This article examines how the Swedish branch of Active Clubs (Aktivklubb Sverige, AKS) “builds” the “fascist body” through social media communication. Drawing on digital ethnographic analysis of seven Telegram channels, we analyse how AKS builds idealised young white male activist bodies through three interconnected processes: regeneration, comparison, and cultivation. AKS positions itself as a youth movement revitalising the far right through physically fit, disciplined bodies that symbolise national palingenesis. These bodies are constructed relationally, systematically differentiated from “inferior” masculinities – older activists, politicians, police, military personnel, LGBTQ+ individuals, and “ordinary” men – whose bodies are portrayed as fat, immobile, and emasculated. Through weightlifting, MMA training, and organised tournaments, AKS cultivates what we identify as the fascist equilibrium: male bodies that are simultaneously aesthetically compelling and kinetically functional. This dual emphasis recuperates historical fascist ideals of the “New Man” while adapting them to contemporary fitness culture and digital contexts. We argue that for AKS, the personal project of building a fit body becomes inseparable from political activism, as physically powerful bodies serve as both symbols of movement strength and proof of combat readiness for anticipated racial conflict.

This paper critically engages with hybrid masculinity, a concept that has gained considerable traction within masculinity studies. While it has primarily been theorized as a strategy through which privileged men maintain power while appearing progressive, this paper proposes a more open-ended approach. By revisiting postcolonial and youth cultural theories, it reconceptualizes hybrid masculinity beyond a mechanism for the reproduction of privilege, expanding it into a theory of social change. “Hybrid masculinity” is understood here as the mixing of gendered elements, and “hybrid masculinity blocs” as the articulation of cultural and economic interests to maintain or resist the hegemonic gender order. Through a case study of Swedish parental leave politics, the paper explores their counter-hegemonic potential and advocates for a feminist masculinity politics without predetermined outcomes.

Sociological research on masculinities has long examined how men respond to shifting gender norms, often through violence when their masculinity is challenged. Drawing on 58 life history interviews with men imprisoned for assault or homicide across six Latin American countries, this paper explores generational shifts in how men narrate interpersonal violence. Participants were grouped by generation – 1950s–60s, 1970s–80s, and 1990s–2000s – reflecting key socio-political transformations in the region. Thematic analysis identi ed two central domains: narratives of violence and re ections on masculinity. Across all groups, violence was framed as a response to perceived threats. However, older men often viewed violence as inevitable or routine; those born in the 1970s–80s connected it to unresolved emotional grievances; younger men expressed greater ambivalence, sometimes questioning violence and traditional masculinity norms. Re ective accounts of masculinity were largely absent in older generations but became more integrated into the life stories of younger men. These ndings suggest that narratives of masculinity challenges have changed generationally in response to historical transformations. As younger generations demonstrate increasing re exivity, their need to justify violent behavior signals the emergence of a more hybrid vocabulary. This study underscores the importance of historical context and temporality in understanding the shifting gender frameworks surrounding male violence.

Drawing on interviews with 24 heterosexual young men in Sweden,this paper explores their experiences of sexual encounters, consent,and violations of sexual integrity. The interviewees idealized con-sent and sex based on reciprocity, attempting to take active respon-sibility for securing consent before engaging in sexual activities.This was often driven by a desire to be respectful, but at times,these safety measures appeared to be attempts to portray them-selves as progressive or to protect themselves from potential rapeaccusations. Analysing the participants’ experiences of consentprocesses and sexual violations through Berlant’s theory of frictionas an inevitable part of all social relations, we showcase how sexand intimacy are far from straightforward. Despite genuine effortsto obtain consent and maintain mutual respect in sexual encoun-ters, some of the young men had nevertheless violated their part-ners’ sexual integrity, while others had experienced having sexagainst their own will but often without seeing this as sexualviolations. Despite its promise of regulating the inconvenience ofsexual intimacy, we demonstrate how consensual sex may be awk-ward and fraught with difficulties in understanding one another,especially in moments of excitement and pleasure, as encounteringthe other challenges the fantasy of sovereign masculinity.

Detta kapitel analyserar fokuserar på Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), som är en de största nya mansrörelser som vuxit fram inom den så kallade “manosfären” under de sista decennierna. MGTOW kan beskrivas som en könsseparatistisk gruppering som interagerar primärt online och som vill avsäga sig all kontakt med kvinnor och inte minst från ett samhälle som de menar domineras av feminister. Kapitlet beskriver rörelsens grundläggande ideologi genom en analys av 14 böcker skrivna av MGTOW:s. Böckerna kan bäst beskrivas som självhjälpsböcker. Kapitlet visar på att MGTOW:s inte uttryckligen är ”antigenus”, utan snarast har en ambivalent förståelse av så väl genus som feminism. De talar sällan om en ”genusideologi” utan kombinerar en essentiell syn av kön och särskilt kvinnor med en i det närmaste konstruktionistisk förståelse av maskulinitet. De är positiva till feminismen eftersom den anses ha möjliggjort för män att ”gå sin egna väg” samtidigt som de ser den feministiska rörelsen som sin huvudfiende. Feminismen, inklusive genusvetenskapen, har indoktrinerat kvinnor att de är offer för ett patriarkat och på så sätt bidragit till ett kvinnocentrerat samhälle som hatar och skadar män. Vidare visar kapitlet på att MGTOW:s aktivism kan förstås som en form av manlig identitetspolitik som vill lyfta mäns ekonomiska rättigheter och inte minst att män ska slippa ta ansvar för kvinnor och barn. Denna identitetspolitik bygger dock inte på en kritik gentemot senkapitalism eller mot nyliberal ekonomisk politik, utan på en förbittring mot kvinnor, eftersom de anses utnyttja män för egen ekonomisk vinning. MGTOW-aktivisterna betonar mäns offerskap och ekonomiska sårbarhet, vilket för deras aktivism att likna den ”sårade anknytning” präglar andra identitetspolitiska rörelser. Avslutningsvis reflekterar kapitlet om varför offerskap används som strategi för MGTOWs: maskulinistiska politik, eftersom sårbarhet går emot traditionella föreställningar om manlighet, och visar på hur minskade och ifrågasatta privilegier upplevs som ett hot mot den manliga identiteten.

This chapter discusses how the big-boy bedroom has been depicted in Hollywood cinema since 2000 and how adult men still living with their parents are portrayed. Developmental psychologists and rearing experts have long argued that the teenage bedroom is necessary for proper gender and sexual development, but in Western – and, particularly, North American culture – it is also considered a place that adolescent males need to leave behind lest they be considered immature or even a moral threat. These concerns have been echoed by contemporary pundits across the political spectrum. Drawing on a queer temporality perspective, I call into question normative assumptions pertaining to personal development by demonstrating how some life trajectories may be bent by diverging from the expected life course. Rather than seeing cinematic representations of grown-up men living with their parents as an expression of men’s juvenility, irresponsibility, or avoidance of long-term relationships, I argue that the pathologization of big boys in their bedrooms may be masking broader economic patterns that disadvantage young men and their opportunities for social mobility. Understanding the obscurantist nature of these bedroom anxieties helps us illuminate young men’s forgotten realities and their economic struggles in a neoliberal age.

Men constitute the majority of violent extremists and terrorists, yet academic research in the field has largely overlooked the role of masculinity. This article explores how the relationship between masculinity and political and religious violent activism has been understood in a small but emerging field of critical men and masculinities studies on Jihadist, far-right, and left-wing extremism. Through a scoping review of academic literature published 2000–2022, it examines how masculinity intersects with radicalization processes, extremist ideologies, and political and religious violence across these movements in Western societies. It outlines the main contributions of this literature, including that despite their differing political views, extremist groups share common ideals of performing masculinity through street violence and militarized activism. However, while left-wing movements endorse gender equality, both far- right and Jihadist extremists contend that masculinity is threatened by feminism. These latter environments hold misogynistic views central to their ideologies while simultaneously accusing others of sexism and misogyny to justify their violent activism. The discussed literature also suggests that young men often become radicalized not primarily for ideological reasons, but as ways to prove their masculinity and deal with their experienced social and economic marginalization. Finally, the article proposes that the concept of “remasculinization” helps us understand how violent extremism may serve two purposes simultaneously: as a tool for individuals attempting to meet masculinity standards, and as a means for broader political projects aimed at maintaining male supremacy.

Fåniga fäder likt Rudolf i filmerna om Sune har blivit vanligare i film och TV under de senaste 40 åren. Vissa forskare menar att detta beror på en ökad jämställdhet (Scharrer, 2001) och att mannens auktoritet i familjen därmed har underminerats. Även om detta möjligtvis stämmer menar vi att Sunefilmerna också synliggör andra, om än närliggande, kulturella förändringar kring faderskap och maskulinitet. Framför allt pekar de på en ökad barncentrering i svensk familjekultur, där föräldrars engagemang i sina barn gått från att främst vara ett ideal som borgerskapets kvinnor omhuldade kring förra sekelskiftet (Frykman & Löfgren, 1979) till att bli en norm även bland män i de flesta samhällsskikt (Johansson & Klinth, 2008). Men Rudolf och de andra fåniga fäderna i Sunefilmerna synliggör också klassrelationer, eftersom faderskap i filmerna inte bara iscensätts i förhållande till normer om barndom och föräldraskap, utan också i relation till ekonomisk framgång. Filmerna visar på hur ekonomiska utmaningar individualiseras i en nyliberal kultur (Degen, Kleeberg-Niepage & Bal, 2022), vilket gör att svårigheter med att leva upp till finansiella normer för medelklassmaskulinitet framställs som den enskilde mannens karaktärssvaghet. Just eftersom fädernas försök att leva upp till dessa normer ständigt misslyckas, eller åtminstone riskerar att misslyckas, blir den vuxna manligheten i Sunefilmerna till ett komiskt spektakel som lockar till skratt.

Masculinity in far-right visual media is often portrayed through intimidating images of dominant, militant men. However, this study of affect in Nordic ecofascist visual communication shows that men are also depicted in meditative stillness surrounded by spectacular nature. Such ‘positive’ representations contrast with the typical far-right depictions of militant masculinity. This paper examines how positive affective communication shapes far-right masculinity, focusing on the trope we call ‘the contemplative man’. Inspired by affect theory and social semiotics, we analyse images from ecofascist Telegram channels that show men alone and together in nature participating in meditative and nature-connected practices. We demonstrate how the ‘contemplative man’ trope broadens the range of available far-right masculine identities and connects men with nature through nativism. We argue that nature in ecofascist discourse allows for ‘quieter’ expressions of masculinity, providing a space for men to experience intimacy, spirituality and pleasure, alongside the traditional militant persona. Such forms of masculinity visualize the ‘blood and soil’ complex through natural imagery depicting outdoor activities such as cooking, hiking, and resting in peaceful solitude. This discourse fosters a special bond between white, Nordic men and the land, offering them a place in the social hierarchy and a role within ecology on both sensory and ideological levels.