Länder mit einem stärker ausgeprägten prekären Männlichkeitsglauben (ein „richtiger Mann“ zu sein erfordert ständigen Beweis durch Verhalten und Leistung) haben tendenziell ein geringeres nationales Glück, aber auch ein niedrigeres BIP, eine niedrigere Lebenserwartung, eine geringere soziale Unterstützung und eine erhöhte Wahrnehmung von Korruption.
Countries holding stronger precarious manhood beliefs tend to be less happy, study finds
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An analysis of the World Happiness Report data and a global study of gender beliefs found that countries with stronger precarious manhood beliefs tend to have lower national happiness, but also lower GDP, lower life expectancy, lower social support, and heightened perceptions of corruption. The paper was published in Social Science & Medicine.
Precarious manhood beliefs are based on the idea that manhood is a social status that must be earned and can easily be lost. According to this perspective, being a “real man” is seen as something that requires constant demonstration through behavior and achievement. These beliefs suggest that masculinity is more fragile and socially judged than femininity. Because of this perceived fragility, men feel pressure to prove their masculinity in public and social situations.
Research shows that threats to masculinity can lead some men to react with increased competitiveness, aggression, or risk-taking. Precarious manhood beliefs are often reinforced by cultural norms that associate masculinity with strength, independence, and dominance. When men feel that these expectations are not met, they may experience anxiety, shame, or social insecurity. Studies have also linked strong precarious manhood beliefs to support for traditional gender roles.
The authors suggest that rigid gender norms harm national economies by steering men away from essential “feminine” fields, like caregiving and education, and restricting women’s workforce participation. Furthermore, the pressure to appear tough drives risky health behaviors (like smoking and heavy drinking) and discourages emotional vulnerability, ultimately lowering life expectancy and eroding community trust. The researchers also noted that precarious masculinity ideals are often exploited by authoritarian “strongman” political leaders, which can deepen societal polarization and fragmentation.
For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625010834
Gender roles are a prison. Who the hell wants to live in a cage?
Seems like a chicken or the egg situation. Living under harsher conditions likely places harsher expectations on people.
One person’s idea of happiness is going to be different than someone else’s, so can it really be measured?
Are they saying the countries are worse because people behave this way or that people behave this way because they feel insecure and under threat? I would tend to believe the latter?
You can either project strength or be strong.
Here are the results: [Table – Precarious Manhood x Happiness](https://imgur.com/a/kfOOpgv)
Any other factors at play ? Are we just comparing wealthy western countries that got their wealth from centuries of colonizing others against poorer countries that were colonized for centuries? And then slapping the agenda of this study on top of that ?
Tldr : people from richer countries are happier
I can’t help but to think of countries like India and the African countries.
I like how the title says “but” as if the things after the word but are gonna be good things, but no it’s just more bad things
Seems like it’s reverse engineered with random criteria associated with the countries they want to push. They could have just gone to something obvious like suicide rate, but then the whole thing falls apart when there’s a bunch of Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan countries with the lowest suicide rates.