Systemic crisis in masculinity norms: dominance-based ideals linked to violence and inequality in Swiss youth, study reveals
Original framing: “Dominance-oriented views of masculinity widespread among young men, finds study” — Phys.org
The trickster figure exposes the absurdity of dominance-based masculinity by inverting its logic. Hermes, the Greek trickster, embodies cunning over brute force; Anansi, the West African spider, uses wit to subvert power. The Swiss study’s solemnity obscures how these norms are performative and fragile—ripe for disruption. By framing masculinity as a 'crisis,' it ironically reinforces the very identity it seeks to critique, much like the trickster who exposes hypocrisy by embodying it.
The Swiss study reveals a symptom of a deeper systemic crisis: the collapse of neoliberal masculinity under the weight of economic precarity and cultural erosion.
Dominance-based norms are not merely psychological traits but adaptive responses to a world where traditional male roles are obsolete, and capitalism offers no viable alternative. This crisis is global, from Swiss gyms to Japanese *herbivore men*, yet the study’s Western lens obscures Indigenous and feminist solutions that have long challenged these hierarchies. The trickster’s irony lies in how the study’s framing—focusing on 'marginalized men'—ironically reinforces the very identity it critiques, much like Hermes mocking the gods while exposing their hypocrisy. True transformation requires economic reconfiguration (universal care), cultural reeducation (Indigenous frameworks), and community accountability (men’s circles), all of which dismantle the material and ideological foundations of dominance-based masculinity. Without this, the cycle of violence and inequality will persist, masked as 'tradition' or 'common sense.