It is clearly difficult to summarize the situation and state of research on men, masculinities and cultural formations in Europe. There are of course broad patterns, but it should be strongly emphasized that the social and cultural contexts of research in different European countries are very varied indeed. With this caveat strongly in mind, this article seeks to describe some of the main contours of critical research on men in Europe, without essentializing them or creating some mythical notion of "European-ness".