The term “toxic masculinity” points to a particular version of masculinity that is unhealthy for the men and boys who conform to it, and harmful for those around them.</p>
<p>The phrase emphasises the worst aspects of stereotypically masculine attributes. Toxic masculinity is represented by qualities such as violence, dominance, emotional illiteracy, sexual entitlement, and hostility to femininity.</p>
<p>This version of masculinity is seen as “toxic” for two reasons. </p>
<p>First, it is bad for women. It shapes sexist and patriarchal behaviours, including abusive or violent treatment of women. Toxic masculinity thus contributes to gender inequalities that disadvantage women and privilege men. </p>
<p>Second, toxic masculinity is bad for men and boys themselves. Narrow stereotypical norms constrain men’s physical and emotional health and their relations with women, other men, and children.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EbAoSnaXVkI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Toxic masculinity shapes men’s involvement in sexist and patriarchal behaviours and relations – as epitomised in Mad Men’s famous Jaguar pitch.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sherlock-holmes-and-the-case-of-toxic-masculinity-what-is-behind-the-detectives-appeal-149561">Sherlock Holmes and the case of toxic masculinity: what is behind the detective's appeal?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Origins of the term</h2>
<p>The term <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X20943254">first emerged</a> within the mythopoetic (New Age) <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X00003001002?casa_token">men’s movement</a> of the 1980s. </p>
<p>The movement focused on men’s healing, using male-only workshops, wilderness retreats and rites of passage to rescue what it saw as essentially masculine qualities and archetypes (the king, the warrior, the wildman, and so on) from what it dubbed “toxic” masculinity. </p>
<p>In the 1990s and early 2000s, the term spread to other self-help circles and into academic work (for example, on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jclp.20105?casa_token">men’s mental health</a>). Some US conservatives began applying the term to low-income, under-employed, marginalised men, prescribing solutions like restoring male-dominated families and family values. </p>
<p>“Toxic masculinity” was virtually non-existent in academic writing – including feminist scholarship – up until 2015 or so, other than in a handful of texts on men’s health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>But as it spread in popular culture, feminist scholars and commentators adopted the term, typically as a shorthand for misogynist talk and actions. Though the term is now associated with a feminist critique of the sexist norms of manhood, that’s not where it started. </p>
<p>It is virtually absent from the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/444498/International_Encyclopedia_of_Men_and_Masculinities_2007_">scholarship on men and masculinities</a> that developed rapidly from the mid-1970s, though its use in that area has increased in the last decade. This scholarship has, however, long made <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205278639?casa_token=9sXi4TmHCc0AAAAA:a9jm8X3Qg0W39XvMKbZJYbZqzq7NTF_bNJT2li3N069a4IK3Xfk0ADwYbcsnFiPwva0LcoN0grkJyDA">the claim</a> that culturally influential constructions of manhood exist, and that they are tied to men’s domination of women.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Coach David Brockway explains what toxic masculinity is and why phrases like ‘man up’ are so destructive.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Merits and risks</h2>
<p>Understood properly, the term “toxic masculinity” has some merits. It recognises that the problem is a social one, emphasising how boys and men are socialised and how their lives are organised. It steers us away from biologically essentialist or determinist perspectives that suggest the bad behaviour of men is inevitable: “boys will be boys”.</p>
<p>“Toxic masculinity” highlights a specific form of masculinity and a specific set of social expectations that are unhealthy or dangerous. It points (rightly) to the fact that <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-study-reveals-the-dangers-of-toxic-masculinity-to-men-and-those-around-them-104694">stereotypical masculine norms</a> shape men’s health, as well as their treatment of other people.</p>
<p>The term has helped to popularise feminist critiques of rigid gender norms and inequalities. It is more accessible than scholarly terms (such as <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_zhDDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA35&dq=Hegemonic,+Nonhegemonic,+and+%E2%80%9CNew%E2%80%9D+Masculinities&ots=KB__25ZhNi&sig=rDYHMFOVDVvgeY-VRT7CN0Ftl_8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Hegemonic%2C%20Nonhegemonic%2C%20and%20%E2%80%9CNew%E2%80%9D%20Masculinities&f=false">hegemonic masculinity</a>). This has the potential to allow its use in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216955">educating</a> boys and men, in similar ways to the concept of the “<a href="https://jss.org.au/what-we-do/the-mens-project/the-man-box/">Man Box</a>” (a term describing a rigid set of compulsory masculine qualities that confine men and boys) and other <a href="https://www.equimundo.org/programs/manhood-2-0/">teaching tools on masculinity</a>. </p>
<p>By emphasising the harm done to both men and women, the term has the potential to prompt less defensiveness among men than more overtly political terms such as “patriarchal” or “sexist” masculinity.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/perpetrators-of-family-violence-sometimes-use-threats-of-suicide-to-control-their-partner-182416">Perpetrators of family violence sometimes use threats of suicide to control their partner</a>
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<h2>Toxic risks</h2>
<p>“Toxic masculinity” also carries some potential risks. It is too readily misheard as a suggestion that “all men are toxic”. It can make men feel blamed and attacked – the last thing we need if we want to <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/gender-equity-male-engagement">invite</a> men and boys to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260517748414">critically reflect</a> on masculinity and gender. Persuasive <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ProgramsandProjects/HealthInequalities/VicHealth-Framing-masculinity-message-guide-2020.pdf">public messaging</a> aimed at men may be more effective if it avoids the language of “masculinity” altogether.</p>
<p>Whether it uses the term “toxic masculinity” or not, any criticism of the ugly things some men do, or of dominant norms of manhood, will provoke defensive and hostile reactions among some men. Criticisms of sexism and unequal gender relations often provoke a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajs4.137">backlash</a>, in the form of predictable expressions of <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ProgramsandProjects/HealthInequalities/Attachments/VicHealth-Attitudes-to-men-and-masculinity-report-July-2020.pdf">anti-feminist</a> sentiments.</p>
<p>The term might also draw attention to male disadvantage and neglect male privilege. Dominant gender norms may be “toxic” for men, but they also provide a range of unearned <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/731614.The_Gender_Knot">privileges</a> (workplace expectations of leadership, freedom from unpaid care work, prioritising of their sexual needs over women’s) and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207091&utm">inform</a> some men’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15248380211030224?casa_token">harmful behaviour towards women</a>. </p>
<p>“Toxic masculinity” can be used in generalising and simplistic ways. Decades of scholarship have established that constructions of masculinity are diverse, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/18902138.2014.892289?casa_token">intersecting with</a> other forms of social difference. </p>
<p>The term may cement the assumption that the only way to involve men in progress towards gender equality is by fostering a “<a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Health-Inequalities/Healthier-Masculinities-Scoping-Review.pdf">healthy</a>” or “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15248380211030242?casa_token">positive</a>” masculinity. Yes, we need to <a href="https://xyonline.net/content/men-and-man-box-commentary">redefine norms of manhood</a>. But we also need to encourage men to invest less in gendered identities and boundaries, stop <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fmen0000318">policing manhood</a>, and embrace ethical identities less defined by gender. </p>
<p>Whatever language we use, we need ways to name the influential social norms associated with manhood, critique the harmful attitudes and behaviours some men adopt, and foster healthier lives for men and boys.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189298/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Flood has received funding from the Australia Research Council, Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute Foundation, Jesuit Social Services, Victorian Government, and Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.</span></em></p>“Toxic masculinity” has been used to explain everything from the election of Donald Trump to why Ross from Friends is awful. But what does it actually mean?Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1869842022-08-05T12:10:37Z2022-08-05T12:10:37Z500K American men get vasectomies every year – a specialist explains the easy and reversible procedure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475921/original/file-20220725-20-yvadro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4915%2C3664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This year, many vasectomy patients are young or single men concerned about unwanted pregnancy at a time when abortion care may not be as available as before.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/doctor-in-discussion-with-patient-in-exam-room-royalty-free-image/97863283">Thomas Barwick/Stone via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Green plate reading: 500,000 Number of men in the US who undergo vasectomies each year" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474983/original/file-20220719-4704-cux94h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>About half a million men undergo a vasectomy in the United States in any given year. The percentage of men getting them had been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13093">dropping for the past two decades</a>, but it looks like those numbers are going up in the wake of the June 24, 2022, Supreme Court <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392">decision overturning Roe v. Wade</a>. </p>
<h2>Appointments up</h2>
<p>It’s too early for official numbers, but as a urologist and <a href="https://doctors.umiamihealth.org/provider/Ranjith+Ramasamy/526160">microsurgeon specializing in vasectomies</a>, I can report that more new patients are coming to see me. We used to perform about 20-25 vasectomies a month in our Miami clinic. But since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision came down, we’re now fully booked at 30 vasectomies scheduled each month through next year. I’m also seeing about 30% more online queries about vasectomies. It’s the first such increase I’ve seen in my 15-year career.</p>
<p>Other <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/male-contraception-vasectomies-inquiries-increase-roe-v-wade-supreme-court-1724739">urologists have rising numbers, too</a>. One Kansas City doctor said that he had <a href="https://www.cbs19news.com/story/46797913/urologist-says-vasectomy-consults-have-increased-by-900-since-roe-v-wade-decision">a 900% increase in vasectomy inquiries</a> in just the four days after the decision.</p>
<p>Most of our clinic’s new vasectomy patients are young or single men. They tell me they are concerned about getting a woman pregnant when abortion care isn’t as available as it was before. They also ask about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47767-7_36">freezing their sperm first</a> in case they want biological children in the future. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02545-6">Frozen storage is a viable option</a>, and some patients have even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deac107.023">successfully frozen their own sperm</a>. </p>
<h2>Quick and simple</h2>
<p>Most vasectomies are straightforward, with 98% of them performed <a href="https://www.urologyhealth.org/educational-resources/vasectomy">in an outpatient clinic</a>. For the duration of the 15- to 20-minute procedure, most men are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2012.09.080">wide awake in a medical office</a>.</p>
<p>Only 2% of vasectomy patients get them in a hospital under anesthesia. That’s usually because of anatomical issues or previous surgeries complicating the procedure – or the personal preference of the patient to go to sleep.</p>
<p>The doctor starts by making a small opening in the scrotum. Then the doctor pulls out the vas deferens, the tube that delivers sperm out of the testes and to the ejaculatory duct. After placing permanent clips on the tube in two places, the doctor removes a small piece of tube between the clips. The clips remain in place, closing and permanently sealing the cut tube ends. Now there is no longer any connection between the testes where sperm is produced and the urethra, where it once exited the body. </p>
<p>Patients usually go home and recover for about four hours with some ice on the area. Most can go back to work a day or two later if their job doesn’t involve manual labor. We recommend no sex and no heavy lifting for about a week after the vasectomy.</p>
<p>The recovery period is a popular excuse for sports fans to plan their vasectomy around <a href="http://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2019.08.33">major sports events on TV</a> so that while they heal they can watch the Masters golf tournament, baseball’s World Series or the bowl games of American football. In fact, “March Madness vasectomy” promotions timed to college basketball playoffs are among the reasons <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2018.03.016">March is a popular month</a> for appointments.</p>
<h2>More concerns than changes</h2>
<p>About two to three months later, the patient returns to the clinic. We take a sample of semen to check the sperm count. That tells us whether his vasectomy was successful. If any sperm are in the ejaculate, we might need to do a second one, but that happens in <a href="https://doi.org/10.21037%2Ftau.2017.07.08">fewer than 1% of cases</a>. Most of the time, we can give the patient the all-clear that their procedure is complete.</p>
<p>Of course, this is a surgery, so patients naturally have significant questions and concerns. A common one I’ll hear from a patient is that getting a vasectomy will make him “less of a man” because he is no longer able to father children. But that is absolutely not true. It won’t make you less of a man. </p>
<p>Some men fear it will damage their penis because the procedure is so close to it. But a vasectomy will not damage a man’s penis or any other surrounding structures. And he will not have any changes in sexual function or enjoyment after recovery from the procedure. </p>
<p>While everything else is the same as before, ejaculate volume obviously decreases slightly after a vasectomy. This worries some men. But it’s not a noticeable decrease, since <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.12983">sperm is only 5% of semen volume</a>. </p>
<p>If patients do change their minds, however, they can get their vasectomies reversed, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2018.03.016">about 5% of U.S. patients do</a>.</p>
<p>Most commonly this involves a man with a new partner who wants to have biological kids. Nearly all vasectomy reversals succeed, with sperm returning to the ejaculate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2018.03.016">90% to 95% of the time</a>. And pregnancies follow vasectomy reversals about 50% to 60% of the time, depending on the age of the woman.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ranjith Ramasamy receives funding from Acerus Pharmaceuticals (Consultant, Grant Recipient), Boston Scientific (Consultant, Grant Recipient), Coloplast (Consultant, Grant Recipient), Endo Pharmaceuticals (Consultant, Grant Recipient), Empower Pharmacy (Grant Recipient), Nestle Health (Consultant), Olympus (Grant Recipient), Hims, Inc (Advisory Board). </span></em></p>As more younger, single men ask for one following the Supreme Court abortion decision, a urologist explains what to expect with a vasectomy.Ranjith Ramasamy, Associate Professor of Urology, University of MiamiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1846082022-07-12T12:33:37Z2022-07-12T12:33:37ZWhat makes people willing to risk their lives to save others?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473426/original/file-20220711-17-1wrjox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3542%2C3420&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Heroic actions are often intuitive – even impulsive – rather than a product of thoughtful deliberation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/retro-hand-sinking-in-a-vortex-or-whirlpool-royalty-free-illustration/468613889?adppopup=true">MHU/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After an 18-year-old shooter murdered 19 elementary school students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, distraught parents directed their rage at <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/cowards-teacher-survived-uvalde-shooting-slams-police-response-85219697">the multiple police officers</a> who failed to enter the classroom where children were being shot. A teacher who survived his wounds derided the officers as “cowards.” </p>
<p>It’s possible that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/us/uvalde-police-response.html">a broken chain of command</a> was more consequential than a lack of courage. But the actions – or inaction – of these officers stand in stark contrast to the heroism displayed by others under similar circumstances.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190201-americans-who-thwarted-thalys-train-terror-attack-become-french-citizens">For example</a>, in August 2015, three young American men were on a crowded train heading from Paris to Amsterdam when they encountered a heavily armed terrorist. With little regard for their personal safety, they rushed the terrorist and subdued him. No one disputes that these men deserve to be called heroes.</p>
<p>Only some people seem capable of this split-second form of heroism. What separates them from everyone else?</p>
<p>Psychology researchers <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MxorsyYAAAAJ&hl=en">like myself</a> have explored this question through the lens of evolutionary and personality psychology. Study after study has shown that men tend to be more willing to put themselves at physical risk to help others. </p>
<p>Why some men rise to the occasion – and others don’t – has been a bit trickier to pin down.</p>
<h2>A ‘guy thing’?</h2>
<p>The Carnegie Medal is an award given to individuals in the United States or Canada who have valiantly risked their lives in attempts to save others. In 2022, <a href="https://www.carnegiehero.org/heroes/latest-award-announcements/">15 of the 16 Carnegie Medal winners were men</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, this is no coincidence.</p>
<p>Of course, heroism and courage can appear in many forms, and men and women alike risk their reputations, health and social standing to do what they think is right. There is no shortage of courageous women. Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen and the testimony by 26-year-old Cassidy Hutchinson before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol are just two <a href="https://theconversation.com/cassidy-hutchinson-and-greek-tragedy-show-that-courage-is-rare-and-cowardice-more-common-186423">recent profiles in female courage</a>.</p>
<p>However, when it comes to physically risky bravery – the kind that’s called for when there’s a terrorist on a train or a shooter in a school – people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000107">assume men will take the lead</a>. There are sound evolutionary reasons for this stereotype, and one of the most common fears in men <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1474704915598490">is that they’ll be outed as a coward</a>. A man who fails to display physical courage <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_1558#:%7E:text=Definition,a%20life%2Dthreatening%20emergency%20situation.">will suffer damage to his reputation in a way that a woman will not</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout human history, attaining a position of high status or dominance among one’s peers has been the ticket that needs to get punched for men to attract mates and father children. Establishing a reputation as a hero isn’t a bad way to quickly elevate your status and desirability.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Gold medal with side profile of bearded man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=683&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473421/original/file-20220711-26-zjebmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In 2022, 15 of the 16 Carnegie Medal recipients were men.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/silver-struck-medal-with-obverse-showing-clothed-bust-of-news-photo/460281397?adppopup=true">J.E. Caldwell & Co./The New York Historical Society/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>I am not suggesting that heroes consciously calculate all of the great stuff that will come their way if they risk their lives; they aren’t thinking, “Nothing impresses the ladies like a Legion of Honor Medal!” In fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109687">interviews with men who have won the Carnegie Medal</a> reveal that their heroic actions were intuitive – even impulsive – rather than a product of thoughtful deliberation.</p>
<p>Conspicuously displaying courage and strength by taking and surviving great risks seems to signal to others that a man has special qualities, so these impulses have been selected for through evolution because heroic action has reliably provided mating advantages for men.</p>
<h2>Bravery as a mating strategy</h2>
<p>The notion that bravery is intimately linked with mating motives has been around for quite some time. The Sioux warrior Rain in the Face <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301903/the-last-stand-by-nathaniel-philbrick/">described the effect</a> that the presence of women in a war party had on male warriors: “When there is a woman in the charge, it causes the warriors to vie with one another in displaying their valor.”</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.004">Psychological research has confirmed</a> that altruistic male behavior is most admired when it takes the form of risky heroism which displays courage and strength. Another study found that men are more likely to behave generously <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490800600302">in the presence of an attractive member of the opposite sex</a>; the same doesn’t hold true for women.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000107">I’ve conducted a series of laboratory studies</a> demonstrating that men are most likely to endure pain so that others can benefit when females are present and another male is also present as a competitor.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.02.005">A team of European psychologists</a> explored the proposition that war provides an arena for men, but not for women, to burnish their heroic credentials and impress both their male rivals and females who might be potential mates.</p>
<p>In their first study, they found that 464 American men who had won the Medal of Honor during World War II eventually had more children than other U.S. servicemen. This is consistent with the hypothesis that heroism gets rewarded with greater reproductive success.</p>
<p>In their second study, women rated the sexual attractiveness of men who behaved heroically in war higher than that of other soldiers. Tellingly, women did not find men who had behaved heroically in sports or business to be more attractive. A third study revealed that when female soldiers behaved heroically in war, it didn’t increase their attractiveness to men.</p>
<h2>The hero and the … psychopath?</h2>
<p>Of course, not everyone will rise to the occasion upon encountering someone in dire need. </p>
<p>Is there such a thing as a heroic personality type? </p>
<p>People tend to have an idea of what heroes are like. In one study, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-we-need-heroes/201405/how-heroic-is-your-personality">when rating the personalities of movie heroes</a>, participants expected them to be more conscientious, open to experience, extroverted, agreeable and emotionally secure than the average person. </p>
<p>Studies of real-life heroes tell a different story. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000261">Some studies</a> perversely indicate that people who exhibit heroic behavior and first responders such as firefighters <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000261">score high on personality traits usually associated with psychopaths</a>: risk taking, sensation seeking, coolness under stress, and a tendency to take over in social situations. </p>
<p>However, the study of the relationship between personality and heroism is in its infancy. Psychologists are still at a loss to predict in advance who will heroically step up when needed. Often, the hero is an otherwise ordinary person who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances, while some individuals who have trained to behave heroically might dither during a crisis, like the armed school resource officer who stayed outside of the high school in Parkland, Florida, while a gunman was on a rampage inside.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there will be future calamities that cry out for acts of true heroism. Hopefully the right mix of circumstances and personalities enable courage, rather than cowardice, to carry the day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184608/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank T. McAndrew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Study after study has shown that men tend to be more willing to put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Why some men rise to the occasion – and others don’t – has been a bit trickier to pin down.Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855232022-06-24T16:04:13Z2022-06-24T16:04:13ZRoe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470811/original/file-20220624-18-8jkgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=61%2C21%2C2335%2C1573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"I'm with her"</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/wQbGXr3lEZA">Unsplash/gayatri malhotra</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s striking that, as with many other gender equality issues, the positions of men in relation to abortion are rarely discussed.</p>
<p>In some regards, this is for good reasons. Abortion is a healthcare issue for women (and trans and non-binary people with uteruses). It’s about them having the right to determine what happens to their own bodies. The fact that, despite all the medical knowledge and tools at our disposal in the 21st century, abortion rights remain under threat in so many countries arguably connects to the desire of patriarchal societies to exercise control over women’s freedom – and deep-rooted patriarchal insecurities about reproductive processes which men don’t have power over. Even now in the UK, for example, a woman needs approval from <a href="https://www.bpas.org/get-involved/campaigns/briefings/abortion-law/">two doctors</a> to have an abortion.</p>
<p>Politics across the globe remains highly <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2021/03/women-in-politics-map-2021">masculinised</a>, so it is largely men in positions of power who are voting to curtail women’s bodily autonomy. Stark <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/14/abortion-texas-waskom-all-white-male-council">photos</a> of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/14/alabama-abortion-ban-white-men-republicans">male lawmakers</a> signing off anti-abortion legislation remind us of this.</p>
<p>Similarly, many of the people involved in the anti-abortion movement, such as those protesting outside of clinics with often <a href="https://publicseminar.org/essays/the-dishonest-images-of-the-anti-abortion-movement/">misleading</a> imagery and messaging about dead foetuses, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038518762075">intimidating</a> patients and staff, are men.</p>
<p>Yet it’s also possible for male politicians to vote to improve abortion rights. When the UK’s <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/87/contents">1967 Abortion Act</a> was enacted, 96% of MPs were men. One of us previously interviewed the former Labour MP Peter Jackson, whose commitment was fuelled by a woman in his constituency being imprisoned for carrying out abortions. On his role in getting the legislation through parliament, Jackson <a href="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/oral-history/member/jackson-peter-1928">remarked</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you ask me what was my most important contribution, it would be my role in bringing about rights for women which they never had before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So we need more male parliamentarians to recognise their responsibility to act as allies to women. But whilst the situation has improved since the 1960s, we also need much better <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/gender/parliament">representation</a> of women in politics, to increase the likelihood that women’s needs and experiences will actually be taken into account in decision-making.</p>
<h2>How men benefit from reproductive freedom</h2>
<p>Of course, pregnancy would also rarely happen without the presence of (cisgender) men. It’s remarkable how little this is recognised in discussions about abortion. You might sometimes be left thinking women somehow become pregnant by themselves.</p>
<p>It remains a stubborn gender norm in heterosexual relationships that responsibility for day-to-day management of contraception and other aspects of sexual and reproductive health is disproportionately placed on women – even though sex is simultaneously presented as something primarily initiated by men and for male pleasure. We don’t <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/26-09-2019-engaging-men-addressing-harmful-masculinities-to-improve-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights">engage</a> nearly enough with men and boys about healthy sex and relationships, and their <a href="https://www.equimundo.org/resources/getting-to-equal-men-gender-equality-and-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights/">role</a> in the sexual and reproductive wellbeing of themselves and their partners.</p>
<p>Boys still often receive <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(21)00253-X/fulltext">little</a> education about women’s reproductive health, such as learning about <a href="https://theconversation.com/talking-about-periods-with-boys-how-easy-is-it-85413">menstruation</a>. At times, abortion debates <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/alabama-abortion-law-republican-ignorance-female-reproduction.html">illustrate</a> this, with male lawmakers showing a lack of basic understanding about female reproduction. It’s also notable that in the UK, <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/sexual-and-reproductive-health-services/2018-19/sterilisations-and-vasectomies">rates</a> of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/10/contraception-gap-gender-inequities-vasectomies">vasectomy</a> have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/21/number-of-vasectomies-in-england-falls-64-in-10-years">declining</a> in recent years, despite it being a relatively simple procedure.</p>
<p>An important step forward would therefore be for men to recognise how much we gain from women’s right to an abortion, too. Given that an estimated <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24286786/">45% of pregnancies</a> in the UK are unplanned, countless men (including many in positions of power) who were not ready to be parents or had no intention of becoming a parent have been able to live freer lives and enjoy fuller <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/opinion/men-abortion.html">careers</a> because their sexual partner was able to obtain an abortion. With the freedom to only have children when people feel ready to do so, a man could potentially be saved from unwanted parenthood many more times than a woman over the course of his life – without even necessarily being aware of it.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/should-women-have-the-right-to-an-abortion">vast majority</a> of people (86%) in the UK, including men, support the right to an abortion. The <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/">majority</a> of people in the US are also in favour. But you might not know it, given the silence of most men beyond the vocal minority who are opposed.</p>
<p>Sexual and reproductive health and parenthood are men’s business and <a href="https://www.journalism.co.uk/press-releases/the-pregnant-man-is-50-and-the-famous-ad-still-has-a-point-to-prove/s66/a752480/">responsibility</a> too, and we would all benefit from talking about them more openly and honestly – with our friends, our sons and by joining calls for social change, as well as reflecting on our own practices.</p>
<h2>Starting the conversation</h2>
<p>Making decisions about abortion can be difficult and can lead to a range of complex emotions, which might be hard to know how to deal with when it’s so little discussed. In a <a href="https://now-and-men.captivate.fm/episode/se-franklin">conversation</a> we recently had with a gender equality activist in Ireland, he articulated that people telling their personal <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/gq-glamour-men-abortion-stories">stories</a> of what abortion meant to their lives moved the conversation away from abstractions about zygotes and embryos. He felt this was a key factor in the landslide Irish vote to legalise abortion in 2018.</p>
<p>Of course, this shouldn’t mean men taking over the conversation or making it all about us. Men can also have too much influence on pregnancy, by seeking to impose <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2022.2040774">their</a> wishes – and <a href="https://srh.bmj.com/content/45/1/61">reproductive coercion</a> is a common aspect of domestic abuse. It’s important to recognise that this is first and foremost about <a href="https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/supporting-someone-having-an-abortion/partners/">supporting</a> women’s right to choose what happens to their bodies – and listening much more to their needs and experiences.</p>
<p>However, there have been beneficial outcomes in many men’s lives because of decisions to have an abortion. Perhaps this fundamental <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/abortion#tab=tab_1">human right</a> will only become better protected if we start acknowledging that more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Burrell receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. He is a trustee at White Ribbon UK and on the steering group for Changing Relations.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandy Ruxton is a member of the Steering Committee of MenEngage Europe, and a member of the Labour Party.</span></em></p>In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade, it’s worth remembering that a man can benefit from the right to abortion many more times over his lifespan than a woman might.Stephen Burrell, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Durham UniversitySandy Ruxton, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1821852022-05-12T12:14:39Z2022-05-12T12:14:39ZTucker Carlson pulls from an old playbook as he stokes anxiety about a masculinity crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462490/original/file-20220511-12-5fqd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C8%2C2684%2C2036&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bodybuilder Charles Atlas sought to turn Americans from 'Chump to Champ.'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/famous-body-builder-charles-atlas-flexing-his-biceps-news-photo/50777197?adppopup=true">Lee Lockwood/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Promotions for “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcxLQeh6J6A">The End of Men</a>,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s forthcoming documentary, lament “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/22/health/tucker-carlson-testosterone.html">The total collapse of testosterone levels</a> in American men.” </p>
<p>Carlson’s central premise is that modern society has devitalized American men. Strength, drive and aggression are no longer in vogue, and Americans, as a result, are become weaker. This, the film implies, has ramifications for the country itself.</p>
<p>The purported remedies – which include tanning one’s testicles – have been <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tucker-carlson-end-of-men-testicle-tanning-1338944/">easy fodder</a> <a href="https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/can-tucker-carlsons-end-of-men-doc-teaser-be-real/">for critics</a>. But as a <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-63727-9">historian of physical culture</a>, I see Carlson’s claims as part of a rich heritage of skeptics shouting from the rooftops that American men are becoming devitalized, lazy and effeminate.</p>
<p>Over the past century, these hustlers and politicians have claimed that society is making men weaker. They’ve explained that physical weakness is indicative of moral rot and weakness of character. They have cited recent social problems as evidence. And their rallying cries often have stoked anxieties about some stronger, foreign enemy.</p>
<h2>Building ‘he-men’ after the Great Depression</h2>
<p>In the 1930s, fitness guru <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-atlas-muscle-man-34626921/">Charles Atlas</a> – whose real name was Angelo Siciliano – embarked on one of the most successful fitness campaigns of all time. </p>
<p>He released a cartoon advertisement titled “<a href="https://www.roguefitness.com/theindex/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/1G3uHXoTokw22s4kuYF6t8jpf8THTMnmz.jpg">The Insult that Made a Man Out of Mac</a>” that told the story of a “97-pound weakling” who is embarrassed at the beach by muscular bullies. Shamed, the boy goes home, builds muscle using Atlas’ workout course, and returns to defeat the bully.</p>
<p>The text accompanying these ads was equally inspirational. Atlas promised to build “he-men,” to make “weaklings into men” and to turn Americans from “Chump to Champ.” The ads appeared in comic books, pop culture magazines and fitness journals. For millions of young Americans, “Mac” was a part of their comic book reading experience. </p>
<p>Older Americans were also susceptible to this messaging.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1057/9780230101715_8">interviewed by the New York Post in 1942</a>, Atlas’ business partner, Charles Roman, noted that the Great Depression had been a boon for business, since working-age men tended to link unemployment to a lack of physical prowess. </p>
<p>In this regard, Atlas and Roman were not alone.</p>
<p>One of Atlas’ many fitness rivals during this time, a weightlifting coach and fitness writer named <a href="https://strongmanproject.com/search(resource:11629)?q=mark%20berry">Mark Berry</a>, professed that the Great Depression was spurred, in part, by the weakness of American men. </p>
<p>His solution? A diet and exercise regimen that centered on drinking at least a gallon of milk a day and squatting with a heavy weight draped <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/ejac/2021/00000040/00000002/art00002">across the back at least 20 times</a>. Physical bulk and strength were, in Berry’s writings, among the primary ways men could protect their livelihoods and their country.</p>
<p>The rhetoric of Atlas, Roman and Berry, it should be noted, was relatively mild for this line of promotion.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fit man poses in briefs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=871&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1095&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1095&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462500/original/file-20220511-25-w1pfhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1095&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bernarr Macfadden was inspired by trips to fascist Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/congratulated-on-anniversary-telegrams-and-letters-of-news-photo/514870404?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During that same period, fitness writer Bernarr Macfadden had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1865313">trained navy cadets</a> in fascist leader Benito Mussolini’s Italy and orphans in Portugal, which was then ruled by dictator <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-de-Oliveira-Salazar">António de Oliveira Salazar</a>. Upon returning to the U.S., Macfadden contrasted the strength he claimed to see in fascist countries with what he saw as an atrophying American society.</p>
<p>Americans’ unwholesome diets and sedentary behaviors in the 1930s had, in Macfadden’s view, produced a pathetically weak male populace. The solution was strong government intervention in fitness, vegetarian diets and a strict regime of physical fitness in schools.</p>
<p>Much like one of Carlson’s interview subjects who promotes testicle tanning, Macfadden, in his widely read <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=physicalculture">Physical Culture magazine</a>, also pitched a bevy of alternative approaches to revitalize American men, ranging from fasting to all-milk diets. </p>
<h2>Fears of a stronger enemy</h2>
<p>The notion that American men were weak would eventually migrate to American politics. </p>
<p>During the 1930s, Germany’s Nazi Party began to <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/775879-007/html">invest heavily</a> in gymnastics and sports. Soon, images and videos of tanned athletic German citizens were broadcast around Europe and the United States.</p>
<p>Thus began a period of soul-searching in democratic countries. Was fascism producing physically stronger men and women? What would happen in the event of war? </p>
<p>In the U.K., politicians created state-run programs that <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CdNTCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=charlotte+macdonald+strong+fit&ots=lIUDiDKZCl&sig=0QVWt3y4aDn3H708jmUUlKpWvq8">mimicked the fascist zeal for fitness</a>.</p>
<p>While calls for America to imitate the fitness regimen of the Nazis – and, to a lesser extent, the Italian fascists – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1865313">existed</a>, it wasn’t until the Cold War that politicians began to seriously implement policies aimed at truly addressing the nation’s fitness.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rows of shirtless men exercising in the snow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462496/original/file-20220511-15-v5wk4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=660&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Russian soldiers perform calisthenics in a 1965 promotional photo for Soviet Army Navy Day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/moscow-russia-this-picture-just-released-by-tass-official-news-photo/515180944?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower created <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2011.586789">the President’s Council on Youth Fitness</a>. His reasons for doing so stemmed from medical reports that American children were physically weaker than their European counterparts and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2011.586789">fears that the Soviet Union was physically fitter than America</a>. </p>
<p>Eisenhower’s successor, President John F. Kennedy, intensified fears about the nation’s declining vigor. Writing for Sports Illustrated in December 1960, then-President-elect Kennedy published an article titled “<a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKPOF/094/JFKPOF-094-003">The Soft American</a>” to encourage American citizens – in particular, men – to take their fitness seriously.</p>
<p>Sociologist Jeffrey Montez De Oca coined the term “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6443.2005.00253.x">muscle gap</a>” to describe this anxiety. Taking its name from the “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/08/what-missile-gap/309484/">missile gap</a>” – the perceived superiority of the USSR’s quantity and quality of missiles over America’s – it refers to the perceived weakness, and softness, of American men’s bodies compared to those of their communist counterparts. A soft body was indicative of a soft mind – and, worse yet, could even make one vulnerable to communist ideology.</p>
<h2>A different flavor of the same thing</h2>
<p>The Cold War may have ended, but fears that American men’s weaknesses pose a threat to the country have never gone away.</p>
<p>In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a notice claiming that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/downloads/unfit-to-serve.pdf">obesity was threatening national security</a>. In November 2021, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley delivered a speech in which he argued that changing gender norms were <a href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawley-delivers-national-conservatism-keynote-lefts-attack-men-america">destabilizing men’s sense of purpose</a> – and were part of a broader project by “the Left” to “deconstruct” men.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/tucker-carlson-end-of-men/">social reasons</a> cited in Carlson’s documentary for the decline of men – poor food choices, overweight bodies, a disconnect from nature – form the latest evolution of masculinity crises. If anything, the new version has simply added a sprinkle of vaccine skepticism, fears of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dip-in-the-us-birthrate-isnt-a-crisis-but-the-fall-in-immigration-may-be-161169">declining birthrates</a> and anti-intellectualism. </p>
<p>That the documentary includes footage of JFK voicing his concerns about American children in the 1960s is proof of a much longer lineage. I wonder: Why does this story remain so powerful in the American psyche? Why is a subset of Americans so eager to believe that they, or their counterparts, are weak? </p>
<p>Given what we know of this history, perhaps the most pertinent question to ask is what golden standard the men of today are being compared with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Conor Heffernan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Fox News host’s forthcoming documentary ‘The End of Men’ is part of a rich heritage of hustlers and politicians claiming that American men are becoming devitalized, lazy and effeminate.Conor Heffernan, Assistant Professor of Physical Culture and Sport Studies, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790842022-03-18T12:31:54Z2022-03-18T12:31:54ZHow prosthetic penises in shows like HBO’s ‘Minx’ reinforce existing stereotypes and taboos<p>Entertainment Weekly <a href="https://ew.com/tv/taylor-zakhar-perez-minx-cover/">recently published an interview</a> with actor Taylor Zakhar Perez, teasing the piece with a headline about Perez “baring it all” as a nude model for a 1970s magazine centerfold in the first episode in HBO Max’s “scandalous” new show, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947418/">Minx</a>.” </p>
<p>The real scandal, in my view, is not the promised nudity but the way it’s misrepresented. Perez never actually appears fully nude in that episode. He wears a prosthetic penis. </p>
<p>As prosthetic penises have become more common in film and on TV, I’ve watched publications eagerly document the trend with cheeky headlines: “<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/02/07/power-of-the-dong-hollywood-unleashed-the-penis-this-year/">The power of the dong: The year the penis was unleashed in Hollywood</a>,” “<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/how-prosthetic-penises-are-made-tv-movies">How the Sausage Gets Made: Inside Hollywood’s Prosthetic Penis Craze</a>” and “<a href="https://theface.com/culture/nudity-cock-penis-dicks-euphoria-and-just-like-that-tv-film-culture">Welcome to the year of the cock</a>.”</p>
<p>But to me, their growing use, and the way in which actors wielding them are deceptively described as partaking in “full frontal nudity,” often reinforces existing taboos under a guise of progressivism and gender equality.</p>
<p>What’s wrong with just showing the real thing?</p>
<h2>No more than a costume</h2>
<p>I’ve been researching representations of penises and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15240657.2020.1857528">the way they’re connected to masculinity</a> since the 1993 publication of my book “<a href="https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/running-scared">Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body</a>.”</p>
<p>The media, it seems, has become fascinated with prosthetic penises while skirting the issue of why filmmakers and actors are avoiding actually baring it all.</p>
<p>“Minx” is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/arts/television/hbo-hulu-amazon-march.html">set in the 1970s</a> and tells the story of an activist who becomes the editor of an erotic feminist magazine that includes nude male centerfolds. Her partner in the enterprise is a successful pornographer.</p>
<p>The premise seems ripe for actors to appear in the flesh. And sure enough, early coverage of the show plays up this element. “Minx,” <a href="https://decider.com/2022/03/01/minx-on-hbo-max-review/">according to a review in Deadline</a>, uses nudity “to defang the insidious shame associated with sexuality in all forms. … [In the show] a penis is just a penis and a breast a mere breast.”<br>
But a prosthetic penis is not just a penis; it is not even a penis. </p>
<p>The “Minx” pilot does include a minutelong scene in which about 18 bottomless men audition to appear in the centerfold, and flashes of their purportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/arts/television/minx-hbo-max-male-nudity.html">real penises are shown</a>.</p>
<p>Although The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/arts/television/minx-hbo-max-male-nudity.html">praised the montage</a> for its “unusual degree of realism,” I think it highlights how the show carefully regulates the representation of penises. </p>
<p>None of the men in this brief scene are major characters. It turns out <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/03/minx-euphoria-tvs-increase-in-full-frontal-male-nudity-prosthetics">some actually wore prosthetic penises</a>. And the one who’s ultimately chosen, played by Perez, wears a prosthesis, which simply amounts to a costume. </p>
<h2>Titillating PR</h2>
<p>Furthermore, the phony phalli on screen often reflect cultural stereotypes.</p>
<p>In the 2015 film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3844362/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">The Overnight</a>,” a character with a small prosthetic penis is comically obsessed about its size and his sexual performance. As one prosthetic artist <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3049594/what-hollywoods-prosthetic-penis-genius-can-teach-you-about-ahem-growing-y">explained to Fast Company</a>, “Filmmakers will always give a bigger penis to more manly, virile characters and smaller penises are usually just about the gag factor.” </p>
<p>He added that he’d welcome diverse, real penises because they’d make people “a little bit more comfortable with sexuality” and combat the “taboo” of showing the penis.</p>
<p>Culture writer Christina Izzo <a href="https://www.myimperfectlife.com/features/tv-prosthetic-penis-trend">derides the popularity of prosthetics</a> as a “cock-out cop-out.”</p>
<p>But Izzo is a lonely voice. <a href="https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a38949715/male-nudity-tv-euphoria-pam-tommy-talking-penis">Most coverage of prosthetic penises</a> tends to portray them as progressive for purportedly providing a visual balance to female nudity and feminist for making actresses more comfortable on set.</p>
<p>I believe the issues should be separated. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/entertainment/intimacy-coordinators-michaela-coel-baftas-intl-scli-gbr/index.html">When intimacy consultants</a> require the use of prosthetic penises in intimate sexual scenes with bodily contact for the comfort of actresses, they perform a profoundly important role. However, many of the instances of frontal male nudity I’ve analyzed involve no intimate sexual contact. </p>
<p>Eric Dane and Jacob Elordi are two of many actors in “Euphoria” <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/eric-dane-on-why-he-used-a-prosthetic-penis-for-euphoria-full-frontal-sex-scene/">who purportedly wore prosthetic penises</a> even as <a href="https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/jacob-elordi-euphoria-stunt-penises-mullet-kissing-booth">they implied</a> that they’ve broken the taboo of showing penises. </p>
<p>It is impossible to verify most claims about the extent of the use of prosthetic penises on any show, and <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a37062869/sex-life-brad-prosthetic-penis/">some actors refuse to answer the question</a>. An “is it real or not” tease encourages speculation and has become its own form of publicity for shows and actors. </p>
<h2>Sculpting meaning into something trivial</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Masculinity-Bodies-Movies-Culture/Lehman/p/book/9780415923248">My research</a> <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;cc=acls;view=toc;idno=heb08133.0001.001">on sexuality and the male body</a> shows that representations of the penis in the media influence cultural notions of sexuality and gender. Since the penis is a potent cultural symbol, people are bombarded with conflicting messages attempting to control its meaning.</p>
<p>For example, medicine reassures men that nearly all of them are average. Pornography shows extremely large penises. Men with small penises are the butt of size jokes. Racist stereotypes suggest men of some races have large penises and are hypersexual, while others are undersexed with small ones.</p>
<p>Prosthetic penises are just another way to attach significance to the organ.</p>
<p>Of course, the truth is that penises have no fixed meanings. The first issue of <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a55592/playgirl-magazine-history/">Playgirl magazine</a>, which featured real frontal male nudity, was published in 1973; it makes the use of prostheses in 2022 seem overly prude. Mature representations of real, diverse penises, without shame or special significance, would be far more worthy of media attention than prostheses. </p>
<p>That, to me, would be truly revolutionary.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Lehman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Often described as a sign of progressivism and gender equality, they’re neither.Peter Lehman, Emeritus Professor, Film and Media Studies in English, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1700422021-11-11T15:19:38Z2021-11-11T15:19:38ZMen without university degrees have suffered the biggest hit to employment since COVID<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431298/original/file-20211110-15-1elgea6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=214%2C121%2C4510%2C2980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-road-worker-repair-asphalt-1113930650">Shutterstock/Artem Avetisyan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stay at home. That was the stark rule imposed in countries around the world when the dangers of COVID-19 became fully understood. Only “key workers” whose physical presence at the workplace was deemed crucial were supposed to go to work. </p>
<p>The effect on working habits was dramatic. Sectors such as hospitality and retail suffered badly, and many jobs were put at risk. Overall, though, the worst impact of the pandemic on employment in the UK has been <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/surveys/informationforhouseholdsandindividuals/householdandindividualsurveys/labourforcesurvey">suffered by non-graduate men</a>. </p>
<p>Unlike graduates, who were often able to “Zoom into the office” and keep working during lockdowns, non-graduates were less likely to be able to work from home. Instead, firms chose to place them on furlough or laid them off altogether. Non-graduate men were about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272720301092">twice as likely</a> to lose their jobs compared to non-graduate women. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427506/original/file-20211020-20-7nnbk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Labour Force Survey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But non-graduate men losing their jobs is nothing new. In fact, it continues a 40-year trend of their employment status becoming ever more precarious in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/postindustrial-society">post-industrial economy</a>, where the manufacturing sector has declined. Their roles in processes like manufacturing production lines were either <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.104.8.2509">taken by machines or exported</a>. </p>
<h2>Why non-graduate men lost out</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/timeseries/lf24/lms">record high</a> UK employment rates seen before the pandemic hid the fact that in recent decades men have seen their <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20191480">employment rates fall</a>, while <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115329?casa_token=CoP7dRBfmAkAAAAA:zt_4GNvDTlOFaJJjvmjLdRyjnq4Gpyzgx6jIPdXZiuU0yIO_PnSwO96pENVHdES16xc_DDKbBSEo">women have</a> seen theirs rise. </p>
<p>And it was non-graduate men that were driving these falling rates. The proportion of them in work fell from over 90% in 1980 to 75% in 2019, as can be seen below, while non-graduate women saw their employment rates increase over this period.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427518/original/file-20211020-27-1bhxhoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Labour Force Survey </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As manufacturing jobs disappeared, non-graduates found work in service-sector jobs such as hospitality, which could not be <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.29.3.3">performed by machines</a>. Non-graduate men, however, were <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25651400?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">less adept</a> at securing these jobs than non-graduate women.</p>
<p>When non-graduate men could find work, the jobs they undertook were more likely to involve manual tasks. As shown in the chart below, in 2019 non-graduate men had jobs that contained, on average, around 45% manual tasks compared to 33% for non-graduate women. These manual job tasks could not be done in person during the pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431179/original/file-20211109-27-1abam0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Labour Force Survey 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, non-graduate men <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/labour-force-survey-annual-report-summary-2019">were less likely</a> to fall into the category of key workers who continued working during the pandemic. In healthcare 75% of workers are women, while in education it’s 72% and in care work it’s 80%. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431180/original/file-20211109-19-1m7jlna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Labour Force Survey 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether or not non-graduate men will be able to find work again is likely to have a profound impact for both them and society. The decline in job opportunities available to them has already had dramatic effects. Research suggests that their economic angst helped fuel the populist movements of both <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0010414019830714?casa_token=XVrG8JJpqmIAAAAA:uH_aixWe689EMoWOpT-9NNDCBbTBC45OXn0CCZzfTU3RPoO8gA3jWxMX8xDzesbtDzTZmNNOIcpdZg">Brexit</a> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/gone-for-good-deindustrialization-white-voter-backlash-and-us-presidential-voting/B647DC5EE8CE52562B09797E6D5AF37E">Donald Trump</a>, in the belief that these would defend and promote their <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/gone-for-good-deindustrialization-white-voter-backlash-and-us-presidential-voting/B647DC5EE8CE52562B09797E6D5AF37E">relative status</a>.</p>
<h2>The health impact</h2>
<p>The decline in job opportunities has also led to non-graduate men dying in far greater numbers than before. Both <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/uploads/The-IFS-Deaton-Review-launch.pdf">in the UK</a> and the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/casetextsp17bpea.pdf">US</a>, many who couldn’t find work over the past 30 years turned to <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20180010">alcohol</a> and <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/700896">drugs</a> as life became hopeless. They started to take their own lives in greater numbers as well. </p>
<p>In the UK, the number of middle-aged men dying from these “deaths of despair” <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/05/14/deaths-of-despair-once-an-american-phenomenon-now-haunt-britain">has doubled</a> over the past 30 years. In the US, the number has increased so rapidly, it has actually <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/4/15/21214734/deaths-of-despair-coronavirus-covid-19-angus-deaton-anne-case-americans-deaths">led to falling</a> overall life expectancy.</p>
<p>What happens next is uncertain. The good news is that economic growth as the UK has emerged from the effects of the pandemic has led to <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/october2021">falling unemployment</a>. The bad news is part of the reason unemployment has fallen is because <a href="https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/IES%20briefing%20paper.1%20-%20Labour%20Market%20Statistics%20October%202021.pdf">more than 150,000 people</a> have stopped looking for work because they have retired or are sick. </p>
<p>Less educated workers <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/3f9fa009-en.pdf?expires=1634731762&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=E00F4FE5DE89157EDC874ADC2BD75075">find it harder</a> to re-enter the labour market when they leave. It is likely that the UK’s economic recovery will also slow down in the next year as the government spends less money supporting it. Whether non-graduate men are able to find work in the post-pandemic economy will not be a matter just of employment, but of survival.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeevun Sandher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pandemic has left many looking for work as part of a longer term decline.Jeevun Sandher, PhD Candidate - Department of Political Economy, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1601402021-05-10T16:02:21Z2021-05-10T16:02:21ZWhy some straight men have sex with other men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398461/original/file-20210503-15-1kb1olq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2986%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sexual encounters with men do not affect how these straight men perceive their identity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sexual identities and sexual behaviours don’t always match because sexuality <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.713147">is multidimensional</a>. Many people <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michaelwaters/lgbt-rights-movement-sexual-fluidity-bisexuality-pride">recognize</a> <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674032262&content=reviews">sexual fluidity</a>, and some even identify as “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976382">mostly</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2013.01.001">straight</a>.” </p>
<p>Fewer people know that some men <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243216657511">and women</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2014.902347">have same-sex encounters</a>, yet nonetheless perceive themselves as exclusively straight. And these people are not necessarily “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy064">closeted</a>” gays, lesbians or bisexuals. </p>
<p>When a closeted gay or bisexual man has sex with another man, he views that sex as <em>reflecting</em> his secret identity. He is not open about that identity, likely because he <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-016-0819-y">fears discrimination</a>. When a straight man has sex with another man, however, he views himself as straight <em>despite</em> his sex with men. </p>
<p>In my book, <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479801107/still-straight/"><em>Still Straight: Sexual Flexibility among White Men in Rural America</em></a>, I investigate why some men who identify as straight have sex with other men. Large <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/index.htm">nationally representative surveys</a> show that hundreds of thousands of straight American men — at least — have had sex with two or more other men. This finding represents a disconnect between identity and behaviour, and researchers from around the world - in the <a href="https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/jos-2019-0036">United States</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/SH14117">Australia</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189607">U.K.</a> - have studied this topic.</p>
<p>It involves two related but separate issues: first, why men identify as straight if they have sex with other men, and second, why straight men would <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-erotic-code/202007/straight-guise-understanding-male-sexual-fluidity">have sex</a> with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460716678561">other men</a> in the first place. </p>
<h2>Skirting around cheating</h2>
<p>As part of my research, I spoke with 60 straight men who have sex with other men, and specifically looked at men in rural areas and small towns. The majority of men I interviewed were primarily attracted to women, not men. So why would they have sex with other men? </p>
<p>My findings revealed several reasons as to why straight men have sex with other men. Several men explained that their marriages did not have as much sex as they wanted, and while they wanted to remain married, they also wanted to have more sex. Extramarital sex with men, to them, helped relieve their sexual needs without threatening their marriages. </p>
<p>Tom, a 59-year-old from Washington, explained: “I kind of think of it as, I’m married to a nun.” <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243216679934">He continued</a>: “For me, being romantic and emotional is more cheating than just having sex.” And Ryan, a 60-year-old from Illinois, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460716678564">felt similarly</a>. He said: “Even when I have an encounter now, I’m not cheating on her. I wouldn’t give up her for that.” </p>
<p>These men felt as though extramarital sex with women would negatively affect their marriages, whereas extramarital sex with men was not as much of an issue. Most men had not told their wives about their extramarital sex, however. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Legs together in bed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398462/original/file-20210503-17-xyif66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Straight men who have sex with other men are not necessarily closeted, because they do genuinely see themselves as heterosexual.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Identities reflect sexual, nonsexual aspects of life</h2>
<p>In order to answer why men would identify as straight despite having sex with other men, it’s important to know that sexual identities indicate how people perceive the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243216657511">sexual <em>and</em> nonsexual</a> aspects of their lives. Connor, a 43-year-old from Oregon, noted: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I think there’s a definite disconnect between gay and homosexual. There’s the homosexual community, which isn’t a community, there’s the homosexual proclivity, and then the gay community. It’s like you can be an athlete without being a jock. And you can be homosexual without being gay, or into all of it. It just becomes so politically charged now.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The men I talked to identified as straight because they felt that this identity best reflected their romantic relationships with women, their connections to heterosexual communities or the way they understood their masculinity. Straight identification also, of course, meant that they avoided discrimination. They felt that sex with men was irrelevant to their identities given every other part of their lives.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197">Men who identify as feminists are having more — and more varied — sex</a>
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<p>Living in small towns and in more rural settings also shaped how the men perceived themselves. Larry, 37, from Wyoming explained: “I would say straight because that best suits our cultural norms around here.” Most of the men I talked to were happy with their lives and identities, and they did not want to identify as gay or bisexual — not when people asked them, and not to themselves. </p>
<p>It may come as a surprise, but internalized homophobia was not a major reason the men I spoke to identified as straight. Most <em>supported</em> equal legal rights for lesbians, gays and bisexuals. Other research also shows that, on average, straight men who have sex with men are not any more homophobic <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article/97/3/1067/5045222">than other straight men</a>. Additionally, while most men knew bisexual is a valid identity, they felt that bisexual did not describe their identity because they were only romantically interested in women. </p>
<p>Many factors beyond sexual attractions or behaviours shape sexual identification, including <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/socpro/spaa074/6043198">social contexts</a>, romantic relationships and beliefs about masculinity and femininity, among others. Straight men who have sex with other men are not necessarily closeted, because they do genuinely see themselves as heterosexual. </p>
<p>Sexual encounters with men simply do not affect how they perceive their identity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Silva received funding from the Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN) in the form of a postdoctoral fellowship that allowed him to turn this project into a book.</span></em></p>Why do men identify as straight if they have sex with other men? And why would a straight man have sex with another man in the first place?Tony Silva, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1581972021-04-04T12:00:46Z2021-04-04T12:00:46ZMen who identify as feminists are having more — and more varied — sex<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393016/original/file-20210401-13-7lwa36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C0%2C5708%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Public commitments to feminism translated into private benefits for heterosexual men.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2015, Justin Trudeau surprised many by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/justin-trudeau-feminist-twitter-explodes">claiming a feminist identity</a>. Numerous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2015.1005382">celebrities and entertainers</a> have recently asserted themselves as feminists, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2015.1005405">some have even chastised those who reject feminism</a>. </p>
<p>While more and more men from across social divides have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2005.0005">begun supporting feminist values and asserting a feminist identity</a>, many are scrutinized for talking the talk but not walking the walk. </p>
<p>Feminism is predicated on support for gender equality. Men may associate with feminism to <a href="https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-20-3-283">help distance themselves from outdated gender roles</a>, bringing them in line with current sociopolitical trends.</p>
<p>In a recent article I co-authored with sociologist <a href="https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/people/fetner-tina">Tina Fetner</a>, we looked at whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20980789">feminist men care about equality in the bedroom, the most intimate environment where the gender oppression may play out</a>. Specifically, we were interested in how the sex lives of feminist men differed from non-feminist men: Did their personal politics mean they acted differently when having sex with women?</p>
<p>Beyond simply claiming a progressive identity, what sort of behaviours accompany a feminist identity? Do feminist men actually live up to their identity in various aspects of their lives?</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_G9jgYBN5Zs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains why he describes himself as a feminist.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Surveying men</h2>
<p>Seeking answers to these questions, we analyzed a sub-sample of self-identifying heterosexual men from a larger survey on sex and sexuality in Canada. <a href="https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/sexuality-attitudes-practices-and-policy/news/launch-of-a-nationally-representative-canadian-survey-of-sex-in-canada-1">The Sex in Canada survey</a> is a nationally representative survey of Canadian adults. It asks questions not only about sexuality, but also about personal sexual behaviours, sexual history and political and social values.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/condoms-are-the-best-defence-against-rising-sexually-transmitted-infections-133415">Condoms are the best defence against rising sexually transmitted infections</a>
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<p>Of all the straight Canadian men surveyed, we found that only about 22 per cent of men actually identified as feminist. Most men, around 60 per cent, said they were not feminists, and about 18 per cent were “not sure.” And, as with feminist women in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243204273498">previous studies</a>, feminist men were more likely to have higher levels of education.</p>
<h2>Feminism = more sex</h2>
<p>Taking a look at how recently men engage in certain sex acts, we found feminist men had more sex than non-feminist men. Specifically, feminist men reported having intercourse and both performing and receiving oral sex with women partners more recently than non-feminist men. </p>
<p>While feminist men reported giving oral sex to their partners more recently, they also engaged in intercourse and received oral sex more recently than non-feminist men, suggesting they do not sacrifice their own pleasure. Instead, we believe feminist men continue to benefit from traditional approaches to sex that emphasize sex acts pleasurable for men.</p>
<p>Taking a deeper look at this, we examined men’s most recent sexual encounter to further test if intimate encounters differed between groups. Feminist men, and those who said they were unsure of their feminist stance, were more likely than non-feminists to have intercourse and engage in breast touching or nipple stimulation.</p>
<p>Feminist men and even those who were not sure, reported giving oral sex to their female partners at higher rates than non-feminists. This is critical as research consistently finds that clitoral stimulation through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2018.1563014">oral sex is an important and pleasurable act that brings women to orgasm</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A couple snuggling in bed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Feminist men were more likely to give — and receive — oral sex in their most recent sexual encounter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Gender equality in private and public</h2>
<p>All too frequently we see men say one thing and do another; we tend to focus primarily on public attitudes and behaviours. We have little knowledge of what goes on beyond closed doors.</p>
<p>Although men who claim a feminist identity may not be more equitable in their everyday public interactions with women, our findings suggest that identifying as a feminist matters in private settings.</p>
<p>In private sexual encounters, feminist men and those ambivalent toward feminism, perform sexual behaviours targeting women’s pleasure at a higher rate than those disavowing feminism, suggesting these men may care about their partners as expressed through the performance of equality in sexual pleasure. </p>
<p>Many men claiming a feminist identity also declare support for gender equality. Our results indicate this purported support coincides with a commitment to gender equality in sexual interaction. Feminist men help transcend sexual (interaction) inequality by bridging the gender gap in orgasms. </p>
<p>While this is a good sign, we encourage further conversation and research addressing inequality in private heterosexual relations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max Stick receives funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Men who identify as feminists self-report more frequent sex and higher levels of sexual satisfaction. The other 60 per cent aren’t having as much fun, according to the findings of a new study.Max Stick, PhD Candidate, Sociology, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1573312021-03-26T02:14:15Z2021-03-26T02:14:15ZMen are more likely to commit violent crimes. Why is this so and how do we change it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391309/original/file-20210324-23-1365phk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Criminology is the study of individual and social factors associated with crime and the people who perpetrate it. One of the discipline’s well-established truths is that men commit violent and sexual offences <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/crime-victimisation-australia/latest-release#physical-assault">at far higher rates</a> than women. </p>
<p>Men are also the most likely victims of physical violence across the board, but <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-victims/latest-release">women are far more likely than men</a> to be victims of sexual, familial and domestic violence.</p>
<p>Rates of imprisonment give us tangible evidence of this gender imbalance.</p>
<p>Across Australia, only <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7015303/australias-female-prison-population-boom/">about 8% of prisoners</a> are women. While prison population figures provide only a very rough guide to criminal behaviour, we can safely assert that <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/prisoners-australia/latest-release">men perpetrate the vast majority</a> of criminal conduct, and certainly violent conduct.</p>
<p>What does the research tell us about the patterns behind this alarming fact? </p>
<p>In the early days of criminological enquiry, much attention was given to the Y chromosome – the determinant of male sex organs. This line of research, referred to broadly as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivist_school_(criminology)#:%7E:text=Biological%20positivism%20is%20a%20theory,criminals%20and%20some%20are%20not.">biological positivism</a>, gave rise to explanations that “men can’t help themselves”. Fortunately, these theorists hold very little sway in criminological circles today.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cultural-misogyny-and-why-mens-aggression-to-women-is-so-often-expressed-through-sex-157680">'Cultural misogyny' and why men's aggression to women is so often expressed through sex</a>
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<p>More contemporary attention is given to factors associated with the societies in which we live. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html">Social learning theory</a> posits that men are more likely than women to associate with antisocial peers. </p>
<p>Other scholars are interested in the way in which key life experiences influence the propensity to commit crime. Known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178916300684">developmental and life course criminology</a>, it suggests the causes of crime are a result of a linking of individual characteristics, such as impulsiveness, with a person’s environmental factors such as their family, schooling, religion, neighbourhood and the way they were parented, including any exposure to <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2017/08/30/investigating-complex-links-between-maltreatment-and-youth-offending">neglect and maltreatment</a>. Renowned criminologist <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb00987.x">David Farrington</a> has suggested these factors play out differently for males and females.</p>
<p>Into the sociological frame, too, comes <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/strain-theory-sociology">strain theory</a>, which proposes that difficult circumstances or life stresses can produce anger and frustration that may lead to violence. The <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/mar03/angeracross">gender divide</a> is explained by the evidence that men are likely to react violently to such strains. Women, according to this theory, are more likely to internalise their responses.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2780644?seq=1">Edgework theory</a> pursues the idea that men are more likely than women to engage in risk-taking behaviour, even to the edge of acceptable conduct. Men in the criminal justice system are best described, on this view, as “risky thrill-seekers” while women caught up in the same system are more likely to be described as “at risk”.</p>
<p>The science of psychology, too, plays an important role here. Psychological studies suggest <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/CICrimJust/2001/5.pdf">gender role identification</a> − internalised characteristics culturally regarded as appropriate behaviour for men and women − rather than gender itself is crucial to the experience of anger, its expression and control. </p>
<p>How are these gender divides created and shaped? Criminologists such as <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/female-crime-ngaire-naffine/10.4324/9781315646992?context=ubx&refId=0b096287-5f8c-468b-9a17-d04d29c23146">Ngaire Naffine</a> have offered the view that there has always been an entrenched belief in the “natural” order of things, which associates masculinity with dominance and status. In this view, individuals construct their beliefs according to their class, ethnicity and sexuality, but the result is always a reinforcement of dominant patterns of masculinity. One can observe these patterns in competition for status, bravado among peers, the drive for power and control, shamelessness, and a lack of concern for others.</p>
<p>Women, by contrast, are less likely to display these traits because society (including the criminal justice system) has positioned them as needing greater protection, with consequent patronising benevolence.</p>
<p>In summary, men disproportionately exhibit far more anti-social behaviour than women. When it comes to sexual crimes, men are far more likely to commit them, and women are far more likely to be the victims. The easy cultural dismissal that “boys will be boys” simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and is actively doing damage. </p>
<p>So how best can we respond to the problem of violence perpetrated by men?</p>
<p>Law reform is necessary to ensure the practice of law is in line with prevailing social norms and priorities. This has certainly not always been the case. For example, until the 1970s there was no such thing, legally, as rape in marriage. Even in the first iteration of reform to the law, a prosecution could only proceed if there was evidence of actual bodily harm to the victim. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-do-we-go-from-here-with-the-allegations-about-christian-porter-156497">Where do we go from here with the allegations about Christian Porter?</a>
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<p>There have been other pleasing law reforms too. Today, in many jurisdictions, police provide victim assistance services, prosecution counsel are trained in handling traumatised clients, limits have been placed on cross-examination practices, and directions to juries do not carry the same cautions regarding corroborative evidence that were standard a decade ago.</p>
<p>Legal change is necessary, but it is not enough. For the most part, the law comes in only after the damage has been done. </p>
<p>Of greater importance in the drive for change is the value that societies must place on teaching all men to respect and value the worth of all people, regardless of gender, race, or creed. When that is socially learned, and flawed expectations of masculinity are put to one side, men will be less likely to engage in risky behaviours and internalise gendered expectations. They will also be more likely to draw on pro-social coping mechanisms when under stress, and more likely to reject the notion that masculinity must identify with power, control, shamelessness and independence. </p>
<p>Creating conditions beyond individual responses is important too. Mass movements and marches like the ones witnessed this month have provided great impetus to the social and political conditions required for positive change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Sarre is the president of the SA Council for Civil Liberties. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catia Malvaso receives funding from the Australian Research Council (Discovery Early Career Researcher Award), the Australian Institute of Criminology (Criminology Research Grants), and the Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Day and Ben Livings do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In criminology, there are many theories to account for why men are more likely than women to commit crimes – and they may hold the key to changing those figures.Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South AustraliaAndrew Day, Professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of MelbourneBen Livings, Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Evidence, University of South AustraliaCatia Malvaso, Postdoctoral Researcher in Psychology and Public Health, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.