# Deconstructing Menvertising Stereotypes: A Systematic Review, Research Agenda and Practical Implications

Léa Fauvel, Romain Sohier, Gaëlle Pantin-Sohier, Fabien Durif

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Léa Fauvel, Romain Sohier, Gaëlle Pantin-Sohier, Fabien Durif. Deconstructing Menvertising Stereotypes: A Systematic Review, Research Agenda and Practical Implications. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2025, 10.1002/cb.70047. hal-05322374

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# Deconstructing Menvertising Stereotypes: A Systematic Review, Research Agenda and Practical Implications

Léa Fauvel<fnref n="1" /> ID | Romain Sohier² | Gaëlle Pantin-Sohier<fnref n="1" /> | Fabien Durif³

**Correspondence:** Léa Fauvel (lea.fauvel@univ-angers.fr)

**Received:** 19 August 2024 | **Revised:** 8 July 2025 | **Accepted:** 22 August 2025

**Keywords:** inclusive advertising | menvertising | new masculinity | stereotypes | systematic literature review

## ABSTRACT

Since the #MeToo movement of 2017, consumers have been looking for more diversity and inclusion in their world. As a result, advertisers are implementing strategies such as *femvertising* and even *menvertising* to win over this more inclusion-oriented audience. A large number of studies have focused on women, particularly representations of women in *femvertising*. The aim of this article is to develop an understanding of gender representation by filling in the gaps in existing studies on *menvertising*. With a view to achieving equity for all people and to better understand the evolution of gender through advertising representations, we conducted a systematic literature review of 236 articles, including lexicometric, bibliometric and in-depth expert interviews analyses, focusing on masculinity post-#MeToo and its representation in advertising. We identified various theories and concepts that better enable us to understand the evolution of *menvertising*, and we developed an initial conceptual model of *menvertising*. Finally, this study proposes a research agenda to guide researchers in pursuing studies on *menvertising*.

## 1 | Introduction

The post #MeToo era (after 2017) has been marked by various social movements seeking to rebalance the power dynamics among individuals, such as through ‘body positivism’ movements (Lazuka et al. 2020). These social movements have had widespread consequences. For example, they have impacted gender discourse at a global level and are deconstructing the hegemonic forms of gender that have predominated in the past (Zayer et al. 2019), including developing a better understanding of concepts such as gender fluidity and the limitations of using binary (male/female) definitions of gender (Eisend 2019). These movements are succeeding in creating social change and changing consumption patterns and social representations (Bellet et al. 2024; Nardini et al. 2021; Siim and Stoltz 2024). For marketers, these societal changes have influenced advertising content and messages, which are becoming more inclusive and diverse (McDonald et al. 2021). We will illustrate this with two marketing strategies: *femvertising* and *menvertising*. Please note

that these two marketing practices operate separately rather than in conjunction (Sathvika and Rajasekaran 2024).

The concept of *femvertising*—a marketing practice that tends to break societal codes and norms associated with women—has been the focus of several studies on female consumers (Åkestam et al. 2017; Hainneville et al. 2023). Gomez-Borquez et al. (2024) show the importance of *femvertising* as a response to consumer demands during the fourth wave of feminism and its role in promoting diversity and inclusion in advertising that encompasses disability, ethnicity, age and gender identity. On the other hand, *menvertising* is defined as the representation of men in ways that challenge the stereotypical norms and characteristics attributed to men (Quynh 2023). For example, in more traditional advertising, men are often presented with muscular bodies (Barber and Bridges 2017). In parallel with developments in gender representation in advertising, a number of organisations have been established related to this area, such as the Quebec-based non-profit organisation ‘Des hommes qui changent’,<fnref n="1" /> whose mission

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2025 The Author(s). *Journal of Consumer Behaviour* published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

<footnote n="1">¹University of Angers, GRANEM, Angers, France | ²EM Normandie Business School, Métis Lab, Le Havre, France | ³ESG UQAM, Observatoire de la Consommation Responsable GreenUXlab, Montréal, Québec, Canada</footnote>
is to support individual men and organisations in identifying, promoting and adopting positive masculine codes. As a result of these developments, businesses must rethink their marketing strategies, particularly via advertising, by integrating diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI) to best meet the expectations of consumers (Sternadori and Abitbol 2022). This phenomenon has also given rise to a stream of social marketing research on DEI marketing concepts (Arsel et al. 2022; Eisend et al. 2023) and includes work relating to ethnic minorities, body representation and sexual orientation (Campbell et al. 2023). However, it is important to consider consumers' reactions to gender representation. Indeed, brands can fall victim to protest actions (e.g., boycotts) by consumers if they feel that certain representations are not inclusive enough (Bernstein et al. 2020).

Finally, this article aims to propose a new definition and conceptualisation of menvertising, as well as a research agenda and practical implications. Currently, there is no consensus on either the definition or the scope of the concept of menvertising, which depends on the actors who mobilise it (e.g., researchers, associations, advertisers or citizens), and few previous studies have focused specifically on menvertising and its societal and behavioural consequences (Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez 2021; Sternadori and Abitbol 2022).

To meet these objectives, a systematic review of 236 studies on menvertising was carried out using the theories, contexts, characteristics and methods (TCCM) framework (Paul and Rosado-Serrano 2019), along with a lexicometric analysis (Lavissière et al. 2020; Swain et al. 2024), a bibliometric analysis (Adali et al. 2024) and in-depth expert interviews analysis (Sáez-Ortuño et al. 2024). This mixed-methods approach (Mustak et al. 2021; Jain et al. 2024), incorporating three methodologies, allows for a comprehensive review of articles focusing on menvertising. This approach includes both interpretative and qualitative reading, as well as an objective methodology based on text and graph theory algorithms that seek to highlight connections between articles and academic references. As Hulland and Houston (2020) point out, review papers highlight the breadth of work conducted on a theme by synthesising existing knowledge, as well as identifying theoretical gaps and directions for future research. This article seeks to answer the following research questions: (RQ1) What is the current view of masculinity? (RQ2) What theories and concepts are used to define masculinity? (RQ3) What is menvertising? (RQ4) What are the consequences of menvertising for consumers? (RQ5) What research agenda could best investigate this new marketing phenomenon?

## 2 | Overview of Men's Representation in Advertising

According to Böhmer and Michael Griese (2020, 717), 'equality implies the quality of being equal'. Equality between men and women means providing them with the same benefits so that they can more easily experience equality and justice. In addition, the concept of equality is widely used to better understand the role behaviour of individuals (Knoll et al. 2011). More specifically, these are the characteristics socially attributed to men and women that result in equality or inequality (Van Hellemont and Van den Bulck 2012). In terms of physical characteristics,

there is less equality since these are biological attributes (Eisend 2019). However, characteristics relating to profession and role behaviour may lend themselves to more egalitarian representations (Eisend 2019). According to Knoll et al. (2011, 6) 'the more the depiction of certain characteristics in advertising deviates from the objective of equality, the higher is the degree of stereotyping'. Finally, the concept of gender equality is central to the study of gender representations. Stereotypical representations are considered as such when they deviate from equality between women and men (Eisend 2019).

Achieving gender equality has become a central concern of gender policies. However, the characteristics associated with each gender are often stereotyped and are described as the beliefs behind the creation of social categories (Grau and Zotos 2018). Different characteristics, such as personality traits, physique, behaviour or professional status, differentiate women and men (Eisend 2010; Grau and Zotos 2018). These stereotypes in advertisements have led consumers to demand greater diversity in marketing strategies, particularly in terms of gender representation (Campbell et al. 2023). Even before the #MeToo movement, since the 1970s, diversity in advertising has been a central societal concern (Campbell et al. 2023; Eisend et al. 2023), highlighting 'egalitarian appeals, and increasing diversity with the proliferation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) [people]' (Tsichla and Zotos 2022, 43). Diversity is visible in advertising through various traits such as 'age, beauty, height, gender, LGBTQIA+ community, physical and mental abilities, as well as race and ethnic origin' (Campbell et al. 2023, 4). Tsichla and Zotos (2022) pointed out that these new, more diverse representations are moving away from traditional gender clichés. Despite this desire for greater diversity, it is not without negative consequences. For example, the emphasis on larger bodies and the tendency to normalise them push some individuals to adopt unhealthy behaviours (Campbell et al. 2023).

Men's representation in advertising has become a subject of increasing interest to researchers, albeit in an inadequate way. Many gender studies focus on cliché representations of women, whereas, to gain a general understanding of gender stereotypes, it is also necessary to analyse male representations (Gentry and Harrison 2010; Grau and Zotos 2018). If so, 'to leave masculine perspectives unstudied leaves the male gender role neutralized, rendering it less permeable to change' (Gentry and Harrison 2010, 90). However, men are still strongly represented in the media by traditional characteristics such as 'the voice of authority, activities outside the home and the professional' and 'independent (...) with little regard for age and physical appearance' (Grau and Zotos 2018, 761).

In this way, this research is linked to social marketing that is defined as 'the application of marketing technologies to create programmes that benefit the well-being of consumers and society at large' (Folse et al. 2012, 294). In this sense, we can accept that advertising featuring men with more socially acceptable behaviours and habits would enable men who are far removed from patriarchal norms to increase their 'self-esteem', for women to promote their emancipation and for children to have a different perception of gender representation. What's more, social marketing involves changing people's behaviour and attitudes, with change factors based
on individuals or society (Folse et al. 2012). Inclusive advertising seems to reflect a 'demographically diverse market and resonate with underrepresented consumer communities' (Viglia et al. 2023, 643). Viglia et al. (2023) highlight the importance of diversity in limiting all forms of marginalization and prejudice. To echo Folse et al. (2012), all forms of marginalization can have a negative impact on the well-being of the people concerned. Wilkie et al. (2023) add that advertising representation of diversity and inclusivity creates 'positive changes in society'. This refers, for example, to the increase in 'self-esteem' for men distanced from hegemonic masculinity. At the same time, a 'woke-washing' movement is revolting against inauthentic advertising (Vredenburg et al. 2020). As mentioned above, menvertising, the non-stereotypical representation of men in advertising, is primarily aimed at achieving greater inclusivity. Inclusive advertising such as menvertising has the primary aim of increasing individual and societal well-being. However, this strategy can be misused by brands wishing to 'appear' more socially acceptable. This is the case of 'Gillette for its “The best men can be” advertisement in support of the #MeToo's challenge to toxic masculinity' (Caruelle 2025, 744). The instrumentalisation of inclusive advertising can lead to woke and therefore opportunistic practices. Moreover, Caruelle (2025) points out in her study that woke advertising is perceived as woke-washing, regardless of the company's actual practices. This undermines consumer trust and attitude towards the brand. Faced with this duality between inclusive and authentic advertising, but also with the risk of opportunism, menvertising needs to be clearly defined. To date, there has been no systematic literature review (SLR) on men's representation in advertising.

## 3 | Methodological Process

The number of systematic review articles is increasing in a variety of fields, including management, tourism, marketing, transportation and education (Paul and Barari 2022; Swain et al. 2024; Lim 2025). According to Khan et al. (2003), a systematic literature review (SLR) 'is based on a clearly formulated question, identifies relevant studies, assesses their quality and summarises the evidence using an explicit methodology. It is the explicit, systematic approach that distinguishes systematic reviews from traditional reviews and commentaries' (p. 118). To carry out a systematic review, authors select a set of articles and analyse trends, research methods and topics themselves (Paul and Barari 2022). An effective SLR provides the best scientific information on a topic or field of study and allows for the identification of research gaps and new research directions (Paul, Merchant, et al. 2021). Systematic reviews are used to advance a field of study (Paul et al. 2024). In our case, this methodology allows us to take a step back and reflect deeply on masculinity and its representation in advertising. There are different types of systematic review: theme-based reviews, theory-based reviews, reviews aiming for theory development and meta-analytical reviews. In our case, this is a theme-based review using the TCCM framework developed by Paul and Rosado-Serrano (2019). Theories (T) refer to 'different theoretical underpinnings and paradigms used to explain the inter-relationships between the constructs', contexts (C) represent 'circumstances shaping the research setting', characteristics (C) are the 'elements of a

construct and their relationship with other variables of interest', then methods (M) refer to 'samples, measurement scales, research designs and analytical tools' (Paul et al. 2024). At the end of this review, we provided a research agenda for future readers (Paul, Lim, et al. 2021). This study framework is one of the most widely used, for two reasons: (1) its comprehensibility and (2) its versatility (Paul et al. 2024, 3–5).

Focusing on recent literature on inclusion (Eisend et al. 2023), we selected articles related to the representation of men in advertising (Sternadori and Abitbol 2022; Zayer et al. 2019), which explore relevant topics such as hegemonic masculinity, inclusive masculinity and brand gender, while at the same time carefully selecting articles that employ different methodologies. These choices aim to provide an understanding of how menvertising can be conceptualised. To select articles for analysis, we combined the steps commonly accepted in management science (Mandják et al. 2019) with the SPAR-4-SLR procedure recommended by Paul, Merchant, et al. (2021) (see Figure 1).

### 3.1 | Defining the Research Questions

Studies on the representation of men focus on different forms of masculinity (e.g., toxic, hegemonic, modern). In looking at how individuals might perceive these representations, it is important to relate them to the brands and advertisements that disseminate them. For this reason, we have focused on how masculinity is defined in literature and its theoretical inspirations. We then seek to understand how advertisements integrate masculinity into their practices to assess their consequences. The various research questions mentioned in the introduction are as follows: (RQ1) What is the current view of masculinity? (RQ2) What theories and concepts are used to define masculinity? (RQ3) What is menvertising? (RQ4) What are the consequences of menvertising on consumers? (RQ5) What research agenda could better understand this new marketing potential?

### 3.2 | Determining the Required Characteristics of Primary Studies

We followed the recommendations of Paul, Lim, et al. (2021) to restrict our analysis to academic works published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We did not include books, conference proceedings or PhD dissertations. We chose to include post-#MeToo articles, that is, published from 2017 onwards, as this was a key social movement that affected the relationships between women and men. Women started speaking out more publicly about the violence/stereotypes they had experienced, which resulted in the beginning of more active social change to diminish previous unempowered female stereotypes (Prothero and Tadajewski 2021; Luo and Zhang 2022). Social movements such as the #MeToo movement are having an impact on theoretical fields such as consumer culture theory (Patsiaouras 2022) and social marketing (Gurrieri et al. 2018). The #MeToo movement marks a forward momentum in the fight for equality and equity and thus becomes a pillar of social transformation (Prothero and Tadajewski 2021). The #MeToo movement has had repercussions on the legislative front and a direct impact on the societal level and gender
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>FIGURE 1 | SPAR-4-SLR procedure.</figcaption></figure>

relations in general. For example, the Schiappa law of August 3, 2018, protects women against street harassment. Similarly, Law no. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021, included in the Labor Code, now qualifies sexist jokes specifically referring to a person's sex or gender as sexual harassment. The introduction of these laws is prompting marketers to rethink male and female representation. Indeed, Reyes-Menendez et al. (2020) and Luo and Zhang (2022) highlight the impact of the #MeToo movement on marketing strategies and decisions in terms of gender equality with an inclusivity perspective.

## 3.3 | Retrieving a Sample of Potentially Relevant Literature

We chose the Scopus database, as authors in management sciences have already done (Mandják et al. 2019; Lavissière et al. 2020; Séraphin and Chaney 2023), to collect our

articles because it is considered the most reliable database (Falagas et al. 2008) and includes a broader range of subject areas and categories than the Web of Science (Aksnes and Sivertsen 2019).

The list of keywords (see Table WAI in Supporting Information S1) comes from academic searches carried out on Google Scholar and Scopus. We first used keywords relating to the concept of masculinity as a whole, then to its use in advertising and branding. Following Paul et al. (2023) and Bhukya and Paul (2023), who have selected articles in *Business, Management and Accounting; Psychology and Decision Sciences*, we limited our search to several disciplines (e.g., social sciences, arts and humanities, psychology, business, management and accounting, decision sciences) that relate to the subject of masculinity. We collected all articles published up to May 2024.

For each keyword, we used the following Scopus code:
TITLE-ABS-KEY ('keyword') AND (LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE, 'ar')) AND (LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, 'SOCI') OR LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, 'BUSI') OR LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, 'PSYC') OR LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, 'ARTS') OR LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, 'DECI')) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, 'English'))).

This search process initially produced 1839 articles.

## 3.4 | Selecting the Relevant Literature

We determined whether the article was relevant by reading the titles and abstracts of all the articles. We selected articles that were solely concerned with how masculinity was represented and perceived. Two authors were involved in determining the relevance of the articles to purify the sample. After reading the abstracts, each author filled in (without seeing the other's answer) a column indicating the inclusion (Y) or exclusion (N) of the article (see Table WA2 in Supporting Information S1). We then compiled the responses and calculated the agreement/disagreement rate using the Kappa inter-coder reliability score (Fleiss 1971). The calculated score was 0.71. According to Landis and Koch (1977), a kappa between 0.61 and 0.80 is considered 'substantial agreement', which was achieved. Because we want to study the subject in its entirety, we have not included criteria relating to the method used, sampling criteria (such as sexual orientation, age, the country in which the study was carried out or socioprofessional status, for example) in the articles. Thus, articles that focused on violence against men or women, the sexual act, pornography, sexual harassment or LGBTQ were excluded. Following this review, we excluded 1288 articles.

Next, we chose to eliminate articles published between 1965 and 2016. The 2016 represents an anchor point for the #MeToo movement, which galvanised the view of a more modern man, so fewer stereotyped words have emerged since then. This resulted in an additional 254 articles being excluded from our sample, leaving us with 297 total articles.

In the last step we removed duplicate entries to obtain 236 sources to include in the systematic review, as Figure 1 shows. This figure is higher than recent systematic reviews on activism, narrative transportation or female stereotyping, which studied 44 articles (Pimentel et al. 2024), 95 articles (Thomas and Grigsby 2024) and 102 articles (Gomez-Borquez et al. 2024), respectively. A summary of the process is available in Figure WA1 in Supporting Information S1.

## 3.5 | Analysing the Literature Using the TCCM Framework

We carried out an SLR using the TCCM framework (Paul and Rosado-Serrano 2019), a relevant analysis framework that enables a deep understanding of a concept and helps to define gaps in the existing literature (Branca et al. 2024; Chen et al. 2021). Theories are presented in detail below, and the articles that used them are in Tables A1 and A2 in Appendix A. Literature profile, characteristics, contexts and methods are developed in Figure WA2 and Tables WA3–WA12 in Supporting Information S1).

These theories make sense with the social role theory initiated by Eagly (1987), which explains that women and men act similarly or differently depending on the context (Eagly and Wood 2016). Traditionally, men have task-oriented behaviours and women have social-emotional behaviours. Eagly and Wood (2016) argue that these different male and female behaviours are complementary and necessary for the harmony of our society. These behavioural and role differences also exist within the same gender.

From a psychological point of view, we note that social identity theory has been mobilised to evaluate belonging/differentiation according to the way in which men are represented. According to Tajfel and Turner (1986), social identity theory shows that individuals strive to maintain a positive and distinct perception of their out-groups and in-groups by developing a common social identity and shared values with their in-group. According to the theory of social comparison initiated by Festinger (1957), advertising displays stereotyped physiques that call on individuals to compare themselves. As a consequence of this comparison, individuals tend to depreciate themselves and see their self-esteem diminish. In other words, social comparison theory has various social impacts (emotional and behavioural). So, depending on advertising representations, men will act or experience ads more or less positively.

Symbolic interactionism is another theory that explains the representations of men and their roles in society. This theory states that the individual and society are inseparable and are developed simultaneously (Mead 1934; Blumer 1969). The self is built from the judgments of others in a context in which both the individual and others react Mead (1934). Blumer (1969), building on Mead's work (Mead 1934), theorises symbolic interactionism based on three elements: attitudes towards certain objects are based on the meanings individuals have for them; meanings are constructed through interactions with other people, and meanings are constantly modified and redefined by other people. These theories have given rise to two visions of masculinity.

The theory of hegemonic masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005) provides a better understanding of traditional masculinities (Knudsen and Andersen 2020). It explains that men benefit from patriarchy and describes men as 'being homophobic, stoic, violent and macho' (E. Anderson 2015). A modern view of men rather can be seen through the lens of the theory of inclusive masculinity (Anderson and McCormack 2018), which is used to understand the social changes between men and their concept of masculinity. This theory describes men with an 'increased peer tacitility, softening gender codes and close friendship based on emotional disclosure' (Anderson and McCormack 2018, 2). Inclusive masculinity is related to the concept of homohysteria, which is the fear of being perceived as homosexual, a possible concern for men who want to be more modern but who should be criticised. Between hegemonic and inclusive masculinity, the concept of hybrid masculinity 'emerged at the turn of this century with Demetriou's (2001) recognition that straight white men who occupied positions of power in the masculine hierarchy were beginning to adopt cultural elements of subordinate and marginalized masculinities' (Connor et al. 2021, 2). This concept exposes how 'straight, young and white men' accept men who display the traits of non-hegemonic masculinity. Indeed,
men with hegemonic masculinity and men with inclusive masculinity behave differently (see Table WA5 in Supporting Information S1, comparing hegemonic and inclusive masculinity). Men with inclusive masculinity are more emotionally connected to their families and others, whereas men with hegemonic masculinity are more focused on themselves.

Inclusive masculinity overturns the symbols associated with the traditional masculine identity. Indeed, in the case of modern masculinity, men symbolically signal their identity through interactions with their children, wives and friends (Molloy and Pierro 2020). In the past, men's social norms were to protect, channel their emotions and focus mainly on their family's financial needs (Petts et al. 2018). Finally, these different theories represent ways of studying how people's representations evolve and, consequently, menvertising.

# 4 | Conceptualisation of Menvertising

The TCCM framework highlights the fundamental elements of menvertising. To conceptualise menvertising, we also conducted a lexicometric analysis, a bibliometric analysis and in-depth expert interview analyses as well as an interpretative synthesis of the literature.

## 4.1 | Lexicometric Analysis

Reinert's (1990) lexicometric analysis, also known as text positioning analysis, is a quantitative analysis of qualitative data. It can be used to identify groups of concepts (Chopra et al. 2023). In our systematic review, we processed a large number of articles. In this way, lexicometric analysis enables us to refine data processing and (1) 'identify and organize keywords, recurring themes and trends within the corpus', (2) 'identify semantic similarities between articles', (3) 'provide visual outputs' (4) 'identify biases in the literature' and (5) 'offer a standardized methodological framework that is reproducible' (Chaney and Séraphin 2023, 8–9). To perform a lexicometric analysis, we used algorithms to detect clusters and topics with R² (version 4.1.3) and Iramuteq³ (version 0.7 alpha 2) (see Table WA13, Figure WA3, Tables WA14 and WA15 in Supporting Information S1 for preprocessing). Lexicometry can be employed to enhance SLRs (Chopra et al. 2023; Lavissière et al. 2020; Swain et al. 2024). It is an objective approach that eliminates the likelihood of human bias when interpreting data (Mandják et al. 2019). These are algorithms that seek to bring out clusters of concepts within a text (Reinert 1990). This approach also allows for the processing of massive amounts of data and highlights connections between themes and text meanings that would be complex for a human (Illia et al. 2014). After downloading the 236 papers and all the related abstracts included in our database, we obtained a total of 39,210 occurrences (see Table WA16 and Figure WA4 in Supporting Information S1 for an example of word frequency) and an average document length of 1176 characters and 4420 unique tokens.

For the data analysis on the abstracts (see Table WA17 in Supporting Information S1 for the packages used in R), we

performed a similarity analysis, which revealed communities of words that appear close together in the text (cooccurrences). The algorithm highlights four main trends (see Figure 2). At the upper left, we visualised words relating to stereotypes of men such as body and power, which correspond to a hegemonic vision of masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is represented through various characteristics: (1) the idealised representation of the male body, (2) social privilege and (3) the male–female relationship. In addition, sport and performance are often used to represent men with hegemonic masculinity (e.g., Bleu de Channel perfume ad⁴). In the yellow and purple bubbles, we found a set of words focusing on the vision of masculinity (hegemonic, ideal, hybrid) and masculine identity with words like *challenge*, *tradition*, *father*, *femininity* and *care*. These key words make sense with the earlier works on menvertising and reflect a more modern vision of masculinity. These two bubbles show the coexistence of hegemonic masculinity and modern masculinity in certain advertising representations. To illustrate our proposals, let's take the example of the 'Look Like the Man You Really Are' advert by the Gillette brand, which highlights the characteristics linked to hegemonic masculinity and inclusive masculinity. More specifically, the ad features a man with the physical characteristics of hegemonic masculinity and the emotional characteristics of modern masculinity. The central section (in red and pink) shows that research is also focusing on active fatherhood and work-life balance, an inclusive view of the male role. To finish, the green section points out that social media helps to represent these concepts of diversity and contributes to changing gender stereotypes. These new marketing strategies affect consumer experience.

When doing lexicometry, it is common to use the descendent hierarchical classification method (Mandják et al. 2019) to identify if some words are linked to a specific class (see Figure 3). Class 1 is the representation of men in social media, with a predominance of patriarchal culture and male-related products/topics such as beer. Class 2 focuses on advertising and the discourse/content it conveys. Class 3 presents two approaches to the study of masculinity: hegemonic masculinity and inclusive masculinity. Class 4 represents the public space in which masculinity is applied, for example, at school or in relation to women. Class 5 is the research methodology used in the articles.

This lexicometric analysis enabled us to highlight various themes linked to the understanding of masculinity: (1) hegemonic masculinity as an anchor, (2) the coexistence of traits linked to hegemonic and inclusive masculinity, (3) new behaviours adopted by men and (4) the support of social networks in this evolution of the male gender. To enhance the understanding derived from textual data, we conducted science mapping with bibliometry to assess the relationships between the key components of the research through co-citation analysis (Donthu et al. 2021).

## 4.2 | Bibliometric Analysis

Bibliometric analysis (quantitative analysis) is becoming increasingly popular in scientific research. There are two main reasons for this: (1) 'advancement, availability and accessibility of
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**FIGURE 2** | Similitude analysis.</figcaption></figure>

bibliometric software' and (2) 'cross-disciplinary pollination of the bibliometric methodology from information science to business research' (Donthu et al. 2021, 285). Both bibliometric analysis and the TCCM framework of systematic review are primarily used to advance a field of study (Donthu et al. 2021). In our study, we used two mapping techniques. These are co-citation analysis and coupling analysis. Co-citation analysis 'analyses the relationships among cited publications to understand the development of the foundational themes in a research field' (Donthu et al. 2021, 289). It highlights the most influential and fundamental citations for understanding our object of study. This analysis is based on academic references. Coupling analysis 'analyses the relationships among citing publications to understand the periodical or present development of themes in a research field' (Donthu et al. 2021, 289). Unlike co-citation analysis, bibliographic linkage enables us to highlight niche references and take stock of the current state of the object of study concerned. This analysis is based on the author's name, title, journals and references (Donthu et al. 2021).

Bibliometrics is based on the understanding of bibliographic data via statistical and quantitative techniques (Adalı et al. 2024). Bibliometric analysis complements our current study through its objective methods. In fact, it complements the analysis of a systematic review, which is subjective (Paul, Merchant, et al. 2021).

The data were collected from Scopus by extracting bibliographic references, which allowed for the creation of a .csv file. By listing the references from the 236 articles in our database, we obtained a total of 13,767 references. We conducted bibliographic coupling (i.e., focusing on the relationships among the articles in our database) to understand current research trends, as well as a co-citation analysis (i.e., focusing on the relationships among the academic references of the articles in our database) to identify foundational themes related to our topic (Donthu et al. 2021). Like Mustak et al. (2021), we used VOSviewer, an open-source software, to perform bibliometric analysis and visualise the networks of relationships.
4.2.1 | Bibliographical Coupling Study

The first analysis (see Figure 4) focused on the 236 articles included in our systematic review. Based on the analysis, the studies were divided into six different categories.

The red cluster, ‘brand gender and advertising representation’, highlights the evolution of the representation of fathers in commercial strategies (Campana et al. 2020), brand gender (Azar et al. 2018; Farmaki et al. 2021) and consumer reaction to brand gender (De Meulenaer et al. 2018). The green cluster, ‘inclusive masculinity’, is characterised by the understanding of this theory (Anderson and McCormack 2018), the societal evolution in

the practice of football (Campbell et al. 2018; Gaston et al. 2018) and the questioning of these new behaviours (Ralph and Roberts 2020). The blue cluster, ‘emergence and questioning of a new masculinity’, focuses mainly on the emergence of new forms of masculinity (Waling 2019), men’s physical appearance (Barry and Weiner 2019) and the harassment that reinforces the social construction of masculinity (Rosen and Nofziger 2019). The yellow cluster, ‘mixed hybrid masculinity and toxic masculinity’, focuses on understanding toxic masculinity (Harrington 2021), offline and online masculinities (Ging 2019; Jones et al. 2020) and variations in representations of masculinity across contexts (Barry 2018). The purple cluster, ‘caring masculinity’, has attracted interest from Lee and Lee (2018), Hunter et al. (2020)

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>FIGURE 3 | Descendent hierarchical classification.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>FIGURE 4 | Bibliographical coupling visualisation.</figcaption></figure>
and Carlson et al. (2022). Finally, the sky-blue cluster adds value to the understanding of the male/female ratio in video games (Darvin et al. 2021) and body image (Liao et al. 2020).

4.2.2 | Co-Citation Study

The second analysis (see Figure 5) focused on the bibliographic references provided by articles cited in the systematic review.

Like Study 1, the articles were divided into six different clusters. The red cluster is 'brand gender', which highlights the notions of gender and brand. Various important points emerged from the readings, including the following: the reflection of gender and masculine gender (Butler 2004; Kimmel 2008), brand image (Thompson et al. 2006), gender and brand personality (Lieven et al. 2014), the brand gender measurement scale (Grohmann 2009), the representation of gender in advertising (Goffman 1979) and the representation of the role of men in advertising (Gentry and Harrison 2010). The green cluster refers to the theory of 'hybrid masculinity' (Bridges and Pascoe 2014; Barber and Bridges 2017), gender thinking (Kimmel 2012), and the evolution of social gender relations in the context of sport and politics (Messner 2016; Messerschmidt and Messner 2018). The blue cluster, 'hegemonic masculinity and modern masculinity', combines hegemonic masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005; Hearn et al. 2012) and modern masculinity with the stay-at-home father (Doucet 2016). The yellow cluster, 'norms of masculinity', reflects two major tools used in the study of masculinity: the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (Parent and Moradi 2011) and the Male Role Norms Inventory—Revised (Levant and Richmond 2008), as well as the study of masculinity by Vandello and Bosson (2013). The purple cluster is based on the theory of inclusive masculinity (E. D. Anderson 2009) studied in a sporting context (Adams

et al. 2010; Roberts et al. 2017). Finally, the sky-blue cluster focuses mainly on the theory of hegemonic masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005; Messerschmidt and Messner 2018), which is essential for the study of the male gender.

Through this new bibliometric approach, as with lexicometric analysis, different themes have emerged, providing a macro view for understanding the evolution of masculinity. The themes are identical, with brand gender and advertising, toxic masculinity contrasted by inclusive hybrid masculinity challenging hegemonic masculinity. This evolution implies a change in social norms. In line with the TCCM framework and the lexicometric analysis, the bibliometric results highlight two main aspects of the literature, branding and gender (Butler 2004; Kimmel 2008), as well as the evolution of masculinity through hegemonic masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005), hybrid masculinity or even inclusive masculinity (Anderson and McCormack 2018). In terms of context, sport is very often used (Adams et al. 2010; Roberts et al. 2017).

4.3 | Experts' Interviews

As noted by Lim (2025, 6), it is important to conduct ‘follow-up interviews with key stakeholders, particularly those who are intended beneficiaries of the review (e.g., academics, practitioners, policymakers)’ to enhance the rigor of the SLR through additional research (Huang et al. 2021). Eight experts (including academics in Social Sciences, Business, Management, Marketing and Advertising, marketing, communication and diversity and inclusion managers) responded to our survey. Semi-structured interviews with experts enabled us to reinforce the results obtained from the systematic review, lexicometric and bibliometric analysis and refine our understanding of menvertising. Sáez-Ortuño et al. (2024) used several methods (bibliometric analysis, followed

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>FIGURE 5 | Co-citation visualisation.</figcaption></figure>
by content analysis and in-depth interviews with experts). This triangulation strengthens and validates the data obtained. The experts completed a document containing open-ended questions related to menvertising. The questions were structured into two main sections: (1) understanding masculinity and its representation in advertising and (2) understanding its impact on consumers. The experts were asked to respond to six key themes: (1) the current state of men's representation in advertising, (2) the physical characteristics of modern masculinity, (3) the emotional characteristics of modern masculinity, (4) the behavioural characteristics of modern masculinity, (5) the consequences of inclusive advertisements that highlight new forms of masculinity and (6) the definition of the concept of menvertising. Following a thematic content analysis, the responses revealed the following key themes: the evolution of men's representation in advertising and its physical, emotional and behavioural characteristics, as well as the consequences of advertising representations of modern and inclusive masculinity. Overall, we can assert that the representation of masculinity has evolved in marketing campaigns. For example, one expert stated that 'the representation of men in advertising has generally evolved to make room for more fluid and/or feminised forms of masculinity', while another expert noted that 'there are now more diverse forms of male representation'. Masculinity is characterised by a variety of physical, emotional and behavioural attributes. According to one expert, 'advertisements show men taking care of children or doing household chores'. However, this statement cannot be generalised to all contemporary advertisements. To illustrate this point, another expert observes that 'advertising reflects the shift in traditional gender roles, portraying men not only as providers but also as involved parents and partners in domestic tasks'. Another expert adds that men are also depicted in complex situations: 'We see them facing challenges such as finding love, dealing with aging or navigating single parenthood'. It is worth noting that hegemonic masculinity remains embedded in certain advertising representations. Regarding its impact, these new portrayals are generally perceived as positive for both men and women, promoting equality and self-acceptance. One expert highlights that these new representations allow women to 'feel valued or at least equal to men in daily life', a sentiment confirmed by another expert, who states that 'these advertisements positively change the relationship between men and women'. Another expert points out that inclusive advertisements 'enable men to break free from the dictates and pressures of masculinity'. Only those who strongly identify with traditional masculinity might feel they are losing their privileges and power. One expert mentions a form of resistance from 'a segment of the male population'. According to the respondents, menvertising refers to advertising that 'challenges stereotypical representations of men' and 'promotes a vision of masculinity that embraces equality, diversity and vulnerability'.

The verbatim statements provided by the experts confirm the initial findings derived from the TCCM framework as well as bibliometric and lexicometric analyses. We can now perform a qualitative interpretation to synthesise our analysis.

## 4.4 | Interpretative Synthesis of Literature

Masculinity, which includes the binary construction of gender, is dynamic and pluralistic (Spendelow and Seidler 2020).

According to Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez (2021, 408), gender researchers emphasise 'values such as egalitarianism, intersectionality, social change and ethical challenges to notions of privilege and relations of power'.

### 4.4.1 | The Transition From Hegemonic to Inclusive Masculinities

Walker (2005) argued that old masculinities went too far' in terms of violence and authority. To combat these excessive forms of masculinity, more inclusive definitions of masculinity and norms have been emerging (Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez 2021). Some researchers, such as Stick (2021), question whether these are new masculinities or a recasting of hegemonic masculinity, which retains certain characteristics such as dominance.

When it comes to the evolution of hegemonic masculinity, researchers disagree. According to Hunter et al. (2017), benevolent masculinity is an extension of hegemonic masculinity, while Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez (2021) stipulated that hegemonic masculinity is being challenged. Harrington (2021) pointed out that men who embrace inclusive masculinities are distancing themselves from the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity.

The modern vision of masculinity is expressed in many terms: new masculinity, hybrid masculinity, flexible masculinity or enlightened masculinity. This range of terms implies complexity in its conceptualisation, even if the words share a common meaning: a more inclusive approach to the male identity. Some men pay attention to their (1) physical appearance with, for example, a beauty routine (Garousi et al. 2017). Men are (2) free to express and feel their emotions, such as vulnerability in the intimate sphere, without fear of being judged by others (Connor et al. 2021). Jordan et al. (2022) assert that protective masculinity reflects a man who is attentive to and emotionally invested in his family. Then, men are more sensitive to relationships, demonstrating compassion, inclusiveness and empathy (Kreicbergs et al. 2024). Men who embrace the characteristics of modern masculinity take their (3) parental role to heart (Campana et al. 2020; Cuklanz and Erol 2021). They are 'happy' in this new version of the father role (Leader 2019). Drjenovszky and Sztáray Kézdy (2023) pointed out that the division of tasks depends solely on the individual's free time and not on gender. An egalitarian vision is based solely on role neutrality. In this way, gender is deconstructed from the traditional norms that create it. On the professional side, modern men are looking for a work-life balance (Connor et al. 2021). Along this same vein, the modern man now chooses to use their parental leave to take care of their children (Jóhannsdóttir and Gíslason 2018). According to Scholz and Lenhart (2023), (4) food can be segmented by gender. Some researchers claim that men adopt an omnivorous diet, while others assert that men who embrace the new masculinity act favourably towards veganism, moving away from the omnivorous practice of the hegemonic man (Islentyeva and Zimmermann 2023; Scholz and Lenhart 2023). (5) Homosexuals are more likely to adopt new representations of masculinity (Kaplan et al. 2017). In general, men who embrace the new masculinity are less homophobic, sexist and racist and aim to move towards more socially acceptable behaviours (Stick 2021).
Masculinity changes over time but still preserves its power of domination and 'tends to reproduce and conceal systems of power in new ("softer") ways' (Pfaffendorf 2017, 220). This concealment of power is intended to maintain men's position within society and maintain some of their privileges (Wasserman et al. 2018). Feng and Yu (2022) also identify the conflict between traditional and modern masculinities. The definition of new masculinity remains strongly imbued with hegemonic masculinity, but differently depending on the researcher. According to Campana et al. (2020), hegemonic masculinity is undergoing many changes while still maintaining patriarchal power. Offer and Kaplan (2021) point out that new masculinity and traditional masculinity are not distinct from each other, and King and Swain (2023) assert that complicit masculinity mimics hegemonic and dominant masculinity. According to these researchers, the stereotypes present in contemporary masculinity still reflect power and domination, like hegemonic masculinity (Radzi et al. 2018). Thus, men are still strongly influenced by the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity but nevertheless feel free to express their emotions (Jóhannsdóttir and Gíslason 2018).

### 4.4.2 | The Role of Media in Shaping These Narratives

It is essential to assess media use in the study of inclusivity. Some advertisements feature men with inclusive and diverse characteristics, helping to create a sense of belonging for a broader spectrum of individuals. These more inclusive male ads play a role in 'constructing masculinity and democratising gender relations' (Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez 2021, 510). These authors argue that advertisements offer new representations of masculinity by erasing hegemonic masculinity or 'subverting it' to present an egalitarian image of the sexes (Pando-Canteli and Rodriguez 2021). However, Islentyeva and Zimmermann (2023) note in their study that traditionalist representations of men are still found in the majority of advertising, while Mishra (2017) asserts that *metrosexual* men are represented to a greater extent in advertising, but that the new representation of masculinity remains linked to patriarchal masculinity.

It is essential for brands to convey the masculinity and feminity of their products in the most acceptable way possible to increase customers' love of their brand and hence their loyalty (Farmaki et al. 2021). Campana et al. (2020) note a change in the way fathers are represented in marketing strategies. Indeed, social networks such as Instagram highlight a father more involved in his parental role and within his household. This new representation of masculinity is more sales-friendly for retailers. In magazines, so-called traditional masculinity remains emphasized on the cover, while a more modern representation of gender is found only inside the magazine (McCullough and Lester 2021).

### 4.4.3 | The Implication of Menvertising for Both Consumers and Brands

Men defined by hegemonic masculinity are also looking to progress towards a more socially acceptable, more inclusive masculinity (Stick 2021). For example, the men interviewed in the study conducted by Molenaar and Liang (2020) use

characteristics of hegemonic masculinity to describe ideal masculinity. The adoption of these new masculinities by men enables them to feel superior to older generations and other forms of masculinity (Wasserman et al. 2018). Randles (2018) argued that men with little involvement in their role as fathers are seen as less able than women to care for their children, guiding them to perceive failure in their parenting. However, men tend to adapt their gender behaviours and representations according to the context in which they find themselves to employ or not the feminine representations of men (Barry 2018). García-Gómez (2020) added that men who adopt a role deemed subordinate do so solely in the interest of pleasing their potential partners.

Furthermore, the new masculinity reflects authenticity on the part of men, whether in 'self-realisation across life spheres; holistic attentiveness to the self, body and intimate other; in addition to a questioning of established gendered restrictions' (Kaplan et al. 2017, 18).

In the context of soft masculinity, men express their virility through emotions (Radzi et al. 2018). However, Balan et al. (2023) argue that benevolent masculinity eschews all forms of sexism and power. Finally, flexible masculinity, seen as subordinate, is often associated with a tone of humor. Men with flexible masculinity perform roles that can disagree with societal norms in a humorous way (Spendelow and Seidler 2020). However, Moloney and Love (2018) stipulate that humour is used as a masculine signal and can accentuate heterosexist hierarchies. Offer and Kaplan (2021) show that some men are more or less sensitive to the 'threats' conveyed by the new masculinity. Some men fear that their 'self-esteem' is threatened. As a result, they are less involved in carrying out daily tasks, and they seem to face many dilemmas concerning their sense of masculinity and their role as fathers (Hunter et al. 2020). In addition, they fear losing their place in society if they adopt the behaviours associated with the new masculinity (Jóhannsdóttir and Gíslason 2018). Moreover, they are easily exposed to sexist and homophobic insults if they do not adopt heteronormative behaviours. According to the study conducted by Kreicbergs et al. (2024), 41% of men surveyed seem dissatisfied with the representation of masculinity in advertising because traditional masculinity remains strongly represented. The study demonstrates the importance for advertisers to develop these more inclusive marketing strategies with 'caring, compassionate, generous, romantic, warm and intelligent' characters. Thus, Kreicbergs et al. (2024) qualify the Garousi et al. (2017) assertion that the men in their study are influenced by media that convey images of idealised, muscular bodies. When it comes to brands, men with hybrid masculinity are open to consuming both masculine and feminine brands (Ulrich and Tissier-Desbordes 2018). In addition, advertising representations of enlightened masculinity attract the interest of androgynous men and a progressive public (Sternadori and Abitbol 2022). To sum up this part, men are still strongly represented in the media by traditional characteristics such as 'the voice of authority, activities outside the home and profession' and 'independence (...) with little regard for age and physical appearance' (Grau and Zotos 2018, 761). This study is part of the work dedicated to gender (Tissier-Desbordes and Visconti 2019), which makes it possible to revise representations of gender adapted to contemporary markets and societal changes, to have
a transformative contribution that makes it possible to better understand gender inequalities and bring a critical perspective to gender. We propose to use a sectional approach so that identity positionings and social representations do not depend solely on gender but are at the intersection of other dimensions (Gopaldas and DeRoy 2015). Crenshaw (1989) oriented gender studies towards intersection with other dimensions (age, class or culture) to contrast gender inequalities more effectively. Marketing has long treated these identity intersectionalities in isolation (Eckhardt and Kopalle 2024; Uduehi et al. 2024), resulting in an often-incomplete analysis of consumer behaviour.

These various elements from the systematic literature review (TCCM framework, lexicometry bibliometry and expert's interviews) led us to propose the conceptual model shown in Figure 6.

## 5 | Research Agenda

Our SLR helps us to understand key issues in the study of masculinity and *menvertising*. By conducting an SLR review using the TCCM framework and four methodologies (lexicometric, bibliometric, in-depth interview analysis and an interpretative synthesis of the literature), we developed the research agenda provided in Table 1. Several points need to be clarified to obtain a broad understanding of the representation of the male gender and *menvertising*.

First, we need to strengthen the theoretical component, which will make it easier to understand the practice of *menvertising*. To do this, we need to look at its role in society and its ability to adapt to the economic and cultural environment. In response

to these different contexts, it will be necessary to analyse the intersectionality of different masculine identities (Uduehi et al. 2024).

Once the theory has been reinforced, it will be wise to understand how brands put *menvertising* into practice in their marketing strategies. Therefore, it is essential to provide marketers with the management tools they need to deliver their marketing messages clearly and authentically to avoid any form of ‘woke washing’ or scepticism on the part of consumers. In other words, it will be interesting to understand how brands develop advertising campaigns that are inclusive and not superficial, with the aim of representing individuals in a meaningful way. In addition, it will be necessary for brands to find the right balance between physical and psychological characteristics in advertising representations to meet the expectations of all their target consumers. Similarly, we need to understand how brands develop flexibility to adapt to each cultural context. We also need to understand the repercussions of our marketing actions, both on the people affected by new advertising campaigns and on the non-targeted public.

Once the theory has been developed and the practical application of *menvertising* by the brand understood, it seems essential to strengthen our understanding of the impact of this practice on consumers. As mentioned above, it is individuals who have expressed the desire to move towards more inclusive and diverse representations. It would be interesting to understand the impact of this strategy on the consumers concerned and to analyse its social and cultural repercussions. Furthermore, to refine our understanding of this strategy, it would be interesting to highlight the personal characteristics

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**FIGURE 6** | Framework of relationships included in review of men's representation (The exponant numbers are the academic references that mobilise a quantitative approach (available in Web Appendix, Part 7: Quantitative articles in Supporting Information S1)).</figcaption></figure>
<table><caption>**TABLE 1** | Future research questions on menvertising.</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>References (alphabetical order)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1. Theory development to understand menvertising</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FR 1—How does menvertising reflect and redefine the constructions of masculinity through the prism of intersectionality, gender performativity and socio-economic change?</td><td>Arsel et al. (2022); Burchell et al. (2013); Campbell et al. (2018); De Meulenaer et al. (2018); Festinger (1957); Gaston et al. (2018); Liu et al. (2023); Tajfel and Turner (1986); Uduehi et al. (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 2—How does menvertising take into account the intersectionality of male identities (race, social class, sexuality) in its advertising representations?</td><td>Eisend et al. (2023); Eckhardt and Kopalle (2024); Uduehi et al. (2024)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 3—What specific strategies can brands use to authentically represent diverse masculinities without reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes?</td><td>Erdogan (1999); Friestad and Wright (1994); Leung et al. (2022); Morhart et al. (2015); Schwarz and Clore (1983)</td></tr><tr><td>2. Brands and menvertising</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FR 4—How can brands convey new male representations that resonate emotionally with men from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds</td><td>Becker et al. (2019); Hakala et al. (2017); Malter et al. (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 5—How can brands anticipate and manage backlash effects in a context of ethical marketing and brand activism?</td><td>Moorman (2020); Ralph and Roberts (2020); Vredenburg et al. (2020); Yang and Mundel (2021)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 6—How can brands navigate between authentic inclusivity and the perception of commercial opportunism in campaigns targeting diverse groups?</td><td>E. D. Anderson (2009); Eisend et al. (2023); Morhart et al. (2015)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 7—To what extent can brands influence the perceptions of non-target groups through cross-segmentation and cultural branding strategies?</td><td>Hofstede (1991); Liu et al. (2009); Sabri (2012)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 8—Analyse the effectiveness of inclusive menvertising models, such as those highlighting diversity (ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.) or inclusivity (mental health, vulnerability), in fostering a positive perception of brands.</td><td>Vredenburg et al. (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 9—How can brands adapt their menvertising strategies to meet the specific cultural and social expectations of different international markets?</td><td>Erdogan (1999); Liu et al. (2023); Gomes et al. (2023)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 10—How can brands integrate different physical and psychological characteristics of male models in advertisements (e.g., body type, skin colour, clothing style) to determine which attributes resonate most effectively within each market segment?</td><td>Cayla and Arnould (2008); Hofstede (1991); D. B. Holt (2002); D. Holt (2004)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 11—How to properly adapt these practices without falling into tokenism?</td><td>Aaker (1996); Connell and Messerschmidt (2005); Vredenburg et al. (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>3. Key components of menvertising for male and female consumers</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FR 12—What are the psychological effects of menvertising campaigns on young men, especially in terms of self-confidence and masculinity?</td><td>Kemp et al. (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 13—How are female perceptions of menvertising influenced by the representation of non-hegemonic masculinity, and to what extent can this trigger social or cultural criticism?</td><td>Seyfi et al. (2023)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 14—How do intersectionality factors (race, class, sexual orientation) moderate the perception of menvertising and which psychological or sociodemographic personalities are more likely to react positively or negatively to these campaigns?</td><td>Buckley et al. (2024); Eisend et al. (2023); Uduehi et al. (2024)</td></tr></tbody></table>

(Continues)
<table><caption>TABLE 1 | (Continued)</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>References (alphabetical order)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>4. Methods to study menvertising</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FR 15—What qualitative methods allow for the analysis of menvertising reception by consumers from different socio-cultural backgrounds, and how do these methods reveal distinct perceptions of masculinity representations?</td><td>Zayer et al. (2019)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 16—How can content and discourse analysis methods be used to decode masculine stereotypes in menvertising campaigns and assess their evolution over time?</td><td>Aaker et al. (2000); Ertimur and Coskuner-Balli (2021); Fitzmaurice et al. (2012); D. Holt (2004)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 17—How can social media data analysis techniques (social media listening, sentiment analysis) be used to measure the perception of menvertising across different age groups and demographic groups?</td><td>Hartmann et al. (2023); Humphreys and Wang (2018)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 18—To what extent can experimental studies measure the psychological effects of menvertising on male consumers, particularly in terms of emotional well-being and body image?</td><td>De Meulenaer et al. (2018)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 19—To what extent can neuroscientific methods (e.g., eye-tracking, neuroimaging) reveal the unconscious reactions of male and female consumers to male representations in menvertising?</td><td>Caruelle et al. (2024); Segijn et al. (2021)</td></tr><tr><td>FR 20—How do text-to-image generative artificial intelligence tools represent masculinity?</td><td>Campbell et al. (2022)</td></tr></tbody></table>

(political orientation, sexual orientation, etc.) that influence consumers' perceptions of more inclusive advertising messages. Finally, the mixed-methods approach is essential if we are to delve deeper into the concepts associated with menvertising. First, it is mandatory to retain qualitative methods to strengthen understanding of the concept. Then, once it has been understood and conceptualised, it will be interesting to measure it and to understand its psychological mechanisms through quantitative studies. Once the strategy has been understood and measured, it will be a good idea to use artificial intelligence regarding the representation of masculinity (traditional and modern) in advertising and observing the differences and similarities with literature and previous studies.

Our research theme is in line with Marketing Science Institute's priorities,⁵ namely 'Understanding when and how to engage the company in the complex terrain of brand activism and social responsibility without alienating stakeholders and provoking a backlash'. Our research agenda is organized by priority in the sense that we first propose theories to better understand and define the concept of menvertising (1. Theory development to understand menvertising). Next, we focus on marketing practices (physical or psychological characteristics of male models) mobilizing menvertising (2. Brands and menvertising). We then propose to evaluate responses to these new practices (3. Key components of menvertising for male and female consumers) using various methodologies (4. Methods to study menvertising). Therefore, several research questions need to be investigated in future research (Table 1).

The representation of masculinity has mainly been studied from the perspective of hegemonic and inclusive masculinity, but it is worth considering other theoretical currents. To study the place of men in society, the social norms approach (Burchell et al. 2013) and the social role theory (De Meulenaer

et al. 2018) would make it possible to assess the influence of masculine norms and related representations. Menvertising offers new representations, which means that people perceive themselves as belonging to certain social groups. Theories such as social comparison (Festinger 1957) and social identity (Tajfel and Turner 1986) can help explain how people react to more modern advertising, in line (or not) with their self-concept. These representations are synonymous with changes in viewpoints (Campbell et al. 2018; Gaston et al. 2018). In marketing, these strategies are studied from the perspective of DEI (Arsel et al. 2022), which offers insights into understanding consumer inclusion/exclusion (Liu et al. 2023). These strategies would enable us to understand not only how menvertising examines the role of men in society but also how it actively reshapes these roles in response to modern cultural and economic pressures (FR1).

Taking account, the intersectionality of male identities (race, social class, sexuality) (Eisend et al. 2023) in its advertising representations paves the way for exploring male representations by considering the multiple identity dimensions that shape men's experiences in advertising. For example: (1) analysing how menvertising campaigns adapt to or resist current social movements, such as #MeToo or Black Lives Matter, which challenge traditional representations of masculinity, and (2) exploring how menvertising contributes to the normalisation of new masculinities (nurturing man, vulnerable man) while aligning with a neoliberal economic framework (FR2).

These advertising strategies need to be thought through to convey their messages effectively. We can draw on theories such as the persuasion knowledge model (Friestad and Wright 1994), which helps us to understand how consumers react to persuasion attempts. The use of emotional appeals can also affect responses to advertising, as described in affect as information
theory (Schwarz and Clore 1983). Brand strategies to employ
celebrity endorsers and marketing influence also offer a rele-
vant theoretical framework (Erdogan 1999; Leung et al. 2022).
It could be beneficial to focus on the authentic representa-
tion of masculinities in non-stereotypical contexts, exploring
strategies that include gender diversity while avoiding the
toxic tropes of traditional masculinity. Morhart et al. (2015)
presented a four-dimensional model (credibility, integrity,
symbolic, continuity) and tested the impacts of cues that can
influence authenticity. Building on Morhart et al.’s (2015) study
and applying it to menvertising, we could assess whether in-
dexical cues are present for the brand, for example, employees
who value the promotion of inclusive masculinity. It would also
be interesting to identify iconic cues by analysing whether the
brand is able to convey its social, moral values with goals of
inclusivity and diversity (FR3).

From a conceptual point of view, the way in which the brand
represents this new masculinity is lacking in the literature.
Successfully conveying its social values is fundamental to con-
sumer decision-making (Malter et al. 2020). To do this, demon-
strating authenticity and legitimacy (Hakala et al. 2017; Becker
et al. 2019) with the use of relevant content marketing are means
to highlighting values and brand personality. It would thus
possible to explore how brands build emotional connections
without reinforcing stereotypes or alienating certain groups of
men (FR4).

Potential crises must be taken into account if individuals are
sceptical: brand opportunism, ‘woke washing’ (Vredenburg
et al. 2020; Yang and Mundel 2021). This question goes beyond
merely adapting to negative consequences by focusing on pro-
active strategies that brands can adopt to anticipate the risk of
backlash (e.g., criticism or boycotts) (Ralph and Roberts 2020).
It explores how brands can design responsible marketing cam-
paigns while remaining flexible in the face of cultural shifts or
divergent consumer opinions. Research on brand crisis manage-
ment and brand activism (Moorman 2020) would be relevant to
address this question (FR5).

To be inclusive, menvertising must create a balance of representa-
tions. With regard to physical appearance, corpulence, hairiness,
a visible handicap (Illustration B1 in Appendix B) or skin colour
would make it possible to study reactions to non-heteronormative
advertising (E. D. Anderson 2009; Doucet 2016). The expres-
sion of emotions also deserves to be studied. Indeed, how can
advertising seize on the new masculinity to highlight the crying
linked to the psychological suffering associated with depressive
episodes, as highlighted by the Australian Man Up anti-suicide
campaign,⁶ which aims to encourage men to talk so as not to act?
On the question of role, it is important to strengthen work on the
involvement of men within the family (Eisend et al. 2023). This
question delves into the issue of inclusivity by focusing on con-
sumer perceptions and the tension between authenticity and op-
portunism. It examines how brands can avoid falling into woke
washing or ‘rainbow washing’ when addressing social causes or
integrating diversity, and how brand managers can align these
initiatives with their core values to avoid accusations of hypoc-
risy. It includes an in-depth exploration of concepts related to in-
clusivity in branding and managing perceptions of authenticity,
to be sincere and credible (Morhart et al. 2015) (FR6).

Furthermore, the globalisation of advertisements raises the
question of how brands navigate varied cultural expectations
to avoid inappropriate messages in certain contexts depending
on what people will see in ads (Hofstede 1991; Liu et al. 2009;
Sabri 2012) (FR7).

It is thus essential to study how brands can promote diversity
in male bodies, not by merely engaging in superficial inclusion
but also by creating genuine representation and, without fall-
ing into tokenism—that is, the superficial inclusion of individ-
uals from minorities or underrepresented groups—which can
have counterproductive effects. Notably, a study by Vredenburg
et al. (2020) on woke washing showed that consumers react neg-
atively to brands that appear to use social causes solely for profit,
without sincere commitment (FR 8).

We also suggest focusing on the choice of models (celebrities
vs. models vs. unknowns) (Erdogan 1999). In advertising,
men are sometimes portrayed with a humorous touch or even
with a certain inability to perform simple tasks. Is this really
the right way to reflect the changes of perception of the mod-
ern man? In line with the research on physical appearance,
we also show how consumers react to retouched models (Lv
et al. 2023). Models in advertising often valorise product cate-
gories, and our SLR shows that men are rarely associated with
virtuous consumption. Product categories deserve to be stud-
ied: ecological products, vegetarianism and health products
(Gomes et al. 2023). Some brands tend to tackle taboo health
issues that affect both women and men, but that until now
have been presented only from the female angle. Tena Men⁷
has decided to reverse this trend by offering advertising spots
dedicated to the concern of urinary leakage aimed at men
during the Rugby Cup 2023 (FR 9).

This could include how a brand can successfully resonate cultur-
ally with communities it does not explicitly target. The concepts
of brand culture and cross-segmentation would help address
this question. Indeed, brands adapt and reinvent themselves ac-
cording to the national context (D. B. Holt 2002; D. Holt 2004;
Cayla and Arnould 2008). Thus, it is also important to be able
to determine how individuals in society behave, which is often
studied from an individualist or collectivist angle, depending on
the culture (Hofstede 1991) (FR10).

Analysing the effectiveness of inclusive menvertising models
is highly relevant for academic researchers in marketing, as it
allows for a deeper understanding of how modern advertising
resonates with diverse audiences and how it can contribute to
brand perception. Because consumers today are increasingly
sensitive to issues of representation and inclusiveness, research
shows that when brands authentically represent diversity, they
are more likely to build trust and loyalty among consumers.
Inclusive advertising that highlights diversity—whether in
terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation or mental health—can
signal to consumers that the brand aligns with their values
(Vredenburg et al. 2020). Inclusive menvertising can enhance
brand equity (Aaker 1996) by appealing to a broader audience
base. It helps brands connect with various demographic groups,
potentially increasing customer loyalty and advocacy. Research
indicates that brands perceived as socially responsible and in-
clusive can benefit from a positive brand image, even among
audiences outside the initially targeted demographic. Inclusive *menvertising* that portrays men in nurturing or vulnerable roles (e.g., men showing emotions, engaging in childcare) challenges traditional masculine stereotypes and can appeal to a wider audience. Such portrayals align with changing societal norms and provide insights into evolving definitions of masculinity (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005) (FR11).

It is important to study the reactions of men through positive variables such as self-esteem, true self and well-being, or negative ones such as the stress of losing one's masculinity (Kemp et al. 2020). This approach could draw on psychological research to study the long-term impacts of these campaigns on perceptions of masculinity (FR12).

It is also relevant to analyse women's reactions who might feel harmed by putting men first and augment a sense of disempowerment (Seyfi et al. 2023). This question delves deeper into representations of alternative masculinities (e.g., vulnerable masculinity, family caregiving) in *menvertising* and their impact on female perceptions. It explores the potential for backlash or social criticism when nontraditional masculinities are promoted in advertising campaigns. This includes how these representations can disrupt gender norms and influence discussions on gender equality, for example, examining how male-centred advertisements affect female perception, particularly regarding the construction of masculinity and its societal impacts (FR 13).

Future research could look at the impact of personal characteristics such as political orientation, sexual orientation, generation and culture (Buckley et al. 2024) on reactions to *menvertising*. This question incorporates intersectionality to explore how personal characteristics such as race, class or sexual orientation influence the perception of *menvertising*. The question of intersectionality and diversity in all its forms remains essential (Eisend et al. 2023; Uduehi et al. 2024). With this in mind, we propose to present several models (two men, two women, a family, a celebrity and an unknown person, ...) and several characteristics (sexual orientation, body size, ethnicity) in the same advertisement. Ads showing these perspectives would enable diversity to be represented in all its forms. By combining analyses of masculinity with intersectional models, this question aims to understand which sociodemographic groups or psychological traits (e.g., openness to experience, social orientation) influence the reception of these messages (FR14).

To address these research concepts, it is important to specify the methodologies to be applied, including discourse analysis, cognitive mapping, longitudinal studies and experimental tests, to measure the effects of different advertising approaches on gender perception. Much of the work is qualitative, involving content analysis: this method remains relevant. That is why it is important to emphasise the importance of using qualitative methods (focus groups, ethnography) to understand cultural variations in the reception of *menvertising*. It suggests exploring how perceptions of masculinity representations may differ based on cultural, social and economic identities, thus revealing specific expectations or resistances towards these messages (e.g., qualitative analysis, semi-structured interviews and ethnographic studies in diverse cultural and social contexts) (FR 15).

Brands will also need to consider the reactions of non-target audiences (Aaker et al. 2000), for example, looking at the perceptions of women, as well as the reactions of men with a more traditional view of masculinity. Rather than simply generating favourable attitudes among non-target groups, this question explores how brands can use cross-segmentation strategies to resonate beyond their initial target groups by integrating cultural branding elements that transcend traditional segmentation categories. According to D. Holt (2004), brands carry symbolic meanings linked to a societal context that can create cultural tensions as a function of individual values. In this sense, the duality between masculine hegemony and masculine inclusiveness, and the evolution of social norms and representations of men, merits study by applying the strategy of cultural branding, since a brand must understand these cultural disruptions if it is to be innovative (Ertimur and Coskuner-Balli 2021).

It could also be interesting to further explore the use of content and discourse analysis to examine how masculine messages in advertising have evolved over the decades. This approach also considers the impact of these messages on cultural gender norms and the stereotypes associated with masculinity (e.g., longitudinal content analysis, critical discourse analysis, exploration of tropes and stereotypes in advertising) (Fitzmaurice et al. 2012) (FR 16).

Social media analysis techniques could better understand perceptions of *menvertising*. We propose to mobilise machine learning and deep learning techniques to study comments reacting to *menvertising* campaigns to map public perception based on age, gender and other sociodemographic variables (e.g., social media listening, sentiment analysis, text mining, network analysis and big data analysis of social media interactions) (Humphreys and Wang 2018; Hartmann et al. 2023) (FR 17).

The small number of quantitative studies calls for the mobilisation of more experimental methods to understand the psychological mechanisms underlying certain behaviours. This question focuses on the use of experimental methods to understand how *menvertising* campaigns affect men's self-perception, particularly in the areas of body image, psychological well-being and self-efficacy (e.g., experimental studies, psychometric tests and measures of emotional and cognitive impact through pre- and post-exposure questionnaires to advertisements) (FR 18).

Physiological measures could prove useful to expand this research. This question explores the use of neuroscience to measure unconscious reactions and cognitive biases towards messages conveyed by *menvertising*. This includes methods such as eye tracking to monitor eye movements and neuroimaging tools to observe emotional and cognitive responses (e.g., EEG, fMRI and other neuromarketing tools). Eye tracking would offer an opportunity to measure attention and interest in advertising stimuli (Segijn et al. 2021), while galvanic skin response could detect the level of emotional arousal induced by the stimulus (Caruelle et al. 2024) (FR19).

Finally, studying the images produced by generative AI in response to prompts that seek to represent, for example, masculinity, the modern man and so on could be a good way to
understand what picture is made by algorithms (Campbell et al. 2022) (FR20).

# 6 | Conclusion

This article is the first to propose a conceptualisation of menvertising. We note two main aspects of the definition of masculinity. One part of the research community identifies post-#MeToo masculinity as inclusive, and a second part identifies post-#MeToo masculinity as softer, more socially acceptable, but still with the main aim of dominating individuals. Whatever the ultimate objective of adopting this new masculinity, men are described by five main characteristics: physical, emotional, roles, food preferences and sexual orientation. As noted, researchers have described and exposed only the aspects that define masculinity, without understanding its various individual, social or even economic impacts. The same is true of the biases that may have an impact on menvertising. In addition, this article highlights the theories and concepts put forward to best explain and understand this post-#MeToo masculinity.

As presented, this synthesis aims to answer five questions:

* RQ1: *What is the current view of masculinity?* Post-#MeToo masculinity is ambivalent, presented both as a positive step forward with real inclusive ambitions, but also as inclusive for the sole purpose of better dominating. What is more, its characteristics are still too few to properly define masculinity. Brands need to be authentic and transparent about their values to be consistent and relevant when using menvertising. This would avoid all forms of woke washing.

* RQ2: *What theories and concepts are used to define masculinity?* The SLR provided an overview of the various theories and concepts used to define masculinity today. As far as theories are concerned, the four mains are inclusive masculinity, hegemonic masculinity, social role theory and social identity. For concepts, homohysteria and hybrid masculinity are the most used by researchers.

* RQ3: *What is menvertising? Menvertising* is a positive marketing practice, with a genuine desire to bring greater inclusivity, diversity and equity to advertising representation. It features men with diverse physical, emotional and role characteristics. Furthermore, menvertising is about representing men in a diverse way so that a large number of men can more easily identify with advertising representations.

* RQ4: *What are the consequences of menvertising on individuals?* There are two main consequences. The positive consequence aims at breathing new life into advertising representations, highlighting men in a more inclusive way. A negative consequence occurs when menvertising is used by brands solely to please and seduce their customers, and by men when they adopt its new characteristics to better dominate and exert their power.

* RQ5: *What research agenda could better understand this new marketing potential?* With regard to the research agenda, there are several avenues to explore as noted in Table 1: theoretical development, the manner in which

brands use this strategy and the consequences for doing so according to consumers, the models used in advertising and the methods that should be used to study this concept.

## 6.1 | Theoretical Implications

This research contributes to the development of work on stereotypes by focusing on a target that is generally less studied in advertising (Åkestam et al. 2021). Indeed, most previous work on gender stereotypes has focussed on women (Eisend 2019) and has done little to analyse men's reactions (Zayer et al. 2019). Gender is a concept that helps analyse why individuals prefer certain advertisements, types of content and products based on, for example, the masculine or feminine physical or emotional characteristics used (Roth-Cohen et al. 2023; Dai et al. 2024). From a theoretical perspective, studying menvertising—that is, advertisements that portray a modern representation of masculinity—contributes to the literature in gender studies. It provides insight into new forms of masculinity and their implications in advertising. This research proposes to broaden the field of investigation by highlighting the deconstruction of male stereotypes in advertising and its consequences. It offers an integrative model of representations of men in advertising, making it possible to explain consumer reactions to new, less stereotyped gendered representations. This research emphasises the social effects of advertising, particularly in terms of social identity (Tajfel and Turner 1986; Eagly 1987). Representing men in a more diverse and inclusive way, expressing their emotions and taking a more active role with children in the home, tends to change men's social identities by including both traditional and modern characteristics.

These new representations have an impact on social comparison (Festinger 1957) by limiting the negative effects of exposure to stereotypes. This research is therefore part of a series of studies aimed at demonstrating the positive effects of using non-stereotyped depictions of men in advertisements and the benefits of limiting the stigmatisation that men may be subject to. Edelblum and Warren (2024) show an emasculating stigma against men who post often on social media, which may discourage men from online participation.

This research also contributes to research into diversity and inclusion (Campbell et al. 2023) by showing how the representation of men is linked to changes in society and the way in which advertising seizes on these changes.

The aim of defining the concept of menvertising is to illustrate new forms of masculinity (hybrid, inclusive) and to initiate research into different theoretical fields linked to advertising, consumer behaviour and gender studies.

## 6.2 | Implications for Managers

Men's advertising and, more specifically, non-stereotypical representations of men have been influenced by changes in our society that want to be more egalitarian in many spheres: politics, at work and in the private sphere (at home). Marketers must therefore
do their utmost to meet the new needs of consumers in terms of gender representations, without forgetting in their strategies those consumers who are resistant to the idea of moving away from patriarchal stigmas. Then, this systematic review has many implications for brand managers and advertisers. First, brands can gain in perceived authenticity by representing men who show age-related signs (white hair, wrinkles) and use products to correct them (shampoos for white hair, anti-dark circles, anti-wrinkles) and who feel strong, intense and unconcealed emotions (joy, sadness, guilt, shame) when confronted with difficulties (depression⁸,⁹). It also seems to highlight men whose sexuality depends from the hetero-normed model (homosexuality) or whose practices stand in opposition to the hegemonic model (transformation) to reinforce a brand's perceived inclusivity. This evolution in representations inevitably leads to a demonstration of the brand's degree of openness, even its activism and risk-taking, particularly with regard to a generation that expects brands to take greater account of diversity and inclusivity. This implies that marketers should take care to strike the right balance in the advertising representations they propose and be consistent with the values that guide them. Otherwise, they risk losing authenticity in the eyes of consumers and being accused of woke washing (Vredenburg et al. 2020). Brands will therefore have to be convincing, that is, honest enough to avoid scepticism and woke washing but play a real role in the evolution of society (Ahmad et al. 2024). They must ensure that their products and brands are congruent with the causes they are defending (Pimentel et al. 2024; Verlegh 2024). It could be beneficial for a brand to get involved in societal debates that are often linked to political concerns and affiliations as a way of distinguishing itself from competitors (Moorman 2020), whether for well-established brands or those entering the market. However, this requires a demanding narrative process to ensure the brand retains a share of its most engaged customers without losing a significant part of its existing market (Key et al. 2023). To implement or measure inclusive menvertising strategies, we propose to set up experiments featuring advertisements that allow us, for example, to measure the potential consequences of feminizing men's gender norms (compared with a traditional norm) (Valsecchi et al. 2023). For example, an experiment featuring a man wearing make-up or a male passenger in a sports car driven by a woman would enable us to understand the repercussions on the brand's personality and its progressive character. A recent example is the character Lucia, who is now the new heroine of the future game GTA 6, a video game used mainly by men (De la Torre-Sierra and Guichot-Reina 2025).

## 6.3 | Societal Implications

Menvertising can have implications for both men and women in society, as well as for relations between men and women. Indeed, this new masculinity, which aims to be more inclusive, tends to remove men from injunctions linked to their posture, physique, consumption or role. It is very rare indeed to see men in situations of psychological distress, even though they account for 70% of suicides. Neglecting this aspect of mental health problems severely limits the impact of social marketing campaigns aimed at them. However, advertisements featuring men without muscles but instead with a rounded physique can lead men to feel less devalued, improve

their self-esteem and increase their self-confidence, provided the man is not mocked or compared with an ideal man as the 2017 Mister Clean ad¹⁰ did.

Men are also traditionally associated with the consumption of alcohol and red meat, which continue to convey traditional images that are no longer in sync with desired societal changes. Overconsumption of alcoholic beverages can be dangerous to one's health, and it is also responsible for the majority of road accidents involving men. Research has also shown that a less meat-based diet can result in improved health and more environmentally friendly food consumption practices.

Second, depicting men while they are caring for their children, taking care of the home or occupying positions traditionally attributed to women (secretary, hairdresser, midwife) broadens representations of men's status in advertising and, at the same time, visibly rebalances roles within the home. In this way, a woman who holds a higher-level work position than her partner, or requires a greater commitment to her work life, may feel less guilty if this new balance is present in the media. To take this a step further, portraying equivalent male and female roles in terms of professional occupations may have wider repercussions in terms of giving greater consideration to women in positions of responsibility and offering them equivalent pay for equal work (e.g., in 2022, the pay gap in France was still 14.5%¹¹).

Finally, limiting hegemonic or toxic masculinity lessens the culture of male domination and its corollaries, namely, the commodification of women (through the male gaze) and the sexual violence they suffer. Only by changing male representations can they encourage everyone to question the acts, gestures and words that reinforce patriarchy.

### Acknowledgements

All the authors would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their contributions to this article.

### Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

### Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

### Endnotes

<footnote n="1">¹ Men who change.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² https://www.r-project.org/.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ http://www.iramuteq.org/.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAGVLUKdIP0.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ https://www.msi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-RP.pdf.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ https://au.m movember.com/mens-health/man-up.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ https://youtu.be/ezMAGmmq6-8?list=PLabhrQPHdwhYXa5WC3i7OIRI69FQ0Lt3w.</footnote>
⁸ http://www.culturepub.fr/videos/sane-your-depression-doesnt-want-you-to-talk/.

⁹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMBNYRiBNT8.

¹⁰ https://adage.com/videos/mr-clean-cleaner-of-your-dreams/1326.

¹¹ https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/:-:text=In%202022,%20womens%20average%20wage,was%2014.9%20lower%20than%20men's.

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## Supporting Information

Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section. **Data S1:** Supporting Information.
# Appendix A

## Theories and Concepts Used to Study Mens' Representations

<table><caption>TABLE A1 | Theories used to study men's representations.</caption><thead><tr><td>Theories</td><td>Nb.articles</td><td>References</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Theory of Inclusive Masculinity</td><td>16</td><td>Anderson, E., and McCormack, M. (2018). Inclusive masculinity theory: Overview, reflection and refinement. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 27(5), 547–561.<br/>Arcimowicz, K. (2020). The Category of Masculinity in the Polish Media Discourse on Robert Lewandowski. <i>Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej</i>, 16(1), 12–27.<br/>Borkowska, K. (2020). Approaches to studying masculinity: A nonlinear perspective of theoretical paradigms. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 23(3–4), 409–424.<br/>Cleland, J., Magrath, R., and Kian, E. (2018). The internet as a site of decreasing cultural homophobia in association football: An online response by fans to the coming out of Thomas Hitzlsperger. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 21(1), 91–111.<br/>Connor, S., Edvardsson, K., Fisher, C., and Spelten, E. (2021). Perceptions and interpretation of contemporary masculinities in Western culture: A systematic review. <i>American Journal of Men's Health</i>, 15(6), 15579883211061009.<br/>Gaston, L., and Dixon, L. (2020). A want or a need? Exploring the role of grassroots gay rugby teams in the context of inclusive masculinity. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 29(5), 508–520.<br/>Gater, R. (2023). Amalgamated masculinities: The masculine identity of contemporary marginalised working-class young men. <i>Sociology</i>, 00380385231172121.<br/>Ging, D. (2019). Alphas, betas, and incels: Theorizing the masculinities of the manosphere. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 22(4), 638–657.<br/>Magrath, R., and Scoats, R. (2019). Young men's friendships: Inclusive masculinities in a post-university setting. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 28(1), 45–56.<br/>Naka, R. (2023). Gendered trajectories to tolerance: Men's and women's changing attitudes toward homosexuality in Japan, 1981–2019. <i>Journal of Homosexuality</i>, 70(14), 3493–3514.<br/>Ralph, B., and Roberts, S. (2020). One small step for man: Change and continuity in perceptions and enactments of homosocial intimacy among young Australian men. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 23(1), 83–103.<br/>Rogers, N. (2019). Holding court: The social regulation of masculinity in university pickup basketball. <i>Journal of Contemporary Ethnography</i>, 48(6), 731–749.<br/>Sailofsky, D. (2022). Masculinity, cancel culture, and woke capitalism: Exploring Twitter response to Brendan Leipsic's leaked conversation. <i>International Review for the Sociology of Sport</i>, 57(5), 734–757.<br/>Scandurra, C., Braucci, O., Bochicchio, V., Valerio, P., and Amodeo, A. L. (2019). 'Soccer is a matter of real men?' Sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by sexual orientation and gender identity. <i>International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology</i>, 17(3), 285–301.<br/>Scoats, R. (2017). Inclusive masculinity and Facebook photographs among early emerging adults at a British university. <i>Journal of Adolescent Research</i>, 32(3), 323–345.<br/>Šimková, M. (2021). Attitude and graduation as resources of masculinity construction in YouTube vlogs. <i>Brno Studies in English</i>, 47(1), 93–127.</td></tr></tbody></table>

(Continues)
<table><caption>TABLE A1 | (Continued)</caption><thead><tr><th>Theories</th><th>Nb.articles</th><th>References</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Theory of Hegemonic Masculinity</td><td>13</td><td>Arcimowicz, K. (2020). The Category of Masculinity in the Polish Media Discourse on Robert Lewandowski. <i>Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej</i>, 16(1), 12–27.<br>Borkowska, K. (2020). Approaches to studying masculinity: A nonlinear perspective of theoretical paradigms. Men and Masculinities, 23(3–4), 409–424.<br>Cleland, J., Magrath, R., and Kian, E. (2018). The internet as a site of decreasing cultural homophobia in association football: An online response by fans to the coming out of Thomas Hitzlsperger. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 21(1), 91–111.<br>Curone-Prieto, R. C., La Parra-Casado, D., and Vives-Cases, C. (2023). Hegemonic masculinities and femininities in food industry packaging. Feminist Media Studies, 23(8), 4203–4220.<br>Feng, D., and Yu, M. H. M. (2022). Tradition, modernity, and Chinese masculinity: The multimodal construction of ideal manhood in a reality dating show. Pragmatics, 32(2), 191–217.<br>Gaston, L., and Dixon, L. (2020). A want or a need? Exploring the role of grassroots gay rugby teams in the context of inclusive masculinity. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 29(5), 508–520.<br>Gaston, L., Magrath, R., and Anderson, E. (2018). From hegemonic to inclusive masculinities in English professional football: Marking a cultural shift. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 27(3), 301–312.<br>Laurie, T. (2022). Complicit masculinity and the serialization of violence: notes from Australian Cinema. <i>Continuum</i>, 36(1), 64–83.<br>Martínez-García, M. L., and Rodríguez-Menéndez, C. (2021). ‘They could be good players if they trained’: exploring the football discourse of five-year-old boys and girls. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 30(6), 737–751.<br>Radzi, N. S. M., Hamid, B. D. H. A., and Bakar, K. A. (2018). The discursive construction of modern masculine identities in contemporary Malaysia. <i>GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies</i>, 18(3).<br>Rogers, N. (2019). Holding Court: The Social Regulation of Masculinity in University Pickup Basketball. <i>Journal of Contemporary Ethnography</i>, 48(6), 731–749.<br>Scandurra, C., Braucci, O., Bochicchio, V., Valerio, P., and Amodeo, A. L. (2019). ‘Soccer is a matter of real men?’ Sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by sexual orientation and gender identity. <i>International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology</i>, 17(3), 285–301.<br>Šimková, M. (2021). Attitude and graduation as resources of masculinity construction in YouTube vlogs. <i>Brno Studies in English</i>, 47(1), 93–127.</td></tr><tr><td>Gender Theory</td><td>2</td><td>Kuperberg, A., Stone, P., and Lucas, T. (2022). ‘He’sa Mr. Mom’: Cultural ambivalence in print news depictions of stay-at-home fathers, 1987–2016. <i>Gender & Society</i>, 36(3), 313–341.<br>Sternadori, M., & Abitbol, A. (2022). How Male Consumers Respond to ‘Enlightened Manvertising’ Campaigns: Gender Schema, Hostile Sexism, and Political Orientation Feed Attitudes. <i>Journal of Advertising Research</i>, 62(1), 87–101.</td></tr><tr><td>Social Identification Theory</td><td>2</td><td>Mattila, H. (2020). The social construction of stay-at-home fathering across everyday spaces. <i>Qualitative Psychology</i>, 7(2), 185.<br>Pitardi, V., Bartikowski, B., Osburg, V. S., and Yoganathan, V. (2023). Effects of gender congruity in human-robot service interactions: The moderating role of masculinity. <i>International Journal of Information Management</i>, 70, 102489.</td></tr><tr><td>Gender Role Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Boeuf, B. (2020). Boys do not cry: the negative effects of brand masculinity on brand emotions. <i>Marketing Letters</i>, 31(2–3), 247–264.</td></tr><tr><td>Consumer Culture Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Knudsen, G. H., and Andersen, L. P. (2020). Changing masculinity, one ad at a time. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 15(2).</td></tr><tr><td>Gender Performance Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Cruz, A. G. B., and Buchanan-Oliver, M. (2017). Mobile masculinities: performances of remasculination. <i>European Journal of Marketing</i>, 51(7/8), 1374–1395.</td></tr></tbody></table>

(Continues)
<table><caption>TABLE A1 | (Continued)</caption><thead><tr><td>Theories</td><td>Nb.articles</td><td>References</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Fernandes, K. (2020). Does Traditional Mean Good? A Pilot Study on University Students' Perceptions of Different Types of Women and Men. <i>Gender Studies</i>, 19(1), 109–136.</td></tr><tr><td>Self-Concept Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Ulrich, I., Azar, S. L., and Aimé, I. (2020). Stay close but not too close: The role of similarity in the cross-gender extension of patronymic brands. <i>Journal of Business Research</i>, 120, 157–174.</td></tr><tr><td>Similarity Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Ulrich, I., Azar, S. L., and Aimé, I. (2020). Stay close but not too close: The role of similarity in the cross-gender extension of patronymic brands. <i>Journal of Business Research</i>, 120, 157–174.</td></tr><tr><td>Social Construction Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Sternadori, M., and Abitbol, A. (2022). How Male Consumers Respond to ‘Enlightened Manvertising’ Campaigns: Gender Schema, Hostile Sexism, and Political Orientation Feed Attitudes. <i>Journal of Advertising Research</i>, 62(1), 87–101.</td></tr><tr><td>Spiral of Silence Theory</td><td>1</td><td>Farmaki, A., Olya, H., and Taheri, B. (2021). Unpacking the complex interactions among customers in online fan pages. <i>Journal of Business Research</i>, 125, 164–176.</td></tr><tr><td>Theory of Masculinity</td><td>1</td><td>Swain, J. (2024). Popular boys, the ideal schoolboy, and blended patterns of masculinity for 10- to 11-year-olds in two London schools. <i>British Educational Research Journal</i>, 50(2), 614–631.</td></tr><tr><td>Theory of Social Role</td><td>1</td><td>De Meulenaer, S., Dens, N., De Pelsmacker, P., and Eisend, M. (2018). How consumers' values influence responses to male and female gender role stereotyping in advertising. <i>International Journal of Advertising</i>, 37(6), 893–913.</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><caption>TABLE A2 | Concepts used to study men's representations.</caption><thead><tr><td>Concepts</td><td>Nb.articles</td><td>References</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Homohysteria</td><td>4</td><td>Ralph, B., and Roberts, S. (2020). One small step for man: Change and continuity in perceptions and enactments of homosocial intimacy among young Australian men. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 23(1), 83–103.<br/>Anderson, E., and McCormack, M. (2018). Inclusive masculinity theory: Overview, reflection and refinement. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 27(5), 547–561.<br/>Gaston, L., Magrath, R., and Anderson, E. (2018). From hegemonic to inclusive masculinities in English professional football: Marking a cultural shift. <i>Journal of Gender Studies</i>, 27(3), 301–312.<br/>Scandurra, C., Braucci, O., Bochicchio, V., Valerio, P., and Amodeo, A. L. (2019). ‘Soccer is a matter of real men?’ Sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by sexual orientation and gender identity. <i>International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology</i>, 17(3), 285–301.</td></tr><tr><td>Hybrid Masculinity</td><td>3</td><td>Ging, D. (2019). Alphas, betas, and incels: Theorizing the masculinities of the manosphere. <i>Men and Masculinities</i>, 22(4), 638–657.<br/>Connor, S., Edvardsson, K., Fisher, C., and Spelten, E. (2021). Perceptions and interpretation of contemporary masculinities in Western culture: A systematic review. <i>American Journal of Men's Health</i>, 15(6), 15579883211061009.<br/>Scandurra, C., Braucci, O., Bochicchio, V., Valerio, P., and Amodeo, A. L. (2019). ‘Soccer is a matter of real men?’ Sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by sexual orientation and gender identity. <i>International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology</i>, 17(3), 285–301.</td></tr><tr><td>Caring Masculinity</td><td>2</td><td>Arcimowicz, K. (2020). The Category of Masculinity in the Polish Media Discourse on Robert Lewandowski. <i>Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej</i>, 16(1), 12–27.<br/>Lee, J. Y., and Lee, S. J. (2018). Caring is masculine: Stay-at-home fathers and masculine identity. <i>Psychology of Men and Masculinity</i>, 19(1), 47.</td></tr><tr><td>Masculinity</td><td>2</td><td>Connor, S., Edvardsson, K., Fisher, C., and Spelten, E. (2021). Perceptions and interpretation of contemporary masculinities in Western culture: A systematic review. <i>American Journal of Men's Health</i>, 15(6), 15579883211061009.<br/>Radzi, N. S. M., Hamid, B. D. H. A., and Bakar, K. A. (2018). The discursive construction of modern masculine identities in contemporary Malaysia. <i>GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies</i>, 18(3).</td></tr></tbody></table>

(Continues)
<table><caption>TABLE A2 | (Continued)</caption><thead><tr><td>Concepts</td><td>Nb.articles</td><td>References</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Brand Gender Identity</td><td>1</td><td>Nash, J., and Sidhu, C. (2023). 'Pink is for girls, blue is for boys' exploring brand gender identity in children's clothing, a post-evaluation of British retailer John Lewis. Journal of Brand Management, 1-17.</td></tr><tr><td>Complicity</td><td>1</td><td>Laurie, T. (2022). Complicit masculinity and the serialization of violence: notes from Australian Cinema. Continuum, 36(1), 64-83.</td></tr><tr><td>Enlightened Masculinity</td><td>1</td><td>Sternadori, M., and Abitbol, A. (2022). How Male Consumers Respond to 'Enlightened Manvertising' Campaigns: Gender Schema, Hostile Sexism, and Political Orientation Feed Attitudes. Journal of Advertising Research, 62(1), 87-101.</td></tr><tr><td>Employer Branding</td><td>1</td><td>Gutierrez, M., Pando-Canteli, M. J., and Rodriguez, M. P. (2021). New Feminist Studies in Audiovisual Industries: Feminism, Gender, Ageism, and New Masculinities in Audiovisual Content. International journal of communication (Online), 407-416.</td></tr><tr><td>Femvertising</td><td>1</td><td>Gutierrez, M., Pando-Canteli, M. J., and Rodriguez, M. P. (2021). New Feminist Studies in Audiovisual Industries: Feminism, Gender, Ageism, and New Masculinities in Audiovisual Content. International journal of communication (Online), 407-416.</td></tr><tr><td>Feminity</td><td>1</td><td>Curone-Prieto, R. C., La Parra-Casado, D., and Vives-Cases, C. (2023). Hegemonic masculinities and femininities in food industry packaging. Feminist Media Studies, 23(8), 4203-4220.</td></tr><tr><td>Gender</td><td>1</td><td>Curone-Prieto, R. C., La Parra-Casado, D., and Vives-Cases, C. (2023). Hegemonic masculinities and femininities in food industry packaging. Feminist Media Studies, 23(8), 4203-4220.</td></tr><tr><td>Gender Equality</td><td>1</td><td>Borkowska, K. (2020). Approaches to studying masculinity: A nonlinear perspective of theoretical paradigms. Men and Masculinities, 23(3-4), 409-424.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Appendix B

### Roro le Costaud Wearing a Jules Outfit

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>ILLUSTRATION B1 | Jules's Brand ad representing a man with a visible handicap.</figcaption></figure>
Biographies

**Léa Fauvel** is a PhD student in the first year of her thesis in Marketing at the University of Angers, France. Her research focuses on three themes: consumer behaviour, DEI marketing and new representations of gender.

**Romain Sohier** (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Marketing at EM Normandie Business School, France. He works on the following issues: digital marketing, cultural consumptions, consumer experiences, social marketing and text mining. He has published mainly in the following journals: *Journal of Business Research*, *Journal of Strategic Marketing*, *Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice* and *Computers in Human Behavior*.

**Gaëlle Pantin-Sohier** (PhD) is a Full Professor of Marketing at the University of Angers, France. Her research interests include consumer behaviour, sensory marketing and food innovation. Her articles have been published in *Journal of Business Research*, *Journal of Strategic Marketing*, *Journal of Brand Management*, *Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services*, *Journal of Product & Brand Management*, *Journal of Consumer Marketing* and *Recherche et Applications en Marketing*.

**Fabien Durif** (PhD) is a Full Professor of Marketing at University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM). He leads the Observatory of Responsible Consumption and the GreenUXlab (FCI Research Laboratory for New User Experiences and Eco-responsibility). His main research topics are sustainable consumption and retailing. He has published in several journals, including *Journal of Business Research*, *Journal of Cleaner Production*, *Technological Forecasting and Social Change*, *European Journal of Marketing*, *Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services*, *International Journal of Consumer Studies* and *Journal of Consumer Behavior*.