The Precarious Masculinity of Firearm Ownership

摘要

Men are more likely than women to harm themselves and others with firearms. Central to this problem is men's interest in owning firearms. The precarious manhood paradigm (PMP; Vandello et al., 2008) suggests that masculinity is tenuous and must be outwardly displayed. We conducted a PMP-informed experiment to test whether threats to masculinity were associated with increased interest in owning firearms. Community participants in the United States (Men n = 388, Women n = 243) completed an online "marketing survey" and were then given false personality feedback profiles. All feedback was standardized with exception of the masculinity/femininity profile. Men were randomly assigned to a masculinity threat (masculinity reported as below average; MThreat, n = 131), boost (masculinity reported as above average; MBoost, n = 129), and control (masculinity reported as average; MControl, n = 128) conditions. Women were randomly assigned to a femininity threat (n = 84), boost (n = 87), and control (n = 72) conditions (conditions were identical except women received femininity threats/boosts). Participants were then asked about their interest in owning various firearms. MThreat participants reported significantly higher interest in owning every firearm shown compared to MControl participants, and significantly more interest than MBoost participants for half of the firearms. No differences in firearm interest were evident between MBoost and MControl conditions. No differences in firearm interest were evident across all conditions in the women sample. All participants were then debriefed. Results suggest men's desire to own firearms maybe connected to masculine insecurities. Efforts should be made to socially defuse the masculinity-firearm connection. Further research implications and limitations are discussed. Public Significance Statement Our experiment showed that men whose masculinity had been threatened demonstrated more interest in owning various firearms compared to men whose masculinity was boosted or not altered. Women whose femininity was threatened did not differ from women whose femininity was boosted or not altered in terms of their firearm interest. These findings suggest that firearm ownership may be one way to prove or regain a sense of manhood.