ABSTRACT
With the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, young audiences have been exposed to different narratives about gender identity. Netflix introduces them with alternative masculinity ideals that differ from traditional masculinity by portraying men as soft and less rigid, offering new versions of masculinity that move beyond toughness, dominance, and traditional gender expectations. This study is supported by the Cultivation theory. A survey analysis was conducted using a multi-step cluster sampling technique among 300 students from Foundation University, Islamabad, Pakistan, aged from 17 to 35, who are active users of Netflix. The findings revealed that the higher the Netflix exposure, the lower the perception of traditional masculinity. Religiosity, on the other hand, significantly and positively moderated the relationship between Netflix exposure and masculinity, suggesting that individuals with high religiosity have stronger perceptions of traditional masculinity even after Netflix exposure, as compared to people with low religiosity. These results highlight how Netflix can affect beliefs regarding changing gender roles in Pakistan.
KEY WORDS
Cultivation. Gender Identity. Gender Roles. Masculinity. Netflix Effects.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.34135/mlar-26-01-12
Cultivating Masculinity: Examining Netflix Exposure and the Moderating Role of Religiosity © 2026 by Arqum Bin
Habib, Nadira Khanum, UCM Trnava is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.