Men's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning men, masculinity, gender, culture, politics and sexuality. It academically examines what it means to be a man in contemporary society.

Sociologists and psychologists in the Nordic countries such as Norwegians Erik Grønseth and Per Olav Tiller were early pioneers of men's studies as a research field; Grønseth and Tiller's classic study of father absence in sailor families and its impact on children's personality development in the 1950s is often regarded as the starting point of men's studies in the Nordic countries.

In Anglophone countries, men's studies was formed, largely in response to an emerging men's rights movement, and as such, has been taught in academic settings only since the 1970s.

In contrast to the discipline of masculine psychology, men's studies programs and courses often include contemporary discussions of men's rights, feminist theory, queer theory, matriarchy, patriarchy, and more generally, what proponents describe as the social, historical, and cultural influences on the constructions of men. They often discuss the issues surrounding male privilege, seen as evolving into more subtle and covert forms rather than disappearing in the modern era.^{[citation needed]}

It is important to distinguish the specific approach often defined as Critical Studies on Men. This approach was largely developed in the anglophone countries from the early 1980s - especially in the United Kingdom - centred then around the work of Jeff Hearn, David Morgan and colleagues. The influence of the approach has spread globally since then. It is inspired primarily by a range of feminist perspectives (including socialist and radical) and places emphasis on the need for research and practice to explicitly challenge men's and boys' sexism. Although it explores a very broad range of men's practices, it tends to focus especially on issues related to sexuality and/or men's violences. Although originally largely rooted in sociology, it has since engaged with a broad range of other disciplines including social policy, social work, cultural studies, gender studies, education and law. In more recent years, Critical Studies on Men research has made particular use of comparative and/or transnational perspectives. Like Men's Studies and Masculinity Studies more generally, Critical Studies on Men has been critiqued for its failure to adequately focus on the issue of men's relations with children as a key site for the development of men's oppressive masculinity formations - men's relations with women and men's relations with other men being the two sites which are heavily researched by comparison.

Early men's studies scholars studied social construction of masculinity, which the Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell is best known for.

Connell introduced the concept of hegemonic masculinity, describing it as a practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of the common male population and women, and other marginalized ways of being a man. Being pervasive across societies, it results in multiple masculinities, specifically a hierarchy of masculinities, in which some men do not experience the same privilege other men do, because of their other marginalized identities. The concept has attracted several criticisms (see Hegemonic masculinity § Criticisms), which led to Connell (and James Messerschmitt) reformulating areas of hegemonic masculinity. This newer version looks at the power and social dynamics found in the gender hierarchy, the geography of masculinity at local, regional, and global levels, social embodiment, and the dynamics of masculinity, including the complex interlayering of multiple masculinities. Connell emphasizes that masculinity is constantly evolving, meaning the curriculum and research of this field will always change.

Michael Kimmel, an American sociologist and feminist specializing in gender studies, has written about manhood in America. According to Kimmel, masculinity began to be defined and reaffirmed around 19th century America. It involved proving one's masculine worth as well as providing for one's family, and thereby also affected the political arena, workplace, family, and society at large. Kimmel posits that the imbibing of masculinity happens to young boys at home, at school and when watching adults interact. Kimmel described the term 'toxic masculinity' as the male-enacted cultural norms that are harmful to men and society, because they encourage negative behaviors related to dominance, aggression and sexuality.