In 2023, the coining of the phrase “male loneliness epidemic” sparked a wave of controversy that to this day is still being debated and made fun of. Now, there’s another “epidemic” surrounding men that seems to have been garnering attention on TikTok this past week. Women frequenting bars or clubs have noticed a curious change in men’s behavior. The typical unsolicited flirting and general red-flag-ness is still very present. However, a new development has women side-eyeing men for a whole other reason.
What Are Men Doing At Clubs Now?
In a viral TikTok, makeup artist Teagan (@teagsmua) films herself and her companion at a club in Nashville. The clip opens with the camera on their faces as they look up in disgust at something in the distance. Then they flip the camera to reveal several men dancing on top of the platforms. A few don cowboy hats as the music pulsates around them.
“The epidemic of men being on the platforms in the club is out of control,” Teagan wrote in the text overlay.
The video has since garnered over 12 million views on TikTok and is far from the only one of its nature. In another recent viral video, TikToker Montana (@montanagillard), attending the Mode Festival with her companion, shows men dancing on platforms.
“Straight men on platforms. What is this world coming to?” one of the women says in the video. “Pretty Princesses,” Montana cheekily wrote in the caption.
Women Are Not Here For It
This new wave of videos showing men dancing in spaces traditionally used by women has ignited a heated debate on the platform. One content creator named Shawnda (@lifecoachshawn) stitched Teagan’s original video, sharing her perspective.
“That kind of man is probably the kind of man who is like, ‘What makes you think that you get to be up here?’” Shawnda says of these dancing men.
She argues that these men are “jealous” of the treatment women receive. According to her, she speculates these men want the traditional gender roles reversed, where they are the ones being courted with flowers and dinners.
“This is the male loneliness epidemic getting to them,” Shawnda says.
Her video has a whopping 204,000 viewers. And the comments section is flooded by users who overwhelmingly agree with her.
What Is The Male Loneliness Epidemic?
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory shared the epidemic of loneliness among men in 2023, supported by studies on declining emotional connection in males. And while there are many cultural factors contributing to the crisis—toxic masculinity, mental health neglect, and more—a widely held critique is that the burden has been placed on women. This is evident in Teagan’s and Shawnda’s comments sections on their respective videos.
What Do Viewers Think?
“I really do think this is because America has become Ken’s Dojo Casa House and I’m not even kidding,” a top comment, with 379,000 likes, on Teagan’s video read.
Another comment, with 18,000 likes, on Montana’s video, read, “The saddest part is they are doing it to impress each other not us.”
One user apologized, citing their perspective of club culture prior to this nonsense: “As an elder millenial I feel so bad you all never got to experience ‘the club is full of ballers and they pockets is full grown.’ Men used to DELIGHT in showcasing pretty women, never having us to pull out our wallets. I don’t know what happened but I’m so sorry.”
BroBible reached out to Montana via TikTok direct message as well as to Teagan and Shawnda via email.