I’m excited to share my first article for The Conversation Canada, where I explore how young men are experimenting with softer, more emotionally expressive forms of masculinity online.
The piece looks at a real tension: even as the media critiques “toxic masculinity,” men experimenting with softer or more emotionally open personas online still face pushback and suspicion.
To make sense of this, I draw on the idea of hybrid masculinity, which examines how men blend tenderness with familiar forms of privilege, and the concept of undoing gender, which highlights the creative, sometimes messy ways people try to disrupt gender norms. Together, these ideas show why this TikTok-era shift is both promising and complicated, and why our reactions to it matter.
Grateful for the opportunity, and curious to hear what this resonates with for others working on gender and media.
https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-performative-male-how-young-men-are-experimenting-with-masculinity-online-268742
Jillian Sunderland, PhD Candidate 