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Table of Contents
MASCULINITY + IDENTITY
MENTAL HEALTH
SOCIAL LIFE, FRIENDSHIP + CONNECTION
PERSONAL STYLE
MASCULINITY + IDENTITY
Is Conservatism the New Counterculture for Teen Boys?
BY Erika Janes
tap each TEEN to read more
What’s it really like to be a teen boy today? What does it mean to ‘be a man’ — and what role does masculinity even play in the minds (and lives) of Gen Z boys in 2024? How is that term defined — and who defines it?
These are just some of the questions we set out to find the answers to when we embarked on our ‘Be a Man’ project — and for many of us here at SheKnows, as parents of teen boys ourselves, the topic was deeply personal. Over the course of the summer, we brought more than 20 young people aged 14-20 into our studios for in-person interviews, and interviewed and surveyed even more as part of our ongoing Gen Z Council. We’re proud to showcase their insights and opinions throughout this issue. We also tapped thought leaders including Scott Galloway, Richard V. Reeves, and Ruth Whippman.
The fact is, masculinity — however you define it — is having a moment in the spotlight right now. A conversation about young men being in crisis, which began taking hold of the zeitgeist a couple years ago, is now fully mainstream, due in no small part to the current presidential election.
Beyond our deep dive into the of-the-moment topic of masculinity and identity, our issue looks at mental health, social media, and personal style. We look at how Snapchat is changing the ways teen boys communicate — and learned what “half swiping” is. We examine the pressure to excel in school and all things extracurricular. We explore how gym-bro culture and the pressure to be “big” is affecting boys, and the way social media trends have inspired this generation to care more about how they look and smell, driving sales of skincare and cologne.
Being a teenager has always been complicated. So has being a parent of one. We hope this issue gives you valuable insight into the minds of teen boys — and the advice you need to better support the ones in your life.
By the way, if you've got a teen who's interested in being part of our Gen Z Council, email me at ejanes@shemedia.com.
Letter from the Editor
MENTAL HEALTH
How Sexist Men See Themselves As the ‘Good Guys’ — & Why So
Many Boys Are Listening
BY Jessica Calarco
Teen Boys React to Scenes from The Boys & Euphoria
BY Alice Kelly
I'm a Teen Boy & Here's Why I See My Peers Moving to the Political Right
BY John Markley
'I Felt Overwhelmed': Teen Boys Are Feeling the Pressure of, Basically, Everything
BY Elaine Roth
40%
of teen boys say they “sometimes” or “often” feel lonely.
55%
of teen boys say academics are their top source of stress.
52%
Percent of teen boys most likely to turn to a friend about their mental health & wellbeing.
The Dark Side of Gym Bro Culture:
Body Image Issues & Bigorexia in Teen Boys
BY Erin Strout
Teen Boys Are in Trouble — & Scott Galloway Has a Theory Why
BY Rita Templeton
Loneliness Is On the Rise & Teen Boys Are Feeling It.
Here Are 6 Ways Parents Can Help
BY Maggie Ryan
I’m 17 & I Was in Therapy for 6 Years. Here's What I Learned
BY Carson Bartley
SOCIAL LIFE, FRIENDSHIP + CONNECTION
What Snapchat "Half-Swiping" Says About Boys' Communication
BY Clive Dillon
An Inside Look at Boys' Social Feeds
BY Rita Templeton
Snapstreaks, Half-Swipes & Ghost Mode: How Snapchat Is Changing the Way Teens Communicate
BY Rita Templeton
PERSONAL STYLE
Beauty & the Boys: The Truth About TikTok Trends & What Teen Boys Are Really Buying
BY Elaine Roth
The Best Colognes for Teen Boys, According to Teen Boys
BY Liz Zack
Teen Boys Are Becoming the Cologne Industry’s Most Loyal Customers & Have ‘No Shame’ About It
BY Rita Templeton
We Asked Young Cologne Collectors to Sample Fall’s Most Luxurious Men’s Fragrances
BY Justin Fenner
Inside the Beauty Routines of Five Teen Boys
BY Noor Lobad
Why Are All the Teen Boys Shopping at Thrift Stores?
BY Jack Kramer
Justin, 14
Jack, 18
Ajani, 18
"Masculinity, to me, is hard to separate from who I am as a person. The man I want to be is very involved with the person I want to be. I want to be smart, driven, funny, personable, well-liked… Those things are all just as a part of being a man as they are to being a person."
— Jack, 18
EDITORIAL
Editor-In-Chief
ERIKA JANES
Senior Food & Lifestyle Editor
KENZIE MASTROE
Parenting Editor
RITA TEMPLETON
Entertainment Editor
ALICE KELLY
Health Editor
MAGGIE RYAN
Social Media Editor
ISABELLA ONG
Trending News Editor
DELILAH GRAY
Commerce Editor
KRISTINE FELLIZAR
Commerce Writer
JACQUELYN GREENFIELD
Entertainment Writer
GIOVANA GELHOREN
Parenting Writer
REBECCA RAKOWITZ
Lifestyle Writer
JUSTINA HUDDLESTON
MEDIA
Chief Content Officer
CRISTINA VELOCCI
VP, Video
RESHMA GOPALDAS
Commerce Director
GINA VAYNSHTEYN
Senior Video Editor
ALLISON O'CONNELL
Video Editor
SARAH WALLACE
Interns
Amelia Kuhn, Ajani Pinard,
Caroline Corcoran, Charlotte Bednar, Gwendolyn Becker, Jack Kramer
Maverick CortES
SK Staff
BACK TO TOP
Nike Vomeros, Carhartt Pants & Everything Else
That’s Hot This Fall — According to a Teen Boy
BY Ajani Pinard
Photography by George Chinsee
Cover Design by Kaylen Johnson
Issue Design by Lucy Quintanilla
Video by Reshma Gopaldas, Allie O’Connell, Sarah Wallace
Nike Zoom Vomero 5
$160
Nike Solo Swoosh Men’s Open-Hem Fleece Pants
$110
Levi's 569™ Loose Straight Fit Men’s Jeans in Let It Lie
$49
Zara Basic Jogging Pants
$46
Carhartt Double Knee Pants
$48
Fear of God Essentials Black Elasticized Hoodie
$100
CHARACTER TRAITS & GENDER ASSOCIATION
Based on 1:1 interviews with 10 members of SheKnows’s Gen Z Council
Source: 10 members of Gen Z Council – 5 identifying as ‘he/male’ or ‘boy’; 5 identifying as ‘she/female’ or ‘girl’: Question: “In a binary exercise, would you identify these words as traditionally masculine or feminine?”
Masculine
Feminine
both
100%
COMPETITIVE
DOMINANT
VIOLENT
WAR
100%
CARING
COOPERATIVE
CRYING
EMOTIONAL
NURTURING
50/50% SPLIT
DIRECT
POWERFUL
55%
AMBITIOUS
82%
LOGICAL
79%
CREATIVE
69%
PASSIVE
67%
LEADER
75%
CREATIVE
STRONG
82%
TOXIC
90%
PROVIDER
We Played a ‘Feminine
or Masculine’ Word Game With Teens &
Got a Fascinating Glimpse Into Gen Z’s View of Gender Norms
BY Rita Templeton
“I feel like a man should be strong for the people around him, and also open emotionally so the people around him can understand him.”
— Justin, 14
“I feel like there's a negative stigma around crying or like, being seen as weak. There's also a stigma around teen boys caring too much about, like, a joke that might be hurtful… When people make jokes that are prejudiced or racist in some way, I kind of have to be the bigger person by kind of just pushing it down and not really saying as much as I want to say. I don't want to be, like, the angry Black teenage boy. The label around that is not very good.”
— Ajani, 18
Source: 2024 SheKnows Gen Z Council survey of 22 boys.
Nearly
Carson, 17
“I probably feel pressure most about sports; I do soccer and track. I think track’s definitely more pressure on me because it’s more solo.”
— Carson, 17
Maverick, 19
“I feel pressure to have all of my schoolwork figured out. Grades are important. And also in sports…I feel that I always have to perform my best. But sometimes I have a bad day and things don’t go according to plan — and when the plan doesn’t work out it can be incredibly stressful.”
— Maverick, 19
tap each name to read more
Teen boys on feeling pressure
Teen boys on masculinity and what it means to “be a man”
41%
feel social media negatively affects their self-esteem.
45%
say TikTok is the way they stay up-to-date on current events.
Source: 2024 SheKnows Gen Z Council survey of 22 boys.
think they spend too much time on social media.
77%
41%
talk to their parents about their dating life.
Teen boys on social media
Liam, 18
“Social media is definitely a great way to connect with your friends, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon. … But sometimes I find myself in my room for the whole day just on social media, and that’s when it gets kind of lonely.”
— Liam, 18
Xavier, 17
In terms of Snapstreaks, I think the older you get and the more you use it, just, the less it becomes something that you care about. My longest — I was pretty proud of it: I broke 1,000 with a friend. It got up to 1600.”
— Xavier, 17
tap each name to read more
We asked 3 teens to share their longest Snapstreaks:
"1600"
"400
-something"
"998
days"
50%
of teen boys wear cologne daily.
46%
started wearing cologne at age 13.
Source: Source: 2024 SheKnows Gen Z Council Cologne survey of 14 boys.
23% own 5 or more fragrances
Teen boys on shopping, skincare, and cologne
tap each name to read more
Finn, 19
“I usually shop secondhand. When it’s in-person, it’s Goodwill or Salvation Army. When I’m shopping online, it’s either Depop, eBay, or Grailed. Probably half the reason I shop at thrift stores is for sustainability, and then the other half is, I like being able to find the stuff and look through a bunch of different things and find vintage pieces.”
— Finn, 19
Clive, 15
"Cologne... has become a very big thing which I have no shame of being into. I love cologne. I'm wearing Le Labo's Another 13. It's got a note called iso e super, which basically accentuates the natural musk of your skin."
— Clive, 15
Zach, 20
“So I recently just got into skincare, and it was because my little brother is 12, and he’s deep into it… I started going into his room, asking him questions and things like that. He's a very big TikTok user… so he’ll go on there and watch his favorite influencers; use their skincare.”
Zach, 20
Inside the lives of teen boys
We asked Of Boys and Men author Richard V. Reeves
Patriarchy Benefits Boys — But It Hurts Them, Too
BoyMom author Ruth Whippman on masculinity and the importance of raising 'emotionally and psychologically healthy' young men.
BY Erika Janes
According to the Experts
And what it means to ‘be a man’ today
TVLine
Robb Report
Beauty Inc