Contemporary men and masculinity
This report is part of the Adobe Stock Cultural Insights series. Each report is presented with a curated collection of related visuals and focuses on topics involving visuals that are in flux, driven by changes in the world and their effects on consumer priorities.
Despite shifting gender norms and social dynamics, authentic self-expression remains challenging for many men. In addition, creating meaningful connections with family and friends and forging platonic bonds can also be difficult for men due to outdated beliefs equating masculinity with strength, competitiveness, and stoicism.
Prioritizing accurate portrayals of traditionally marginalized demographics is a long-overdue step toward visibility for many communities. Yet we must also work to constructively identify the many ways men live in today’s world across a wide range of identities, age groups, and demographics. That way, we can present positive and accurate representations of a variety of contemporary male experiences.
Gendered identities and Gen Z
In late 2020 and early 2021, Gen Z was the only U.S. generation in which a majority believed there are more than two genders. As recently as the first half of 2020, this was a minority opinion even among Gen Zers, so there’s been a remarkable amount of change just over six months. In contrast, there was only a small uptick in this belief among people of older generations.
Credit: Adobe Stock/ Talia M/peopleimages.com.
Fluidity determines multiple aspects of Gen Z’s identity. In terms of gender and sexuality, 41 percent of US and UK youth identify as neutral or on the spectrum of masculinity and femininity. And 20.8 percent of young respondents in the US identify as LGBTQ+, compared to 10.5 percent of millennials and 2.6% of baby boomers.
Self-presentation as self-expression
Trends in fashion and beauty often evolve based on societal shifts, pop culture, and, in the case of Gen Z, individual expression. The desire for male beauty is growing globally, and male grooming is a booming business.
Over the past few years, popular male musicians including Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly, and Tyler, the Creator, have launched nail polish lines. And recently celebrities like Drake and A$AP Rocky were seen wearing nail polish in ad campaigns for Bottega Veneta and Nike.
Men are also accessorizing more. “Ring guys” are Gen Z and millennial men who sport growing stacks of rings and accessories. Then there are “babygirl men” — men who are comfortable playing with traditional rules around gender when dressing, no matter what their sexual identity may be. Actors like Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi from Saltburn and Dominic Sessa from The Holdovers have all earned this moniker, as has race car driver Lewis Hamilton. These celebrities are quickly becoming style icons for being unafraid to go outside traditional male norms.
Credit: Adobe Stock/ADDICTIVE STOCK, Adobe Stock/Clique Images.
Community and connection for Gen Xers and boomers
The challenges many men face in developing meaningful, platonic bonds boil down to how they’ve been socialized to equate masculinity with strength, competitiveness, and stoicism, even as traditional gender norms have shifted.
Historically, notions of male success in life focused on career and family, without a focus on friendship. Only 48 percent of men reported feeling satisfied with their friendships, according to a May 2021 survey by the Survey Center on American Life, In addition, only one in five men said they’d gotten emotional support from a friend in the past week, half the number of female respondents.
Credit: Adobe Stock/Courtney/peopleimages.com Adobe Stock/Milles Studio/Stocksy.
In the US, many men have become disconnected from the societal institutions that have traditionally anchored them to each other and their communities. Historically, men have made long-term bonds through religious institutions and friendships at work. In recent years, though, platonic connections and friendships are being made during community-based activities where people pursue shared interests, such as working out at the gym or performing community service.
Family: Cis binary millennial and Gen X fathers
Traditional stereotypes about fathers and fatherhood are changing rapidly. With shifting social and gender dynamics, including the high percentage of mothers in the workforce, fathers have been taking on expanded caregiving roles. Fathers contribute to caregiving through their presence, engagement, and economic and emotional support while serving as role models, challenging stereotypes, and promoting gender equality. Single fatherhood and nontraditional families have also emerged, expanding the concept of fatherhood through medical advancements like in vitro fertilization as well as through adoption accessibility.
Credit: Adobe Stock/Davor.
Shifting notions of fatherhood, success, and brand messaging
As gender norms evolve and expand, mainstream notions of success for men are slowly becoming more inclusive as well. When the specialty division New Macho was created at agency BBD Perfect Storm in 2019, the plan was to help brands grow through a “new positive male narrative” and pave the way to “sustainable gender balance.”
The division’s research found that 66 percent of millennial men saw advertising as having a negative impact on how successful they feel. “But there was this interesting shift, due to Covid, where people saw spending time with their family as much more important and men were finding themselves questioning what success means,” says New Macho’s ECD Seb Hill.
Credit: Adobe Stock/Davor.
Despite this shift within audiences, New Macho’s reports demonstrate that there’s still quite often a disconnect between how men feel versus how they are being marketed to, with ads and the media still presenting a very narrow portrayal of success. For Seb Hill, it’s about giving people choice and showing different types of success, as commercially that will also pay off well. “Brands that embrace it and are doing it well cut through and ultimately they sell more products.”
Credit: Adobe Stock/ OlgaStrelnikova, Adobe Stock/fStop.
Leadership and collaboration
With the global pandemic, growing evidence of social injustice, and the rise of employee activism challenging the idea that corporate success is just about shareholder value, we’ve been witnessing a profound shift in the workplace and what successful leadership means.
Twentieth-century leaders often embraced hierarchical approaches to driving business outcomes, and effective leadership was often defined by a top-down approach. But the workplace is changing, from the nature of work and how we accomplish it to the people doing the work itself. Profit-driven organizations focused on “what” and productivity are evolving into purpose-driven cultures focused on “why” and their people.
This is partly due to the talent pool itself. Twentieth-century employees tended to be much more homogenous, predominantly white men, and primarily boomers and Gen Xers, but today the talent pool is increasingly diverse, dominated by millennials and Gen Zers. As of 2017, millennials were more likely to be employed and work full-time than any other generation. This year, Gen Zers outnumber boomers in the workforce, and their preference for collaboration, transparency, healthy work-life integration, celebration of diversity and inclusion, and purpose-driven employment demands a new kind of collaborative and inclusive leadership.
Credit: Adobe Stock/Guille Faingold/Stocksy.
Explore the Contemporary Men and Masculinity collection on Adobe Stock
The Adobe Stock “Contemporary Men and Masculinity” collection provides cross-sectional visuals of men of all ages and gender identities, working with a diverse range of colleagues and connecting with friends and family in a variety of communities. The collection also provides images of men in single-generation and multigenerational families, involved in solo and co-parenting caregiving and play.
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