Description

The Man Box is the first study that focuses on the attitudes to manhood and the behaviours of young Australian men aged 18 to 30. It involved an online survey of a representative sample of 1,000 young men from across the country, as well as focus group discussions with two groups of young men.The Man Box is the set of beliefs within and across society that place pressure on men to act in a certain way. The study explored how young men encounter the Man Box rules in society and internalise them in relation to 17 messages organised under seven pillars: self-sufficiency, acting tough, physical attractiveness, rigid gender roles, heterosexuality and homophobia, hypersexuality, and aggression and control. The authors found that social pressures around what it means to be a ‘real man’ are strong in Australia, and impact on the lives of most young men from a very young age – young men see the rules of the Man Box being communicated and reinforced throughout society; particularly those related to acting strong, being the primary income earner, and not saying no to sex. In addition, popular culture places the lives of white, Anglo-Celtic men at centre stage, while those of men from non-English-speaking and indigenous backgrounds are marginalised or made invisible.