“I would rather die than reveal these feelings”

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between dominant masculinities in the Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ) and contemporary manosphere masculinities. Drawing on prior qualitative research with RCZ ministers and members, it reappraises four dominant narratives of Zambian masculinity through the manosphere lens, while avoiding claims of direct ideological transmission. The article argues that the two contexts are better understood through a structural analogy: both reproduce a dominance-fragility cycle in which masculine worth is secured through strength, control, heterosexuality, provision and emotional suppression, while failure to meet these expectations produces shame, vulnerability and exclusion. The article further develops a theological response centred on cruciform masculinity, ubuntu and Eucharistic community. Rather than treating the manosphere as an external phenomenon imposed upon African churches, the analysis identifies how older patriarchal structures can be reproduced, intensified and repackaged within contemporary digital cultures, while also pointing towards alternative, relational forms of masculinity.