“Anti-male dominance attitudes” are on the rise – among men

According to a study, traditional gender patterns are “noticeably” breaking up among young men when it comes to health issues. The old role model of a dominant masculine type is no longer the dominant one, said social and health researcher Klaus Hurrelmann on Thursday at the presentation of a representative study. The Kantar research institute interviewed 2,115 young men between the ages of 16 and 28 and, for comparison, 1,058 young women of the same age group.

Accordingly, 24 percent of those surveyed are assigned to a traditional, "masculine-dominant" type. According to the analysis, this group performs the worst in terms of health. The men had to reckon with serious health problems because they paid little attention to their bodies and were not sensitive to psychological stress.

However, the image of men is changing, and a pragmatic understanding of the male role is gradually gaining ground, which differs greatly from the prevailing image of the fathers and grandfathers' generation.

The survey also shows that about every second young man says he listens to signals his body sends him. Almost three quarters assess their state of health positively. However, they consume alcohol much more frequently than young women and in some cases show “less pronounced self-care for their health”.

In addition to the masculine-dominant type, the study divides them into three other groups. According to this, 30 percent belong to the type of "equal rights" young man: These respondents deal with physical and psychological problems sensitively and tend to have an "anti-attitude towards male dominance".

For the other two groups – referred to as the “partnership” and “role ambivalent” types – an even more positive health balance is drawn, since such men can also deal well with everyday stress.