Japanese men labelled ‘monkeys with mobile phones’

“Young Japanese are making monkeys of themselves, aping the behaviour patterns of chimpanzees.” Nobuo Masataka, Kyoto

The proliferation of mobile phones in Japan has caused many men to apparently ape the behaviour of chimpanzees – walking around for a long time without going to any specific place, then eating and disposing of their wastes in the same place before bedding down on piles of grass whenever and wherever the inclination takes them. According to researcher Masataka, mobile phones have liberated many young men from a whole series of daily burdens, but inevitably, they have become so caught up with using them they’ve forgotten about physical social intercourse. Instead, they confine themselves to loitering on the street, abandoning family activities, consumed by mobile communication.

Young men have lost the ability to discern between public and private space, and have formed the dearuki-zoku (out and about tribe). Characteristically, they don't eat meals at home with family members and hang about on the same streets with the same old friends. Parents let their kids go out because they think they're only a phone call away, because they believe the mobile phone offers them an unbreakable link. However, therein lies a breakdown in communications among the family members. The problem is, despite having this communication device that guarantees 24/7 contact, little real communication going on between family members.

‘Immigrant’ men feel sharp end of French malaise

“It is not a question of nature but of condition. Living in a suburb makes them immigrants.” Clement, 27, Paris

French society has long overlooked the problems facing many of its deprived young men. By not focusing on improving impoverished suburbs, the government has perpetuated unemployment, discrimination and housing problems among these communities. There is a general state of malaise that exists in French society. On the one hand, this let’s young men operate with their own set of values, but as seen by escalating protests, it’s promotion amorality. The inter-tribal conflict is resulting from a lack in moral guidance, social reason, or mechanism for serving up values. Without guidance young French men living in these areas are conditioned as suburban immigrants, lacking the perspective needed to deal with modern social dynamics such as instability or exclusion.

The flash points occurring in France have been building for some time, hence why they shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. High unemployment and dramatic disparities between have and have-nots demonstrates how the French labour market polarizes opportunities, and as such is polarizing mindsets. The majority feel they are struggling to find themselves a position in society, whilst the minority feel that they have no place in society at all. An excluded underclass could become a permanent feature of French society and a significant element of youth culture.

Mexicans networking beyond the family unit

“Social climbers tend to choose godparents of as high a social or economic status as they can.” Centro de Idiomas, Mazatlán

The family unit runs through every aspect of Mexican life. The connected nature of families mean they are seen as a vital source of economic and educational stability. The family home is a firm foundation for men, and although some might move abroad to learn and work, it is perceived as a core social institution. Loyalty within the family is crucial, absolute and primary social ties are structured through blood dissent. Family honour is seen as the moral standard for young men, and many usually find themselves working for their fathers, uncles and within industries associated with family tradition. But gradually a more modern, open society is being accepted in Mexico.

Modern Mexico families realise the importance of endorsing outsiders, or godparents, as they are an invaluable source of work prospects and support in personal matters. Urban city centres attract men of all ages primarily to find work, and through blood relations, they tend to find some sort of footing. But as the job market tightens, increasingly job opportunities come from outside the family unit. Mexican men are cutting the emotional ties they have with the family home to allow for more flexible work arrangements and a wider support mechanism. Although the family is the one true thing for men to rely on and believe in, the stress of looking after parents, grandparents and the family home is having an affect on a younger generation who want more out of life.

German men prefer the burn

“Presentation and aestheticization are the focus of much attention…people define themselves by self-representation.” Gregor, 31, Munich

The body is no longer perceived or needed by men as an instrument of physical labour. Its new purpose is being an instrument of representation. In Germany, a man’s body has become the primary means of expression in an increasingly hedonistic-narcissistic society. Going out and working out are imperatives of modern Germany. Recent economic and social problems have forced men to reassess themselves, an anxious plan perhaps to reassert their masculinity. Men feel it is better to be muscular, worked-out, and are well disposed towards this kind of cultivating of the body to a much larger extent than women.

The attractiveness of the body is nothing less than a social duty. Permanently confronted role models and celebrities on television and in magazines, many men consider their own body as inferior, even if they are slim, as an enemy that has to be shaped by hard measures, for example frequent diets and excessive training. Most German men argue that one must workout, firstly, to stay fit, secondly, to be successful in one’s career, and thirdly, to not prematurely be out of the running with the opposite sex. Interestingly, cosmetic surgery is not yet accepted in Germany. Men still value a traditional workout to get the body they desire.

British men assert themselves

“The promotion of metrosexuality was left to the men's style press…they persuaded young men to study them with a mixture of envy and desire.” Mark Simpson, Journalist, London

Britain seems to be reaching a tipping point. Men can not only stand up for themselves for the first time in a generation, but now they can even right some perceived wrongs. Since the 1990s, British men have gradually been discriminated against due to an ongoing feminising of society. But now, according to campaigners, it has become so damaging that they simply can't be ignored any longer. The number of men's rights groups has exploded, with the UK Men's Movement, ManKind, Families Need Fathers and Fathers4Justice leading the way. Once Fathers4Justice started pulling media stunts, the government started taking notice. More money is spent on men's health issues, the divorce courts are taking the position of fathers more seriously, and the male consumer market has undergone a dramatic rethink.

British men it seems are starting to build themselves up again. The male as portrayed in the media has shifted from the clumsy, lazy, and desperate, to the tentative, determined and confident. Men use this media image to counterbalance the social displacement experienced during 90s Britain. Men's magazines have become a fundamental vehicle for the representation of this renovated image of masculinity, characterised by his embrace of feminine universes, his deeper concern over personal looks and the greater importance attached to activities like fathering. True, men are more feminised as a result of two decades worth of social conditioning, but now they are also classically masculine. Unshackled from the now redundant metrosexual identity, British men are sounding more like, well, men again.

Spanish men learn domestic ways

"It's not that I'm a macho man. It's just that I've never been taught these things before." Santi, 36, Madrid

A new law is being passed in Spain that obliges men to share household chores and the care of children and elderly family members. This is set to challenge the tradition of Spanish male behaviour, half of which do not do any housework at all. Spanish men who refuse to lift a finger around the house will face new legal sanctions. Previously undomesticated men are already having problems coming to terms with the legislation, puffing and panting can be heard throughout a nation renowned for having a misogynistic culture.

Whereas you might expect Spanish men to revolt the idea, some think it high time they play catch up. But many wives remain sceptical about the new law. Domestic activities are still passed down from mother to daughter in Spain, so when a woman meets a man they invariably do the housework. And even if she has a full time job, she still does three times more housework than him. So it seems it is a question of education, to change men’s attitude and behaviours future sons must be taught to start taking more responsibility in the home. So, whereas older Spanish machos are set in their ways, younger Spanish men may change eventually as society evolves.

Changing masculine ideals of South Korean men

“I was delivered a business card from a "male massage parlour," whose masseurs travel to homes to provide private massage services to female clients. Below the masseur's phone number, it read, "I will do my best." Park Soo-mee, 33, Seoul

A social transition is taking place in South Korea. More and more men are working in the service sector; something once thought to be purely for women. Added to this, South Korean men are increasingly open to the idea of providing professional services for women's pleasure. Ten years ago this would have been a serious sign of incompetence. But now the positions of many women have become stable enough that they can choose men who meet their needs as active consumers, in the way that men used to choose women. It's a period of adjustment for women, and a giant shift for men, who over the past five decades have been taught masculine ideals in the military.

Most Korean men still have to spend up to three years of their precious youth secluded from ordinary life, surrounded by guns. But it's no longer a public disgrace for them to work in a service industry where more than half of the consumers are women. The lure of money, enjoyment and egalitarianism is changing men’s attitudes and behaviours. An increasing number of them now openly display their distaste for fulfilling their military obligations. Some of those who are enlisted end up becoming "flower men," working for trendy restaurants in Seoul.

The individualism of young South African men

“It’s all about the clothes, about how I look. How much cash do I have? How far can I get? Not, what can I do for someone else.” Maphiri, 18, Cape Town

Labelled ‘Born Frees’, young men in South Africa have grown up in a country experiencing fledging democracy. International opportunities are available and consumerism has ushered in a new sense of being for white and black middle class South Africans. As a result of affirmative action by the government regarding black rights and issues, South Africa offers previously undreamed opportunities for many men. Unfortunately, the promises of a post-apartheid government have not entirely come about. Thus, young men are sceptical about the capability of politicians and so men are looking to other mechanisms for mobilising modern opportunities.

They are only interested in the self for this precise reason. Entering a globalised world, young men are strongly conscious of themselves as individuals. This individualism is testing old traditions, and there is a growing cynicism regarding the wisdom of ‘ancient’ clan and groups. Young people tend to associated old traditions with the apartheid era, and therefore distrust them, ignore their value and disengage from most traditional customs. Young educated men, mostly now living and working in urban areas, are fired up by the imperatives of a modern South Africa. They are investing time and money in new forms of masculinity based on the ability to argue and reason. This is an empowering skill; prowess as street-smart individuals has more meaning and value than traditional rites of passage.

The Career Players of China

“Skateboarding is a game for brave and passionate men. The game gives me a sense of joy, and of self-control.” Jiang, 24, Shanghai

An interesting social group has emerged in several Chinese cities that have well-defined careers in extreme sports and extreme entertainment. While Chinese youth are noticeably self-centred and driven to enjoy life, members of these groups are more sensitive and painfully trendy. The groups’ members have been labelled as ‘career players’: in real life, they are most passionate about high-scoring street sports; on the Internet, they cling madly to games that involve fighting and self-realization. And hip-hop culture features heavily throughout their lives. This aesthetic is relatively new to the average Chinese lifestyle, even though it has been commonplace in the West for some time.

These mavericks often gather for entertainment and training at Beijing’s major squares. These extreme activities have set a new limit for youth activities. Out of love for the sport these men push their bodies to the limit. Most have scars to prove their devotion to their sports yet they refuse to stop performing. Youngsters born in the 1980s were lured to these activities, and now many are either professional or semi-professional extreme sportsmen. To them it is a challenge to devote themselves to such games, to become a career player, and to reject conformist attitudes that blatantly disapprove of their cavalier behaviour.

Mexican men's brand consciousness driven by machismo

“Mexican machismo isn't about the guy who's holding his wife in a headlock, it 's more like you're thought to be macho if you can sleep with a poof.” Gael, 25, Mexico City

Mexican consumers have become increasingly brand conscious due to the growing trend of globalisation. As trade has become more open between the U.S. and Mexico, brands have been internationalised and one global market has merged products and services worldwide. But in Mexico, males are more brand-conscious than females. Whereas women shop more frequently, and search for more information when they make purchase decisions, men conveniently choose the brands they recognise as macho – machismo among Mexican males is driving consumption.

Mexico City is a concentrated centre of passion, masculinity and sexuality. Competition is high, and Mexican males tend to be extremely concerned with their social image. It is important that they show that they are macho, especially to women and to themselves, and they feel constant pressure to prove themselves. Mexican men pay close attention to detail and quality, and to brand associations in order to base their purchasing decisions on the brands they want to represent them. In a male culture that prides itself on being a bastion of masculine values and idealistic attitudes, being Mexican and being macho coexist.