The Man Box
Attitudes to manhood among young Australian men
The Man Box (published 2018) is the first comprehensive study focusing on the attitudes to manhood and the behaviours of young Australian men aged 18 to 30.
The research sought to understand the pressures young men experience around being a ‘real man’ by asking them whether they felt pressure to comply with ‘Man Box’ social rules – for example, to be strong, stoic, in control, to not back down from threats, to use violence to get respect, to be a breadwinner, and to have many sexual partners. It asked 1,000 young Australian men whether they perceive or personally agree with these Man Box rules, and examined the influence that endorsing these rules had on the lives of young men and those around them.