The Dual Pathways to Masculinity Threats: The Roles of Social Role Incongruity and Social Connection in Masculine Identity Maintenance Among Gay and Straight Men

Humans are hardwired to seek out social connections, as well as monitor for warning signs that their belonging may be at risk. Social identities provide a mechanism through which to monitor belonging, shaping how people understand and see themselves, as well as how they are perceived by others. This large qualitative study (n = 203) presents a dual-pathway model of masculinity threats for self-identified gay and straight men, integrating theoretical models of the psychological need to belong, role congruity theory and social identity theory. Using reflexive thematic analysis to code descriptions of masculinity-threatening experiences, we identified two contexts in which threats were experienced: (1) through private and public experiences of role incongruity and (2) through public experiences with social rejection. Furthermore, the content of threats experienced spanned six themes: (a) perceived femininity; (b) deviation from heteronormativity; (c) competency; (d) physical prototypicality; (e) social prototypicality and (f) sociometer. Notably, the few men who felt they had never experienced a masculinity threat before were more likely to believe this was due to the positive regard and self-esteem they derive from their connections with others. The findings complement and extend the existing research on masculinity threats in meaningful ways: First, they show that gender-role incongruity can lead to masculinity threats for both straight and gay men. Second, they highlight that social inclusion also plays a significant role in both gay and straight men's experiences with masculinity. Furthermore, the findings have important implications for understanding when, and for whom, masculinity threats may lead to antisocial behaviours.