Abstract

In this two-part series for Channel 4, Danny Dyer travels the country exploring the contentious subject of modern masculinity. With traditional gender roles a thing of the past, he questions whether men have lost their sense of identity and what it means to be male in 21st Century Britain. Along the way he tries to get to the bottom of toxic masculinity and find out why so many young men are struggling with their mental health and relationships with women. Is there a war on men, or do they need to redefine their place in society?

In the first episode, Danny sets out to find out if there’s a war on men and, if so, is it behind the current meteoric rise of toxic influencers like Andrew Tate. He meets influencer Ed Matthews, teenage boys under intense scrutiny at school and politician Ben Bradley who’s spent a decade fighting for men’s issues. Danny experiences the bias against male victims of domestic abuse and the tragic consequences of that bias against fathers fighting for custody. He questions whether masculinity is dead or something worth fighting for.

In episode 2, Danny looks to the future. He meets two leading British scientists to find out if their work on male psychology can help find solutions to the terrible mental health and suicide problems facing men in Britain. Meeting stay-at-home Dads, a sex therapist and DJ Woody Cook before ending his journey at a Jungian Men’s Retreat, Danny tries to figure out if men can work with and evolve their masculinity, rather than abandon it, in the search for the future for 21st Century men.