‘Everywhere you get models of what you should be like’: ideals of masculinity and therapeutic culture constraining young men’s mental health and gendered subjectivities

This paper presents a novel approach to youth mental health by<br/>examining the connections between young Finnish men’s mental<br/>health, ideals of masculinity, and public discourses of mental<br/>health. Drawing from critical sociological and feminist theories on<br/>gender, power, and therapeutic culture, we apply a thematic<br/>discursive analysis to a questionnaire data (n = 910) about men’s<br/>mental health targeted at young men (primarily aged 15-29). The<br/>findings illustrate how young Finnish men consider ‘traditional’<br/>ideals of masculinity widespread in Finland, restricting the actions<br/>of men, and upheld by narrow representations of gender. In<br/>addition, young men display critical reactions to the public<br/>discourses of mental health, especially the ones they feel are<br/>repeated in the media. These discourses are seen as insufficient<br/>and too individualised, echoing therapeutic culture. Based on our<br/>results, we argue that the highly individualised and gendered<br/>discourses of mental health, deriving from therapeutic culture<br/>and rooted in Finnish cultural and institutional practices, are<br/>inadequate for supporting young men’s mental health. Instead,<br/>these practices can create a vicious cycle where the often-wellintended<br/>efforts can limit and guide young men towards<br/>restricted gendered possibilities to express themselves, talk about<br/>mental health, and seek support if needed.