Erick DuPree is an author and cultural anthropologist.

Erick’s research explores the intersection of masculinity, power, and culture, particularly through the lens of queer identity and experience.

He-Man to Hypermasc: Power, Fantasy, and the Myth of Masculinity in 1980s America

Muscles. Camouflage. Action. Silence. Shame.

In the Reagan-era arms race of identity, American boyhood was drafted into a war for power, where muscle was king, softness was shameful, and fitting in meant toughening up. He-Man to Hypermasc rips into the 1980s myth of manhood—engineered by media, politics, and pop culture—and exposes how it forged, and fractured, a generation. It dares us to dismantle the fantasy and reimagine masculinity beyond brute strength and battlefield glory.

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Rambo, Masculinity

The Rambo Myth: How America Turned a War Criminal into a Hero

Rambo, Masculinity

Rambo began as a brutal critique of war but became a symbol of American exceptionalism and toxic masculinity. This essay exposes how Hollywood rewrote a war criminal into a hero—and what that says about our need for moral clarity and mythic manhood.

Rambo, Masculinity

Review, Muscle

Review of Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle by Michael Andor Brodeur

Review, Muscle

Swole is more than just a book for men, and certainly more than a book about the gym. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt out of place in their own skin, or questioned the messages the world sends about how a body should look.

Review, Muscle

Masculinity

Rebuilding Manhood: How Collecting GI Joe Helped Me Reclaim a Lost Identity

Masculinity

Collecting GI Joe and He-Man figures helped me reclaim a lost sense of identity, heal childhood wounds, confront masculinity, and rebuild the boy I once was — and the man I’m still becoming.

Masculinity

Masc for Masc? Desire, Discipline, and the Market of Queer Manhood

Masculinity

Commodifying masculinity- how dating apps reinforce norms, and shape desire in queer culture—unpacking the phrase “masc for masc” through an anthropological and critical lens.

Masculinity

What Exactly Does It Mean To Be “Man Enough?”

Masculinity

A personal essay exploring fatherlessness, gender norms, and queer identity—unpacking what it means to be “man enough” in a world that punishes softness and fetishizes masculinity.

Masculinity

Masculinity, Review

Review of Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford

Masculinity, Review

A powerful reflection on manual labor, identity, and meaning, Shop Class as Soulcraft explores how working with your hands can restore dignity, purpose, and connection in modern life.

Masculinity, Review

Masculinity

He-Man to Hypermasc: The Cultural Mythology of 1980s Boyhood

Masculinity

How 1980s icons like He-Man and G.I. Joe shaped hypermasculine ideals for boys—and how queer kids navigated shame, fantasy, and survival under the shadow of these powerful myths.

Masculinity

Masculinity, Grief

Forgiveness Is Not Owed: Thoughts On My Father’s Death

Masculinity, Grief

Explore the emotional journey of choosing self-preservation over societal expectations of forgiveness in this poignant reflection on a father's death and a queer individual's fight for healing and self-worth.

Masculinity, Grief

The Chess Set: Lessons With My Grandfather

Masculinity, Grief

Inheriting my grandfather’s Civil War chess set taught me lessons in patience, quiet masculinity, and legacy — a reminder that time, like chess, is only valued once it’s been spent.

Masculinity, Grief