“This is a war against yourself”: NoFap, masculinity and technologies of the self

This paper examines how masturbation and pornography are problematized in a Swedish NoFap-inspired forum discussion, and how such problematizations are related to masculine self-understandings and practices of self-regulation. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of technologies of the self, the analysis is based on a qualitative study of discussions from a Swedish online forum, where users talk about their involvement in a NoFap-inspired abstinence challenge. In this context, abstinence is understood as a method for regaining confidence and a sense of lost masculinity. The analysis shows how sexuality is constructed as a problem of regulation, particularly through neurobiological logics expressed in references to hormones and brain function. Participants describe efforts to ‘reboot’ the body by regulating sexual behavior and engaging in daily routines aimed at restoring physical and mental strength. These practices can be understood as technologies of the self, with masculinity functioning both as the method and the goal of transformation. The analysis also demonstrates how moralized health discourses around male masturbation and pornography use incite men to engage in routines of self-surveillance and bodily regulation.