The 1990s evangelical men’s movement blended contradictory strains of masculinity

Evidence

THE EVANGELICAL MEN’S MOVEMENT of the 1990s was marked by experimentation and laden with contradictions. “Soft patriarchy” papered over tensions between a harsher, authoritarian masculinity and a more egalitarian posture; the motif of the tender warrior reconciled militancy with a kinder, gentler, more emotive bearing. Inconsistencies within the evangelical men’s movement reflected those within evangelicalism as a whole in the post–Cold War years. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 394

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘soft patriarchy’ and ‘tender warrior’ motifs that reconcile authoritarian and egalitarian masculinity strains.