Out with the new, in with the old: how traditional masculine norms are constructed, communicated, and contested within an all-boys’ school community

Objective Previous research has explored adolescent boys’ masculinity attitudes and the social forces shaping them. We extend this work by examining masculinity attitudes of all students, parents, and staff of a relatively affluent, independent faith-based all-boys’ school in metropolitan Australia.Method A qualitative Reflexive Thematic Analysis of open-text questions, distributed in an online survey to 650 students, 287 parents, and 46 staff, examined beliefs about masculinity, desired masculine ideals, contextual differences (home vs. school), and behavioural consequences.Results Boys’ accounts revealed context-dependent constructions of masculinity, with pro-social norms more salient at home and dominance-oriented norms enforced in school settings. They framed traditional masculinity as developmentally necessary, reinforced by manosphere narratives and fuelled by counter-cultural resistance to progressive change. Despite this, many boys recognised the personal and social costs of these norms, and there was substantial divergence between boys’ views and those of parents and school staff.Conclusions Results highlight the influential role of peer/school contexts and online manosphere narratives in shaping Australian boys’ masculinity attitudes, as well as clear generational differences in how masculine status was defined. These findings point to schools as key leverage points for interventions aimed at promoting healthier, context-sensitive models of masculinity.