Christian De Vrij

My research examines how leisure spaces serve as key sites for negotiating contemporary masculinity. Drawing on digital ethnography, in-person fieldwork, and interviews, my project explores how men use hobbies such as motorcycling, and private aviation, to manage uncertainty and reassert identity in a moment often described as a “crisis of masculinity.” I investigate how class, culture, and digital media shape the norms, performances, and communities that form around these activities, and how men make sense of themselves through everyday practices of risk, skill, consumption, and belonging. Ultimately, my work shows how leisure operates as a terrain where gendered identities are built, challenged, and transformed.