Are Men OK?

If the floor mattress is the symbol of an austere (if fulfilling) life, the Boy Room is the product of a more indulgent lifestyle, one that produces a clutter of empty beer cans, crumpled tissues (overflowing a rarely emptied wastebasket), and bunched-up bedsheets.

These menus and their devotees constitute a new variety of sushi experience — a social phenomenon as much as a culinary one — which The New York Times critic Pete Wells has christened “bromakase.”

Online conversations about the “male loneliness epidemic” tend to rope in women as a potential solve, particularly on incel forums. Yes, male loneliness is a real problem: A 2021 American Perspectives survey found that the number of men who reported not having a single close friend had quintupled to 15% since 1990. For unmarried men under 30, 25% s... See more

Some parents and teachers wonder about the appropriateness of these products for a young audience. Teenagers are especially fond of the packaging of Angels’ Share by Kilian, which resembles a glass of cognac, and Le Male, a strapping torso with wide shoulders and a bulging crotch. “They make it so sexy,” said Ms. Glover, the middle school teacher, ... See more

Everything about girls is scrutinized so highly and boys don't get that same treatment. Boys are like, “Yeah, girls will still date me if my room is nasty.”

Asked why middle schoolers have suddenly developed a nose for Dior, almost every teenager, researcher and merchandising expert offered the same answer: TikTok. On the platform, influencers offer tips for “smellmaxxing,” or improving one’s musk, and recommend scents for working out, date night and middle school.

“Social media and TikTok make people w... See more