Men who care about preserving their image from machi tend to show less concern for the climate crisis: this is what emerges from a study published in Journal of Environmental Psychologywhich investigated the reasons why women are normally more involved than men in environmental issues.
According to the findings, recognition of the climate crisis is often associated with traits traditionally considered more “feminine”, such as empathy and compassion. For this reason, some men would distance themselves from environmental issues, in an attempt to protect their male identity.
Theory of precarious virility. The hypothesis of Michael Haselhuhn, sole author of the study, is based on the so-called theory of precarious virility (in English precarious manhood theory), according to which virility is a fragile social condition, a status easy to lose that requires constant confirmation; femininity, by contrast, is seen as biologically inevitable.
For this reason, many men would feel pressured to adapt to the standards of virility imposed by the social context, adopting behaviors considered masculine and avoiding those considered more feminine.
Virility and climate. Haselhuhn then wondered whether sensitivity towards the climate crisis is perceived as a “women’s issue” and whether this association could explain the lower environmental interest shown by some men.
To understand this, he conducted three different studies on over 1,300 Americans and compared the results obtained with data collected as part of the European Social Survey on over 40,000 Europeans.
It emerged that concern about the climate can be perceived as a “feminine” trait, and this would influence how some men relate to the topic. Those who want to appear virile tend to believe (or appear to believe) that climate change is not caused by man, do not consider it something to worry about and feel less responsible in combating it.
The limits of an anonymous survey. While not the only factor behind climate denialism, virility concerns appear to significantly influence men’s views on the environment. However, it should be underlined that the study was based on declared attitudes and not on observed behaviour: the social pressure to appear virile could be even stronger than what was found, since some men perhaps expressed their concern for the climate only because they were protected by anonymity, but would not express it in public.
