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I have some questions for the guys of SE!

In Spire, my deuteragonist Kit is flamboyant, dramatic, and not very traditionally masculine.  He’s not effeminate though, and really displays a great understanding and practice of Biblical masculinity.  One of the antagonists, Alastor, has always been particularly cruel towards him about this, and I couldn’t figure out why.  It seemed to go beyond standard bullying – it feels personal, but I just can’t put a finger on it.  I’ve had this lingering suspicion that it might be due to insecurity on his part, which is why I’ve decided to come to you all for help.

As a girl, I haven’t really experienced this in the same way, because there’s different pressures on girls than on boys.  One thing that I’ve noticed sometimes is that sometimes certain kinds of guys feel like they have to be more masculine, and it comes out in really unhealthy ways.  Now to be clear, I’m not referring to guys who are just very traditionally masculine and have traditionally masculine hobbies and interests.  Like, you might have a guy who really likes guns and pickup trucks, but he treats people with kindness and respect and he’s honorable and gentle towards women.  That’s healthy and good.  On the other hand, you have a guy who really likes guns and pickup trucks, but he’s preoccupied with dominating other people on the road and gets angry if he sees a girl with bigger truck than him.  That’s unhealthy, and that’s a little bit more of the character Alastor is – he’s socially aggressive (the majority of the cast is in a rigid upper class setting, so most damage is done socially, rather than physically), demeaning towards people he perceives as weak, and really seems to have an issue with Kit in particular.  I think it might be relevant that Kit is extremely bold and confident, and again, hardly weak or effeminate (I think this was the thing that made me realize that it wasn’t just standard bullying, which would also be perfectly in character.)  Also, as far as I know, Alastor really seems like an unbeliever (although, he might be following this world’s version of “cultural Christianity.”)  Kit’s also not the first person he’s treated this way, but I think he’s getting treated especially poorly because he’s so unconcerned with social norms – which also feels like a cause for insecurity.

As I mentioned in the previous discussion about writing male characters, I haven’t always had great examples of Biblical masculinity growing up, and this topic is particularly interesting to me both from a writing perspective and a personal perspective.  As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to see this kind of behavior through a lens of insecurity, but I’d like to know from a guy’s perspective if this is really the case.  If this is true, and if there’s a good chance that Alastor’s behavior is coming from a place of insecurity, then I want to give him the option of growing out of that lie and healing (regardless of whether or not he chooses to do so.)

So, my question is: Does anyone have any insights into Alastor’s insecurity, or why he might be acting this way (or feel like his behavior is justified?)  I always want to be fair to all of my characters (even antagonists) and I would love to have some perspective on what might be the root of this behavior.  Also, some of this might not be related to any gender issues, and might just be a case of characters being difficult, and in that case I’d still love to hear people’s perspectives XD

Thanks guys!