Looking to emulate role models *is* the core of the crisis.
It is not actually natural for guys to emulate role models. Following leaders in specific activities is natural, as is falling into team roles that fit you, but differentiation is core of male identity development.
I tend to code emulation as a natural feminine tendency.
When guys exhibit it, I read it as either a stress response or a weird situation triggering feminine-pattern intrasexual competition (some reality tv shows have this among guys who otherwise present as hyper masculine)
I've been watching Fuck Boy Island which has some of this situational intrasexual competition.
I don't know enough about gendering emulation & mimesis (maybe
It might have to do with stuff like fashion, housework, shopping, care work, and other feminine-coded activities simply having a lot more raw material for emulation behavior.
Where women do other work the stronger emulation patterns do seem to dissipate
So I've got a theory that all of influencer culture boils down to fashion market editors. Geek culture & gun culture look identical to flipping through a shopping magazine like Vogue now.
Kinda revealing that “tacticool” is best understood as a fashion trend. South Park parodied gun culture as a dog-show culture. Fetish gun culture, as opposed to practical use cultures like hunting or military, is shaped by emulation rather than the demands of actual tasks