Drawing on a range of examples from media, politics, and in-depth interviews, these papers explore themes of stability, same-sex desire, and the religious identity of young men in highly secular societies. Taken together, they also bring texture and depth to the multiple masculinities implied by the concept of hegemonic masculinity.
Inspired by the work of R. W. Connell, the concept of hegemonic masculinity has been central to the development of masculinity studies. The concept, which describes how ideal-typical forms of masculinity are defined against both femininity and alternative masculinities, has been usefully taken up in a wide variety of ways, from the analysis of dominant representations of manhood to explorations of the production and reproduction of misogyny and homophobia. However, like all foundational concepts, scholars have also reflected on its origin, development, uses, and misuses. Things panel brings together scholars of religion and masculinity to think beyond—though not necessarily against—hegemonic masculinity.
Recent research in Finland suggests a growing interest in Christianity among young men, challenging assumptions about linear religious decline and the feminization of religiosity. This paper examines young men’s engagements with Christianity through a typological analysis of religious orientations, based on in-depth interviews with 30 young Christian men conducted in 2024–2025. Rather than interpreting young men’s religiosity as either reactionary or aligned with hegemonic masculinity, the analysis highlights diverse ways in which Christian commitment becomes intertwined with meaning-making, moral agency, and identity construction in a highly secularized Nordic context. Drawing on scholarship on plural masculinities and individualized religious engagement, the paper proposes a typology that complicates dominant frameworks for studying religious masculinities. The typology is offered as an analytic provocation, inviting comparative discussion on how religious masculinities are negotiated beyond hegemonic and oppositional models in contemporary societies.
Lutheranism as the main Christian denomination in the Nordic countries has defined the religious, ethical, and societal discourse in the area since the Reformation era. Rulers and societal norms drawn from Lutheranism have been recognized as an essential factor behind the development of Nordic societies. Lutheran hegemony is characteristic in ideals relating to gender roles in family, society, and church. Lutheran masculinity, however, has historical and theological roots expanding beyond hegemonic masculinity in different contexts.
This paper provides insight to the development of Lutheran masculinity ideals, beginning with Reformation era sources and contexts of early Lutheran theological teaching about ideal masculine attributes and behavior. The paper concludes with an example from contemporary politics where Nordic Lutheran masculinity ideals are taken into global context. Alexander Stubb, the President of Finland, has recently gained global attention in world politics and a seat next to major Western leaders.
I argue that the men from the new global-hit TV show Heated Rivalry have become both icons and disruptors: models and inviters of detoxification of masculinity as much as sex symbols and icons of gay love. Moreover, I argue that it is both the four main men characters in the show — given how both straight and gay men have been engaging their stories — and the men who portray the two leading men who are doing this work of inviting viewers of all genders to explore alternative ways of relating masculinity, male physicality, and care.