New masculinities: why are we crushing on Paul Mescal?
Being a man in 2024 is not so simple. Far be it from us to say the Incels (online communities that complain of being unable to find romantic or sexual partners) are right or agree with masculinism (a reactionary antifeminist movement). But we have to admit the question needs to be asked: what does it mean to be a man today?
But before we ask questions about men’s place, let’s talk about women. Everyone already knows that the #MeToo movement went along with a rise in feminism. The new representations of women dispute the idealized, lifeless and oversexualized perspective of the male gaze. What it means to be a women has become the subject of an infinite number of interpretations.
Men, likewise, have seen their roles challenged. More than the men themselves, it’s what they symbolize that’s called into question and criticized by the woke and queer cultures (the books “Cher Connard” by Virginie Despentes and “La prochaine fois que tu mordras la poussière” by Panayotis Pascot, and the songs “Kid” by Eddy de Pretto and more recently “Masculinity” by Lucky Love). Some men, aware of what they represent, have started their deconstruction process, creating a fracture within the same gender. “Be a man” is an expression that no longer has meaning.
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Every (r)evolution comes with its retaliation. Though some men are working to become truly better versions of themselves, others – more reactionary and conservative – are redefining the ideal man with all his historical toxicity, according to Ophélie Lepert, NellyRodi Insights & Foresight Consultant. On TikTok, the number of hypermasculine and sexist messages is skyrocketing and even validated by some women (for example, @thaidescufon, with 92K followers, criticizes modern women’s “bad” choices on the platform). Published on TikTok, these messages are easily taking hold with the youngest generations.In the USA only 43% of GenZ men consider themselves feminists, compared to 52% of Millenials (from “Why Young Men Are Turning Against Feminism” by The Survey Center on American Life). Faced with this phenomenon, the High Council for Gender Equality has initiated an awareness campaign comparing 1975 images from the National Audiovisual Institute with TikToks to denounce their misogyny and underlying toxic masculinity.
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Happily, the Chads (or alpha males) don’t have unanimous support. Not everyone identifies with stereotypes from 1990s deodorant advertisements. The men themselves are rejecting the roles attributed to them, making a less binary and more inclusive representation of masculinity possible.
Men described as “sensitive” are popular. Timothée Chalamet, with his fine features and slim build; and Paul Mescal, with his gentle demeanor, are our new favorite imaginary crushes. They embody vulnerability and empathy, and they encourage deeper human connections.
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For the past few years new, more fragile representations of fatherhood have been shown in movies and series (“Aftersun” by Charlotte Wells, “The Son” by Florian Zeller and “The Last of Us” by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin). On the catwalks, men are undressing (with elegance and no vulgarity whatsoever) and wearing tights in poetic looks for JW Anderson’s FW 24/25 menswear collection. In France, men are aware of their role in contraception and getting vasectomies in increasing numbers (30,288 in 2022 compared to 1,940 in 2010) according to a study by the Epi-Phare scientific interest group.
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Other men are adopting characteristics usually associated with women and trying to distance themselves from what historically constitutes a man. They wear skirts or dresses in public without subscribing to a sexual identity, for example, Bad Bunny in heels and a pink Jacquemus dress. We also talk about the “slutification” (making appearances erotic and sexual) of masculinity, for example, Jacob Elordi and his sensual attitude in Saint Laurent for “GQ Magazine.”
“Being a man” can now be understood as a variety of expressions with the freedom to interpret them according to each one’s convictions, values and codes.
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