In partnership with FiveThirtyEight and WNYC, SurveyMonkey conducted a survey among men to understand what masculinity means to them. Here's a little bit about what we learned:
What Makes a Good Man? Asked to reflect on who or what shaped their views on what it means to be a “good man,” 64 percent of men cite their own father or father figure(s); 41 percent also mention their moms. Pop culture and friends play a role too, particularly for bisexual or gay men.
Most men describe themselves as feeling masculine or “manly,” yet they are nearly split down the middle in terms of how important it is to have other people see them that way. A majority of men say society puts pressure on them in a way that is unhealthy or bad, and this is particularly true for men who identify as gay or bisexual.
When asked to identify a hobby or quality men most associate with being “masculine,” the most cited words include “sports,” “hunting”, “strength”, “lifting”, and “football”. While “sports” still makes the top of the list for men with kids, “family” and “father” are also commonly cited verbatims of qualities associated with being masculine.
Men at Work. Post‑ #MeToo movement, men perceive both advantages and disadvantages of being a man in their workplaces today. Some 40 percent of men highlight at least one advantage purely based on being their gender at work, including 23 percent who say men are taken more seriously, and 18 percent who say they make more money. At the same time, nearly six in 10, 58 percent, identify downsides for dudes. When it comes to disadvantages, 42 percent of men say it’s a disadvantage to being a man at their workplace these days because of a greater risk of being accused of sexual harassment, and 38 percent feel there is greater risk of accusations of sexism or racism.
#Me(n)Too's Impact. Almost a quarter of millennial men ages (18-34) (23%) say they are changing behavior in romantic relationships as a result of the #MeToo movement; that’s more than double the rate of those ages 35 and up saying so (9%). When it comes to engaging in a physical relationship, almost 60 percent do not have one single way to tell if someone is interested, they view each situation differently in terms of gauging interest. But for almost half (46%) of men, they rely on reading body language, 35 percent indicate that interest isn’t always clear, and around 30 percent ask for verbal consent or make a physical move to see how the person reacts.
Read more about the survey findings in FiveThirtyEight's article and listen to WNYC's Manhood, Now podcast episode featuring these data.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
