The remasculinization trends in national cultures, manipulation of cultural symbols, and male identity as a biocultural phenomenon

Abstract

The study analyzes texts from several cultural circles in which metaphors often appear as part of systemically connected metaphorical networks conceptualizing masculinity, thematizing its current crisis, or ways out of it. Nowadays, the male „hero of our time“ is presented with several elaborate and powerful metaphors and more complex metaphorical networks, with the help of which they can conceptualize (and consequently also „live“) their own masculinity. The author analyzes the selected prototype metaphors; their spread, success and longevity will become obvious only in the coming years. In the „marketplace of ideas“ today, Dugin's Eurasian berserkers extremely (but not entirely) popular in the „Russian world“, Peterson's fighting lobsters appealing to Western conservatives, but also de Waal's empathetic, egalitarian and liberal bonobos as our „flower cousins“ lie side by side. They, in turn, prefer liberal progressives or feminists. Particularly noteworthy is Reeves' attempt to completely reject „conscription“ in the culture wars, calling for useful dialogue and joint action by all warring parties. Richard V. Reeves' book On Boys and Men is a landmark, one of the most important contemporary books on the subject, not only because it is a comprehensive look at the masculinity crisis, but also because it searches for deeper roots of the current crisis and offers solutions.