Uncharted territory: The future of men and masculinities

Masculinities and manhood have become focal points in recent public discourse, igniting heated debates across kitchen tables, media platforms, and academic circles alike. From discussions of the “crisis of masculinity” to toxic behaviors to explorations of healthy expressions of masculinities, there is no shortage of opinions on what it means to be a man in a rapidly evolving social landscape. As the premier scholarly outlet dedicated to the psychological study of men and masculinities, Psychology of Men & Masculinities is uniquely positioned to take the lead in shaping evidence-based perspectives on this topic.

Accordingly, we invited manuscripts for a special issue in Psychology of Men & Masculinities to envision the future of the field. We encouraged authors to venture into uncharted territory by thinking creatively, proposing novel ideas, and challenging taken-for-granted ideas, so as to inspire new trajectories of research and practical interventions. Our authors did not disappoint us. Collectively, the nine articles in the special issue address diverse topics that help us think more critically and comprehensively about boys, men, and masculinities.

Some key insights from the special issue are as follows: 

1. Masculinity research has largely overlooked “whiteness,” but a racial–spatial framework can help explain how it shapes White men’s experiences differently from those of men of color (Liu & Liu, 2024).
2. Inaccurate beliefs about the impact of testosterone and estrogen on men’s functioning can have negative consequences for men’s physical, psychological, and relational well-being (Burris & Knox, 2024).
3. Masculinity is more complicated than most people think—it can be a set of directives (e.g., “Men should not cry”), something men need to prove, or an identifying image (e.g., jock, nerd, or rebel; Smiler, 2024).
4. Developmental perspectives on the study of masculinities may provide important insights into adaptive and maladaptive changes in the gender identity of boys and men as they move through the lifecycle (McMahon, 2024).
5. When men lack deeply supportive friendships, women often take on a form of emotional labor called “mankeeping”—the invisible work of compensating for gaps in male social networks; this unequal burden can negatively impact women’s time and overall well-being, highlighting a hidden dimension of modern gender inequality (Ferrara & Vergara, 2024).
6. Adherence to traditional masculine gender roles may make men more likely to consent to unwanted sex and to have partners who do the same, thereby creating risk for negative sexual, psychological, and relational outcomes (Peterson, 2024).
7. To understand and break the link between masculinity and men’s violence against women, recognizing how personal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors intertwine with the ever-changing social and material world to shape masculinity is necessary (Jeffrey et al., 2024).
8. Men may be more likely to engage with and internalize feminism when their involvement fulfills fundamental motivational needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Moser et al., 2024).
9. Increasing men’s representation in early childhood education and care requires addressing occupational gender segregation, reshaping gendered expectations, and fostering caring masculinities from childhood (Haines et al., 2024).

This article is in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area.

Burris, C. T., & Knox, C. (2024). Gonadal hormones: The men, the myths, and the legends. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000468

Ferrara, A. P., & Vergara, D. P. (2024). Theorizing mankeeping: The male friendship recession and women’s associated labor as a structural component of gender inequality. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000494

Haines, S., Nater, C., & Sczesny, S. (2024). Creating a system that cares: A PRISMA review and road map to increase men’s representation in early childhood education and care. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 451–465. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000486

Jeffrey, N. K., Rice, C., & Smoliak, O. (2024). Looking back and looking forward: Men and masculinity in psychological research on violence against women. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 418–437. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000483

Liu, W. M., & Liu, R. Z. (2024). Unexamined whiteness in the psychological study of men and masculinities: Situating research and practice within white space and white time. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 333–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000484

McMahon, T. J. (2024). On the future of the psychological study of men and masculinities: A developmental perspective. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000489

Moser, C. E., Siegel, J. A., & Wiley, S. (2024). Men in feminism: A self-determination perspective and goals for the future. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 438–450. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000480

Peterson, Z. D. (2024). Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000475

Smiler, A. P. (2024). Understanding masculinity: A multifaceted organizing framework. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 25(4), 357–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000495

Y. Joel Wong, PhD, is a professor of counseling psychology at Indiana University and the editor-in-chief of Psychology of Men and Masculinities. His research interests are in conceptualizing and measuring masculinities. Within these broad areas, he has studied various topics, such as men’s emotions, mental health, and the perpetration of sexual aggression.

Sarah Seymour-Smith, PhD, is an associate professor of discourse and masculinities in psychology at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She is a discursive psychologist and her primary research interests are concerned with the impact of masculinity on men’s health. She examines how men’s identity performance may place them at risk of poor health outcomes and how men negotiate and resist socially constructed health barriers.

Brenda L. Volling, PhD, is the Lois Wladis Hoffman collegiate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. She is a developmental psychologist with interests in parenting and early child development. Her research interests include the role of fathers and how they contribute to children’s early socioemotional development.

Stephen R. Wester, PhD, is a professor of educational psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His research interests include men’s emotional experiences, male gender role conflict, and the stigma that men assign to the process of psychotherapy.