How can youth professionals deal with current polarisation around masculinity?

In recent years, a widespread discourse has evolved around certain ‘masculine’ characteristics and behaviours that are considered toxic, which has left many young men feeling unappreciated in today’s society. Moreover, traditional gender roles and identities have increasingly been questioned and deconstructed. Therefore, as concepts around masculinity and gender are evolving and becoming ambiguous, many young men find strength in a narrative that consolidates and values these ‘masculine’ traits. Various popular self-help ‘gurus’ and influencers place masculinity at the core of their discourse, and social media has provided a massive vehicle to disseminate this message.

This narrative can be beneficial for identity-building to a certain extent. However, polarisation around questions of identity, feelings of not being accepted in society and discontent (about relational life) are risk factors for radicalisation. Some extreme aspects of this narrative turn hostile towards women, feminism and progressive narratives about gender and sexual identity. Moreover, certain extremist movements utilise this narrative to radicalise young men and justify violence against women and other people that do not fit in their framework. In some cases, this narrative even undermines democratic values as pluralistic liberalism is said to pave the way for the feminisation and downfall of a ‘decadent and weak’ Western society.

Aim of the meeting

As the narrative of hypermasculinity is relatively new and youth professionals need a complete and nuanced understanding of it, we will discuss which aspects of these narratives are problematic or potentially harmful. We will look into the needs and grievances of young men, as well as what is so attractive about this narrative. Moreover, we will discuss how practitioners in youth work and education can meet the needs of young men and boys and enhance their resilience with a positive and tolerant narrative. Throughout this meeting, we will take the mental health aspect into account because a significant part of the narrative taps into an underlying tendency of declining male mental health.

Questions that will be discussed during the meeting include:

• How much of a concern is this hypermasculinity narrative within the context of P/CVE?
• What are the needs and grievances that create a breeding ground for extremist views about masculinity?
• How can practitioners meet these grievances and needs in order to boost resilience in their pupils towards extremist narratives?
• How can practitioners deal with polarisation around this topic in the classroom and in youth work?

Target audience: teachers, youth workers, school staff

Building on: RAN Y&E: Gender-specific approaches: Preventive work for girls in and around schools (Q2, 2022), The online dimension in offline practices (Q1, 2022), RAN C&N: The incel phenomenon (Q2, 2021).

How to register

If you can provide concrete examples from daily practices, or if you experience challenges around this topic, please register here. We will invite participants based on the information in the registration link.

Please note that we can only invite a limited number of participants to this meeting to ensure valuable exchange and interaction, so participation is not guaranteed. 

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact b [dot] broedersradaradvies [dot] nl (Boy Broeders) or s [dot] lenosradaradvies [dot] nl (Steven Lenos).