A google search of the word masculinity in 2025 showed you equal parts accusations of masculinity being toxic, or examples of men behaving so.

It became subject rife with polarizing political implications

If our goal is the keep above the fray, there is ample opportunity

Trust in Institutions is at an all time low.

Fewer young men are pursuing the institutional route of university education than ever before in American history.

Men who are 50.8% of the American population make up 42% of college students, down from 58% in 1970.

“Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked, Are you a very important person? Today,
more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled.”

-William Strauss & Neil Howe, The Fourth Turning, 1997

“If history does have one lesson it’s that as we grow individually more risk averse, we often grow collectively more often to take risks… We become much more of a society who wants to be sheltered. We want safety nets. We want someone to look after us…”

- Neil Howe