The men’s movement – sign of a recurrent masculinity crisis?

“I thought it would be interesting to compare these two men’s movements and examine how different forms of male activism have been mobilised at different times. I hope to put the debate about a masculinity crisis into a historical context and show that this is not a new phenomenon,” she says.

She has used the associations’ websites, blogs, minutes, letters and articles as source material and explains that, initially, Befria mannen was a men’s movement that embraced the women’s movement and wanted to contribute to changing destructive male roles.

Criticised for being “soft”

“In the 1980s, in response to increasing criticism that they were weak softies, the movement changed direction. It renamed itself Mannen (The Man) and instead promoted a new type of masculinity, one that was not overly feminine,” Hill says.

From the beginning, the Mannens väg association, founded in 2020, has wanted to embrace masculinity and support men in crisis.

“They believe that many men have suppressed their innate masculinity and listened too much to society’s demands, rather than seeing to their own needs.”

Aims to reinstate masculinity

These associations do not state that they are opposed to gender equality and feminism per se, but believe that in some cases feminism has gone too far, Hill explains. The message is that the natural type of masculinity has been lost and thus needs to be restored.

“Men’s movements, and the collective masculine identity they create, therefore become a way for their participants to re-establish masculinity, themselves and their ideas of authentic masculinity, as a contrast to women and femininity,” she writes in the article.

“In this rhetoric, they use history to argue that there was once a time when gender identities were natural and gender divisions were more obvious, but this is a very simplified view. Gender roles have always been reshaped and taken different forms.”

However, she believes that men’s movements are an interesting reflection of contemporary debate.

Demands for change create uncertainty

“Starting in the 1970s, Swedish gender equality policy has demanded that men change their behaviour. For many men this has created uncertainty, which is reflected in the men’s movements.”

She is currently studying the reception of the reality series Tre pappor (Three Dads). This was broadcast on public service television in 2022 and caused a great deal of debate and commentary about the participating men, both in the media and online, who worked on daring to be both gentle and vulnerable alongside a strong masculinity.

“It is as if there is both desire and distaste for men who are in crisis or show weakness. I think this is an interesting area of research,” says Hill.