Are We Willing to Change? A Feminist Agenda for the Study of Men in Families

ABSTRACT Public concern over the increasingly visible crisis of hegemonic masculinity is growing. Young men are showing a rise in antifeminist rhetoric, worsening mental health, and a loneliness epidemic. Although it is tempting, and not without merit, to frame men's struggles as male fragility and aggrieved entitlement resulting from feeling unseated by a changing social order, these interpretations also work to deepen social divisions and institutionalize feminist disengagement from men's experiences. We contend that a different approach to understanding modern masculinity is needed. We see opportunities for family scientists to adopt more critically compassionate feminist frameworks for understanding men's experiences. In this article, we propose a feminist agenda for the study of men in families. We argue that advancing a feminist agenda of research on men and masculinity involves prioritizing three aims: (a) treating privileged men as gendered subjects, (b) rendering visible men's silenced longings, and (c) translating feminist research with men into actionable change. Collectively, this work calls for more nuanced perspectives of how men are shaped by patriarchal culture. We provide empirical and anecdotal examples of the ways men have been both harmed and privileged by ideals of hegemonic masculinity, advocating for more nuanced understandings of men's experiences in families and society. Ultimately, we argue that studying men can be feminist and serve to advance critical feminist research agendas.