The elusiveness of progressive masculinity: Gender differences in conceptualizations of nontraditional gender roles

Traditional masculinity has been thoroughly explored in psychological research, but its counterpart, progressive masculinity, has undergone relatively little scientific investigation. To determine whether this lack of attention to or understanding of progressive masculinity is mirrored more largely in mainstream culture, we examined how men and women conceptualize and experience gender roles in their everyday lives. Participants were randomly assigned to describe a time in which they had behaved either traditionally or progressively with regard to their gender. Over 80% of men and women in the traditional condition and women in the progressive condition provided condition-appropriate examples. However, men in the progressive condition only provided progressive examples 17% of the time, suggesting that many men may not have an understanding of progressive masculinity. Additional themes, implications, and directions for research on progressive masculinity are discussed.