MASCULINE IDENTITY OF YOUTH IN KAZAKHSTAN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF TRADITIONAL VALUES

Abstract

The article examines the formation of masculine identity among young people in Kazakhstan in the context of shifting traditional values and growing global cultural influences. The study adopts a social constructionist perspective and integrates the concepts of hegemonic, inclusive, and hybrid masculinities. Drawing on a mixed-methods design that combines a questionnaire survey with thematic analysis of open-ended responses, the findings indicate that perceptions of masculinity are hybrid in nature: deeply rooted family-based socialization patterns coexist with elements reflecting contemporary cultural change.

The results suggest an increasing normative legitimation of emotional openness and the acceptability of vulnerability within youth discourse. At the same time, these emerging orientations do not displace traditional ideals of “strength” and “resilience”; rather, they coexist within a hierarchically structured value system in which the latter retain symbolic centrality. This hybrid configuration aligns with the notion of a shifting normative landscape, understood as the dynamic coexistence and mutual transformation of competing normative regimes.

The family continues to play a pivotal role in transmitting models of masculinity, while the digital environment functions as a space for both the deconstruction and the remobilization of gender norms. Age emerges as a significant factor shaping perceptions of change, whereas gender differences in evaluating these transformations remain minimal. Within this study, urbanization operates as an important mediating factor in the ongoing reconfiguration of gender attitudes.