A controversial new study has claimed that men are disproportionately harmful to the planet. Researchers from 13 countries collaborated on a paper titled 'Men, masculinities, and the planet at the end of (M)Anthropocene,' published in the International Journal for Masculinity Studies.
Key Findings
The study, involving 22 researchers, found that men tend to have a greater carbon footprint than women, largely due to travel, transportation, and tourism. Additionally, men are generally less concerned about climate change and less willing to alter their daily habits to address it.
Manly Activities and Environmental Impact
Typically 'manly' activities such as fishing, hunting, and meat consumption negatively affect both the environment and climate. Professor Jeff Hearn, a sociology professor at the University of Huddersfield, noted: 'There is now plenty of research that shows clear negative impacts of some men's behavior on the environment and climate. What is astonishing is how this aspect does not figure in most debate and policy in a more sustainable world.'
Six Categories of Impact
- Greater carbon footprints: Men consume more meat and are leaders in the animal-industrial complex, contributing to higher emissions.
- Less concern for climate change: Men show less willingness to change everyday practices or support environmental policies.
- Less active in environmental politics: Men are less supportive of green parties, and far-right elites often combine climate denialism with misogyny.
- Manly activities harmful: Men dominate extractive industries, industrial agriculture, and militarism, all with significant ecological costs.
- Elite men in the global North: Destructive patterns are especially driven by privileged white men in Western countries.
- Not all men: Some men actively work to counteract these trends, the researchers acknowledge.
The study emphasizes that these patterns are not universal but highlight systemic issues in gender and environmental behavior.
