The novel Fight Club explores men's struggles with masculinity during a period of rising feminism. Many men felt vulnerable or lacked a strong male role model. The narrator and Tyler start a "fight club" where men can experience violence as a way to feel manly. Some men turn to unhealthy behaviors like steroid use or develop mental health issues from feeling confused about their identity and shrinking power in society. The narrator specifically struggles with insomnia until finding a role model in Tyler and a way to boost his confidence through the fight club.