May works out what it means to be a man

Last November saw the first screening of Man Lab, a new series featuring Top Gear’s James May dedicated to teaching today’s ‘wet’ men to do all things manly. But wiring plugs and installing kitchens aside – what truth is there in the claim that masculinity is in crisis? Is it just more media-sponsored sensationalism, or has the hunter-gatherer of yesteryear really evolved into, as Mr May puts it, “a feckless, bedwetting imbecile who revels in his own uselessness”?

First off, what is masculinity? Rather more than simply, being a man it seems. A slippery concept at best, masculinity is generally acknowledged to be a set of attributes and behaviours perceived to be characteristic of men. In the Western world, these might include strength, virility, assertiveness, courage, competitiveness, egotism, aggression, stoicism, and reticence. This list is by no means exhaustive, and does not mean that all men will display all (or any) of these characteristics. As such, the declining appeal of DIY to the modern European man cannot really be said to equate to a “crisis” in these fundamental attributes. Rather than the essential nature of men themselves, the issue revolves around evolving and conflicting definitions of masculine identity, i.e. what it means to be a man today, and how men understand themselves in relation to society.

Traditionally, men were the bread-winners who supported their families. In Europe, the rise of women in the workplace and the gradual increase of women’s salaries have meant that masculine identity can no longer be linked solely to employment or earning power. In other words, the labour market is no longer the preserve of men, and so work is no longer a wholly viable way of defining one’s masculine identity. Some have chosen, therefore, to embed this “crisis of masculinity” within the socio-economic change that has marked the past 60 years: men are seen as victims of circumstances that have deprived them of their once-distinguishing status and function in society.

On the home front, men are more likely than ever to be stay-at-home dads, or at least to help out with cooking and cleaning. Just as the number of women homemakers has consistently decreased across Europe in the last ten years, so figures for househusbands have generally grown over the same period, according to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) statistics.

In addition, whereas once the cult of body image was restricted to women, men are now equally targeted by advertising and the media. Images of toned, tanned, and sexually attractive men are used to sell everything from shoes to shampoo. Males are now not only the sexual objects in the adverts, but are the intended consumers of these eroticised images.

No doubt men’s growing concern over their own body and self-image is derived, at least in part, from this overt display of muscularity and physical masculinity in advertising. In fact, it is remarkable that this fetish of muscularity and the male body evident in so many of today’s adverts comes at a time when so few are employed in manual labour. No longer engaged in manual employment which in itself could endow them with such physiques, men must look after their bodies in their own time – whether by going to the gym, dieting or moisturising – pursuits that used to be considered exclusively feminine.

An Armani ad shows physical masculinity

Men have become active consumers at whom huge marketing campaigns are directed: they are encouraged to view their own bodies as sites of identity management, projects that can be worked on to achieve a desired effect. Where once being a man was fairly straightforward in terms of the activities it involved (and those it didn’t) – nowadays the boundaries are blurred. In the UK, a Boots survey found that 67% of men under 40 use moisturiser. The UK male grooming market is worth over $1.1 billion, with the size of male grooming markets throughout Europe growing year on year according to Industrial Research Institute figures. Defining masculine identity is more problematic than ever as new kinds of acceptable masculinities emerge.

A prime example is the metrosexual, “a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis – because that’s where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are”. Indeed, Mark Simpson, who coined the term, explicitly linked this new form of masculinity with consumer society: “The stoic, self-denying, modest straight male didn’t shop enough (his role was to earn money for his wife to spend), and so he had to be replaced by a new kind of man, one less certain of his identity and much more interested in his image [...] an advertiser’s walking wet dream”.

Yet at the same time, more conventional types of masculine identity co-exist with this trendy modern man. A large proportion of European men still view the role of household breadwinner as their own, and prefer to earn more than their female other halves. The enduring popularity of British “lad culture” and Mediterranean “macho behaviour” – probably the pinnacles of male group activity, with their competitiveness, focus on sports and associated beer drinking – show no sign of waning.

Negotiating masculine identity has never been harder. An onslaught of new roles and images has led European men to think about themselves and their bodies on different terms. Yet it would be wrong to assume that these identities have completely eroded conventionally male attitudes and behaviours. Women’s invasion of the workplace and men’s invasion of the billboard – and the corresponding changes in attitude each has incurred – shouldn’t be construed as a “crisis”. If anything, the changes that are taking place are broadening the parameters within which men define themselves, giving them more choice – if also creating more pressures – in expressing identity. Man’s understanding of himself has always changed with time, and now is no exception.