The release of the Netflix series Adolescence in March set a bleak tone for gender relations in 2025, amid the global rise of the manosphere and figures like Nick Fuentes popularising misogynistic slogans. Yet as the year closes, hopeful signs are emerging that 2026 may bring a shift towards more thoughtful masculinity.
Timothée Chalamet’s new film Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, is drawing young men away from their phones and into the real world. The underdog story of a Jewish table-tennis player in 1950s America has become a cultural phenomenon, with vintage-inspired athletic wear sales surging 45% and searches for “retro sports jackets” up 340%.
Chalamet has long subverted alpha-male expectations through his slight frame and stereotype-challenging roles. The film’s playful marketing, including pop-up table-tennis events, has resonated with Gen Z and Gen A. George Deanus, 14, said the craze strengthened his friendships: “I actually met most of my friends through table tennis, we can play it seriously or just casually, just to have a laugh.”
This shift aligns with calls from author Scott Galloway to rethink boys’ wellbeing. In Notes on Being a Man, he argues that isolating forces of screens and risk-averse parenting have harmed boys, and encourages risk-taking, fun and protecting others. “There’s no such thing as toxic masculinity,” he writes. “If you conflate being male with coarseness, you’re anti-masculine.”
Other male role models are also stepping up, including Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks and model David Gandy, who criticised Andrew Tate’s “immaturity”. Chalamet himself charmed the nation by naming Susan Boyle as one of his greatest Brits, saying: “She dreamt bigger than any of us.”
