Endangered masculinity: intensified crisis of masculinity discourse in Danish men’s rights activism

This paper explores the discourse in contemporary men’s rights activism that masculinity itself is endangered and thus understood as contingent with Denmark as a case study. Building on both interviews and a content analysis of online posts, I demonstrate how prominent Danish men’s rights activists share the sentiment that masculinity is existentially threatened in today’s ‘feminized’ society. Furthermore, I argue that this crisis of masculinity discourse functions to support a distinct form of hegemonic masculinity and a postfeminist narrative in a Danish context. This mode of hegemonic masculinity differs from approaches that treat and uphold historical masculinity norms–such as assertiveness, aggression, risk-taking, and competitiveness–as naturally dominant. Instead, the starting point for such a contingency-aware form of hegemonic masculinity is that a certain masculine culture is under attack and must be defended. However, I also point to some degree of performative contradiction between the defense of particularly individualist assertiveness and the collective organizational practices in influential men’s rights activist groups, such as The Danish Men’s Council.