Toxic masculinity leaves most young men feeling pressured to ‘man up’

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy More than half of Britain’s young men feel pressured to “man up” as a result of damaging gender stereotypes, new research from YouGov reveals. According to the findings, 67 per cent of 18-24 year olds felt compelled to display “hyper-masculine” behaviour in tough situations and 55 per cent said crying in front of others would make them feel like less of a man. One of the most dated stereotypes surrounding men and women is that the latter are more emotional while the former are stoic - but even this was found to be a prevalent attitude among those surveyed, with 53 per cent of young men saying they feel like society expects them to never ask for emotional support. “By helping young men and boys understand that they don’t have to conform to archaic aggressive stereotypes of masculinity, we hope to reduce antisocial behaviour, mental health struggles, suicides, gender-based crime and domestic violence.”