All men fit into 3 ‘masculinity’ categories, scientists say

This may make you question whether good things really do come in threes.

Straight men fit into one of three distinct masculinity categories that define how they navigate their romantic relationships, researchers have discovered.

Experts from the University of British Columbia in Canada conducted in-depth interviews with 92 heterosexual men aged 19 to 43 from 14 different countries to determine how they navigated partnerships as gender roles continue to transform.

“We set out to understand how different types of masculinities shape men’s relationships and their mental health,” Dr. John Oliffe, a professor of nursing at UBC, stated in a press release about the study, which was published in the August issue of Social Science & Medicine.

The first masculinity type defined by the researchers is “neo-traditionalist,” whereby a man “largely follows traditional gender roles, such as being the provider and protector in the relationship.”

The second clearly-defined typology is “egalitarian” and involves a man “seeking a more equal partnership, with emphasis on mutuality and measurable give and take.”

Meanwhile, the third and final clear category defined by the experts is “progressive,” and pertains to men who “work on building gender equity in the partnership through regular, purposeful conversations with their partner to adjust who does what.”

Less than a quarter of men in the study (24%) were categorized as “neo-traditionalist” and half of all those interviewed “purposefully distanced themselves from traditional masculine norms.”

The surprisingly low number highlights how younger generations of men are actively trying to move away from any association with “toxic masculinity,” which includes the suppression of emotion, the assertion of dominance and the reluctance to partake in household chores, such as cooking and cleaning.

Meanwhile, 26% of men interviewed fit into the “progressive” masculinity category, meaning they “focused on fairness and social justice, and checked their own privilege to justly operate within the relationship, and more broadly in society.”

The most common masculinity type among the young interviewees was “egalitarian,” with the men idealizing “equal contributions and reciprocity wherein counts were often used to evaluate each partner’s relative efforts and contributions to the relationship.”

Dr. Oliffe and his team made sure not to cast judgment on the interviewees, instead listening objectively to the men’s responses and applying “constant comparative analytics to build the analyses.”

“What we found was that these masculine types were associated with different benefits as well as challenges,” Dr. Oliffe explained.

For instance, men who actively promoted gender equity and social justice reported improved mental well-being, but those same men often revealed that they faced isolation or criticism from other males, which in turn influenced their mental health.

“While men are becoming more involved in promoting gender equity, little is known about how younger men work to build partnerships in their private lives,” Dr. Oliffe declared.

“With this research, we hope we have helped map that uncharted space and point a way forward for healthier relationships that promote the health of men, their partners and families.”