Precarious manhood and muscularity: Effects of threatening men's masculinity on reported strength and muscle dissatisfaction

Body Image. 2017 Sep;22:156-165. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.07.002. Epub 2017 Aug 9. . Frederick DA1, Shapiro LM2, Williams TR2, Seoane CM2, McIntosh RT2, Fischer EW2. Author information 1 Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States. Electronic address: Enderflies1@aol.com. 2 Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States. Abstract The precarious manhood perspective proposes that men respond with aggression when they experience threats to their masculinity. Consistent with this view, we hypothesized that men would represent themselves as stronger and more formidable after their masculinity was threatened. A recent study, however, found that men reported less physical strength when threatened (Hunt, Gonsalkorale, & Murray, 2013). In the current two studies (Ns=193; 450), men were given false feedback about whether they were substantially less masculine (masculinity threatened) or more masculine than average (masculinity reassured). Men reported how much weight they could curl, how many push-ups they could complete, and/or measures of satisfaction with muscularity. In most analyses, threatened men reported greater strength than reassured men. Effects of masculinity threat on muscle dissatisfaction varied by outcome measure. The studies highlight the importance of replication studies, and of using experimental approaches to understand connections between precarious manhood and male body image. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KEYWORDS: Body image; Gender roles; Masculinity; Muscularity; Precarious manhood PMID: 28802199 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.07.002