Man of the Moment shifts as India rewrites the rules of masculinity

MUMBAI: If the modern man had a mirror, it would look very different from the one his father stood before. Masculinity in India and across Asia is in the midst of its biggest makeover in decades, with new research from Virtue Asia revealing a seismic shift in how men define strength, success and selfhood. Nearly half of Indian men now say emotional maturity not dominance is what truly makes a man strong.

According to The Virtue Guide To Modern Masculinity, created with Milieu Insight and Canvas8, today’s masculinity is less a monolith and more a mosaic. Men are finding new ways to blend ambition with vulnerability, tradition with experimentation, and identity with self-expression. Rather than rejecting the past wholesale, this generation is remixing it keeping what resonates and rewriting what doesn’t.

Virtue Asia strategy director Zoe Chen puts it simply, “Masculinity in Asia is no longer a single story.” Instead, men are navigating a spectrum where empathy sits comfortably beside ambition, and being emotionally present matters as much as performing.

One of the study’s most striking findings is the fragmentation of masculine identity. In India, 66 per cent of men fall into the ‘Remixers’ category those who honour tradition while tailoring it to their modern lives. 18 per cent are ‘Experimenters’, unafraid to step beyond convention. 14 per cent remain ‘Traditionalists’, while 3 per cent identify as ‘Outliers’, rejecting gender labels entirely.

For brands accustomed to selling one archetype of manhood, the message is clear: men are plural. Campaigns must now reflect multiple identities, not just the familiar hero figure. Culture is no longer offering a single script, it’s handing men an entire universe of possible selves.

Power, too, is being redefined. The research shows the old trophies being the primary breadwinner (39 per cent) or owning wealth (44 per cent) are losing their grip. In their place rise softer, more human markers such as emotional maturity (49 per cent) and open-mindedness (43 per cent).

The scoreboard, in other words, has changed. Performance is no longer the measure of a man, presence is. Men aren’t looking for brands to glorify “balance” they want brands to acknowledge the chaos and offer support that feels real, attainable and empathetic.

Generations of men were raised to love through duty, provide, protect, perform. Now, love is being reimagined as presence, care and shared responsibility. The study shows that action-led care remains the strongest love language for Indian men, with an increasing emphasis on building futures as a team.

This shift marks a cultural milestone for India: masculinity is finally making room for shared emotional labour. Brands can help turn this moment into a movement by framing care as a partnership, not a burden, and helping men express empathy in tangible, consistent ways.

Virtue India, EVP strategy Saumya Baijal calls the moment “critical and tectonic,” adding that brands have a pivotal role in nudging audiences toward more progressive stances. And perhaps that’s the quiet revolution underway, a generation of men learning to be strong and soft, ambitious and emotionally aware, not one at the cost of the other.

The modern Indian man is no longer defined by a template. He is written in versions evolving, expressive and entirely his own.