In recent years there has been much discourse on male identity, or masculinity, and challenges to established cultural understandings of the masculine which have encouraged the development of new male identities. Men are starting to examine their own lives and relationships, shown through the increasing number of groups, seminars and conferences focusing on themes such as men's health, the sexual abuse of men, and psychotherapy and counselling services targeted at men. As many men and women seem to be confused about what it means to be a man, this has been seen as an opportunity for "...recasting the masculine script." (Peterson, 1998:19). To ask "what is masculinity?" is to invite opinions from across the board of sociological, historical, religious and biological study, and there is no definitive answer. There will never be a consensual definition of masculinity, although there do exist general stereotypes of masculinity which have, unfortunately, become so deep-rooted in our culture that they are seen as somehow natural. Masculinity is not an object; it is not a constant. It is constantly evolving and reinventing itself, and is subject to change based on culture, interaction

Buchbinder also talks about the future of masculinity, placing it in a post-modern context. For him, the masculinity of the post-modern world "...is capable of continual shifts and alterations, now adapting parts of more traditional masculinities and blending them with new feminisms, now with new notions of male-male relations..." (Buchbinder, 2001). Bob Pease puts forward discussion for the future of masculinity in his book "Recreating Men". Pease discusses homophobia, and argues that in order for traditional (hegemonic) masculinity to be transformed, consciousness-raising about homophobia is important. Pease describes how, due to the nature of phobias, heterosexual men see the gay world as a distortion of what it actually is, thus "...homophobia is irrational because it generally embodies misconceptions and false stereotypes of male homosexuals." (Pease, 2000:76). Heterosexual masculinity, for Pease, involves eradicating all sexual connotation from relationships with other men, in an effort to suppress ANY homosexual desire. This is clearly not a 'natural' or 'biological' instinct - in Ancient Greece, for example, it was very desirable for young boys to have an older male mentor, with whom sexual relations (though not full intercourse) would take place. In our society social policy, schools, the family, the media and the police all work to enforce institutionalized heterosexuality as an important social norm. Pease sees latent homosexuality as the cause of homophobia, as many men are unable to question their own heterosexuality, which then means that homosexuality must remain abnormal for heterosexuality to be normal. Heterosexual masculinity, then, can be seen to be reproduced through the hatred and fear of homosexuality, and Pease considers it important for heterosexual men to see the correlation between homophobia and patriarchy. Homophobia functions to support the patriarchal system; research demonstrates that homophobic attitudes coincide with support for traditional gender roles. Also, homophobia can be seen to constrain men from having intimate relationships with each other, as fears of tarnishing their masculinity prevents any behaviour that could be perceived as effeminate and leads to a lack of intimacy towards women as well as other men. Overcoming homophobia, therefore, is very important if a greater degree of intimacy is to be incorporated into the future of masculinity, which Pease argues is desirable (Pease, 2000:78).

Christopher Penczak believes there are parallels between 'coming out' for homosexuals and initiation in Pagan and Shamanic religions (for want of a better label). "Coming out marks an entry into a new level of sexual awareness, maturity and responsibility. It is a coming of age ritual for gay people, regardless of their chronological age." (Penczak, 2003). Both coming out and initiation within Paganisms and, in particular, Shamanisms, involve an experience which fundamentally changes the person; a strong sense of division from the old life and identity is felt, and the person emerges empowered, with a new, stronger character. Susan Greenwood explains in further detail, with her study of magic, witchcraft and the Otherworld, a concept essential to all Pagan practitioners. Greenwood describes the Otherworld as an alternative reality accessed through a shift in consciousness, involving an "opening up to a rich imaginative inner world", and associated with spirit beings, structured according to different mythologies and magical traditions (Greenwood, 2000: 27). Engagement with such Pagan practices inevitably leads to a changing concept of one's own identity, for example many feminist witches feel that worshipping a Goddess instead of a God brings them a more empowered sense of their femininity, and breaks from traditional Patriarchal models of sexuality. A central concept within magical training is that of self-transformation, which can take place in a number of different ways (including initiati

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