One of the major roles of academics is to put words and define concepts around things that already exist but that lay people do not consciously think about.
The idea of pondering the role of masculinity comes from the feelings and actions men feel and take, it doesn't define them the other way around.
> One of the major roles of academics is to put words and define concepts around things that already exist but that lay people do not consciously think about.
But people _do_ consciously think about it. Most people have conceptions, insecurities, and pride around what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. They are not studying things that people express but are unconscious or indifferent towards.
The idea of pondering the role of masculinity comes from the feelings and actions men feel and take, it doesn't define them the other way around.