The Journal of Men’s Studies

Existing literature on the psychology of men and masculinity indicates that men face specific mental health difficulties. Overall, men seem more reluctant to seek out mental health services than women. This study explores the ways in which seven male patients talk about their experiences of participating in cognitive-behavioral group therapy in the context of outpatient Danish mental health services. Employing a discourse analytical approach, this study investigates how traditional masculinity ideals affect the men’s accounts of participating in cognitive behavioral group therapy. The analysis indicates that traditional masculinity informs the interpretative repertoires men apply to describe their preconceptions of therapy and engaging in therapy. In turn, these common-sense understandings make certain subject positions available, which may be gendered. The relevance of the findings for future gender sensitive psychotherapy practice with men is discussed.

This paper situates gamer discussions of the fantasy race the drow, or dark elves, in masculinity theory. I examine threads from a Facebook group discussing the topic, and code the reactions of men participating. I discuss how some gamer masculinities that are displayed reinforces a belief of epistemic privilege among White men that allows for hegemonic responses to discussions that involve structural racism. I propose larp gamer masculinity as a hybrid masculinity, complicit in its support of hegemonic models but appropriating elements of subordinated populations to allow individuals to feel like an “outsider.” In these gaming discourse spaces, men employ an anti-intellectualized form of digital hooliganism as a rationale for their claims. These men dismiss claims of discrimination as they see those as characteristics outside the scope of the game. The resistance exhibited by these men reacting to changes should be viewed differently than extremist discourses.

Programs working with men and boys in relation to gender equality are increasing. Little is known, however, about how these programs go beyond raising awareness, to supporting attitude and behaviour change in their participants. In response, 17 facilitators from eight Australian organisations were interviewed to identify program design and delivery strategies that increase male participants’ engagement. Analysis of interview data revealed three themes and seven subthemes, which were crosschecked against survey data from 79 program participants. The themes were the provision of a safe, judgement-free environment; encouraging and supporting growth in participants; and the central role of the facilitators in the success of the first two themes, and in the delivery of programs more generally. Facilitator and participants held mostly consistent perspectives, which were comparable with the existing literature; variations from the literature were noted, however, regarding the lack of efficacy of single-session programs and the relevance of facilitator gender.

This study sought to understand how gendered-antiblackness shapes the experiences and perceptions of a group of Black working- and middle-class fathers–emanating from both the U.S. and abroad–and how this phenomenon determines their approach to, and practice of, fatherhood. I analyzed the interviews of ten Black fathers, half of whom were classified as working- or middle-class. The data are based on qualitative, in-depth semi-structured interviews, wherein findings indexed three overarching themes–racialized experiences, racialized perceptions, and fathering strategies and practices–that constitute how the participants in this study thought about fatherhood, gender, and race. Participants invoked race and racism as phenomena specific to their experiences as Black men and fathers. Additionally, participants described how their blackness and gender shaped their experientially-based definition of fatherhood and how they practice it.

This research represents a breakthrough in studies examining men’s career trajectories in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). While past research examined men’s personal career narratives using thematic tools of analysis, the current study employs metaphorical analysis that provides deep insight into men’s intentions and understanding of themselves, as expressed to others. Two men’s metaphorical concepts found in their career narratives were identified and contrasted. One man’s metaphors were drawn from his experience in the American counter-culture of the 1960s; while the other’s emanated from his Protestant German upbringing. This process revealed their motivations to choose a traditionally female career and their agentic coping with difficulties engendered by crossing into a female gendered territory. A socio-cultural perspective enabled a wider interpretation. This research suggests that metaphorical analysis be used for research employing men’s narratives to aspects of their lives and their professional practice.

This article explores the online construction of masculinity and fatherhood in contemporary Greece. Through a digital observation of five celebrities’ Instagram activities that identified with the image of family man and affectionate father, the article argues that self-representations of affluent and involved masculinity and fatherhood represent a popular media trend. The article analyzes such self-representations as the outcome of historical transformations in gender and family politics, economy, and media that go back to the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. It also argues that the acceptance of such imagery by wide audiences demonstrates the persistence of the male archetype of breadwinner, the value of the family, and the nostalgic survival of elements of earlier prosperous consumer aesthetics throughout the Greek economic crisis of the 2010s.

This article examines what discourses and assumed subject positions have emerged about men and masculinity in #MeToo debates. Using feminist critical discourse analysis and an exploratory approach to analyze 163 media articles, five key framings are noted: men are victims of masculinity requiring intervention, men are positioned as inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’, boys and men are lost and need to be found, men are performative in their ‘awakenings’, and men’s take up of protector or allyship roles may in fact be attempts to be false heroes. The findings of this work note several tensions and contradictions that highlight an overall lack of coherency and agreement regarding men’s engagements with, and roles in, the #MeToo movement. These contradictions and tensions have implications for thinking about gender equality and gendered violence prevention initiatives.

Driven by overwhelming numerical dominance of women in the role of nurses, nursing profession over the last two centuries has been largely scripted with gendered characterizations. However, nuances that shape the language and wording choices that are evoked when describing the stereotypes targeting male nurses remain relatively unexplored. Our current research examined the way 117 female non-nursing and nursing students in Canada characterized male nurses using open-ended self-report measures and thematic qualitative analyses. We contribute to the literature on nursing, gender, and stereotypes by analyzing the personal attitudes and stereotypes held by young female students toward male nurses. Social role theory and the stereotype content model provided the theoretical underpinnings to explore and explain emergent stereotypes and stereotype content. Our findings suggest that students generate more communal, high-warmth characteristics for male nurses than agentic characteristics, suggesting possible paternalistic prejudice toward men in nursing.