Episode 140: Masculinity
Released September 23rd, 2025
Performative males, hustle bros, sissies, and manfluencers. In episode 140 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss masculinity. What does it mean to be a man, and how has the concept of masculinity changed over time? They look at the male loneliness epidemic, the current influx of male influencers spreading right-wing rhetoric on the manosphere, and some of the main features of masculinity. Is masculinity rooted in violence and homophobia, or is it possible to have a healthy model of masculinity? In the Substack bonus, your hosts get into the mythopoetic men's movement and the connection between haircuts and masculinity.
Works Discussed
Robert Brannon and Deborah Sarah David, The Forty-nine Percent Majority: The Male Sex Role
Pierre Bourdieu, La domination masculine
R.W. Connell, Gender and Power
James W. Messerschmidt, Hegemonic Masculinity
Joseph Pleck, The Myth of Masculinity
Todd W. Reeser, Moderating Masculinity in Early Modern Culture
Frans de Waal, Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes
