Beer for “brohood”: A laboratory simulation of masculinity confirmation through alcohol use behaviors in men.

Abstract

Though alcohol use is a widespread behavior, men tend to drink more and experience more alcohol-related negative consequences than do women. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain ingroup status by engaging in behaviors prototypical of the ingroup when group status has been threatened, and that men are particularly likely to do this when masculine ingroup status is threatened. The present study investigated masculine drinking behaviors through a social lens, examining the impact of masculinity threat on alcohol consumption in a simulated bar laboratory. Sixty-five male students ages 21-29 years (Mage = 22.66; 74% White) consumed beer in a taste-test paradigm after being exposed to randomly assigned personality feedback relative to gender standards. This feedback suggested that they were either low in masculinity (threat condition, n = 22) or high in masculinity (control condition, n = 22). A third condition received the low-masculinity feedback and then were exposed to information to undermine masculine alcohol use norms (undermine condition, n = 21) to account for negative affect reduction motives for use. As hypothesized, individuals in the threat condition consumed significantly more alcohol than those in the control and undermine conditions, even though the threat and undermine conditions reported similar levels of negative affect following masculinity threat. These results suggest that consumption of alcohol by men in social contexts may be strongly motivated by the desire to confirm masculine status. This understanding may be used to enhance the effectiveness of alcohol use intervention protocols. (PsycINFO Database Record

Drink, don’t think: The role of masculinity and thought suppression in men’s alcohol-related aggression.

“…As social drinking may be modeled to men as a cultural symbol of masculinity by peers and media (Towns, Parker, & Chase, 2012), alcohol consumption may provide another context for men to express socialized masculine beliefs and norms (Fugitt & Ham, 2018; Leone & Parrott, 2015; Mullen, Watson, Swift, & Black, 2007; Wells et al, 2014). Indeed, in one study of college students, the majority of participants interpreted alcohol consumption and heavy drinking as a form of “macho” or masculine behavior (Peralta, 2007).…”

Protecting Manhood: Race, Class, and Masculinity in Men’s Attraction to Guns and Aggression

“…Conceptualizing how masculinity threat relates to aggressive attitudes is important to understanding a range of social issues. Threat can lead to overcompensation in the form of apathy, misogyny, and the justification of war, social inequalities, and violence against women (Bosson and Vandello 2011; Cohn, Seibert, and Zeichner 2009; Dahl et al 2015; Eisler et al 2000; Fugitt and Ham 2018; Munsch and Willer 2012; Willer et al 2013). By hyperconforming to standards of American masculinity that emphasize dominance, competition, independence, risk-taking, and aggression, men who feel attacked can reclaim their dominant status (DiMuccio and Knowles 2020; Heinrich 2012; Reidy et al 2014).…”

Is craft beer consumption genderless? Exploratory evidence from Italy and Germany

“…According to Meyers-Levy and Loken (2015), individuals are attracted to brands whose brand personality matches their own gender identity. Because advertising and other media, as well as the behaviour of male role models, often link an image of masculinity with beer consumption and drinking is regarded as a masculine behaviour (Medina-mora, 1994;de Visser and McDonnell, 2012;Darwin, 2018;Fugitt and Ham, 2018), it can be assumed that the perceived personality of CB is more firmly in line with a typical male gender identity. Hence, males should be more inclined towards CB than females because the consumption of CB helps men satisfy their desire to demonstrate their masculinity.…”