In our society, gender is so important that stereotypes are attributed to a child even before it is born. With boys, this may manifest through the parents-to-be expressing a desire for a "son and heir" and continues by typically encouraging autonomy in boys, whereas girls would be encouraged to comply and subordinate. Stereotypical gender-specific attributions are heavily reinforced through toys, clothing and room décor. Even in their infancy, the child learns that its parents and the wider social environment anticipate them to behave in a certain gender-specific way.

The pernicious seed in this regard is sown very early in boys and continues incessantly through their early years: very little contact with adult men. This begins with the, quite common, division of labour, where women tend to be the ones who stay at home with the children. It continues at nursery and through school, where the majority of teaching staff are also female. These absences of men in boys' lives often result in disorientation and also the creation of myths about being male. They have to adopt a male identity and comply with social norms. What a "real man" actually is remains very unclear here. As well as the media's portrayal of superheroes (top athletes, highly successful managers, etc.) and super-macho men (Rocky, Rambo, etc.), negative expressions such as "man up" or "don't be gay", and so forth, also dominate. Yet, the precise meaning of these expressions is often not clearly defined.

However, classic characteristics of "masculinity" often include aspects that are problematic:

•    (Physical) strength
•    Aggressive behaviour (in contrast to reacting and defensive behaviour)
•    Propensity for violence and aggression
•    Courage, willingness to take risks and thirst for adventure
•    Dominance
•    Self-control (through to coolness)
•    Technical and organisational traits
•    Rationalism
 
In everyday life, this image of masculinity often results in a strong desire for power, rivalry and willingness to take risks. Some of the problem areas in men's lives arising from this are detailed below.

^{Source: Gender Studies in den Ingenieurwissenschaften [Gender Studies in Engineering], Bente Knoll, Brigitte Ratzer, Vienna, 2010}

• More boys than girls are born in Austria. There are also more men than women aged between 15 and 59. With increasing age, the gender ratio shifts increasingly in favor of women due to their higher life expectancy.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Demographic indicators: Age structure of women and men

• Overall, life expectancy continues to rise, but men still live shorter lives than women.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Demographic indicators: Life expentancy of women and men

• Men have a less healthy diet. They eat fruit and vegetables significantly less often, but consume almost twice as much meat/sausage as women every day.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Austrian Health Interview Survey (ATHIS) 2019: Dietary habits by sex

• 41.4% of the male population is overweight, as is 27.9% of the female population. Obesity affects 18.1% of men and 15.2% of women.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Austrian Health Interview Survey (ATHIS) 2019

• Men smoke slightly more often than women.

         STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Austrian Health Interview Survey (ATHIS) 2019, opens an external URL in a new window

• In recent decades, women have significantly surpassed men in terms of educational attainment. Men earn fewer degrees than women at secondary schools, colleges, and universities.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, School Statistics: Educational attainment of women and met

• However, when TU Wien is considered individually, a different picture emerges. Here, a very general phenomenon becomes clear: educational qualifications are distributed very unevenly across the various subjects and fields. This phenomenon of so-called horizontal segregation, i.e., the concentration of women or men in certain educational and professional fields, is particularly evident in the natural sciences and technology, which are strongly male-dominated.

  STATISTICS AUSTRIA, School Statistics: Share of female graduations from public universities by field of study

According to data from Statistics Austria, women experience violence in private homes far more frequently than men. Women often find themselves in a position of financial dependence due to their role as secondary earners. These situations of coercion are exacerbated by children, poor education, and/or migration backgrounds. Overcoming structural violence in particular requires a comprehensive transformation of society at all levels in terms of gender equality.

Statistically, however, most victims of violent crime outside the home are male. The issue of male victims of violence—men against men, but also women against men—receives little attention in public and academic discourse.

At this point, the concept of the “male victim” should be presented as a cultural paradox: either someone is considered a victim or he is a man. In the system of binary gender, the two concepts are considered incompatible on the basis of male socialization. For example, it has long been part of everyday culture in film and television for heroes to fight each other in order to help good triumph over evil. Youth studies show that many male adolescents attach importance to not being afraid of being hit and do not mind being injured as long as they assert themselves honorably. As long as these principles persist in society, violence against men and violence against women will be measured by different standards.

“The established practice of dismissing fights among boys as ‘normal’ scuffles and battles for dominance, and the habit of viewing girls and women as victims, contribute to the social practice of perpetuating traditional power and gender roles.” ¹

There are also gender-specific differences in convictions.
A much higher proportion of convicted persons are male. This suggests that male role identity promotes criminality.

STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Judicial Crime Statistics: Legally effective convictions, opens an external URL in a new window

Reflecting on and subsequently overcoming all of the issues mentioned can lead to a diversity of male lifestyles beyond everyday constraints and violent aggression.

^{Source: Violence against men as a new topic in research and society, Hans-Joachin Lenz IN: Violence. Descriptions – Analyses – Prevention, Bonn 2006, Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Monika Schröttle (eds.)}

^{1_{Building bridges between the gender and generations, Carol Hagemann-White IN Journal for Women's Studies and Gender Studies 1-2/2005, pp. 6-7}}