Hybrid Masculinity Reconsidered, or Towards a Masculinity Theorizing Without Guarantees

This paper critically engages with hybrid masculinity, a concept that has gained considerable traction within masculinity studies. While it has primarily been theorized as a strategy through which privileged men maintain power while appearing progressive, this paper proposes a more open-ended approach. By revisiting postcolonial and youth cultural theories, it reconceptualizes hybrid masculinity beyond a mechanism for the reproduction of privilege, expanding it into a theory of social change. “Hybrid masculinity” is understood here as the mixing of gendered elements, and “hybrid masculinity blocs” as the articulation of cultural and economic interests to maintain or resist the hegemonic gender order. Through a case study of Swedish parental leave politics, the paper explores their counter-hegemonic potential and advocates for a feminist masculinity politics without predetermined outcomes.