TOXIC MASCULINITY AND THE ROLE OF MEDIA BY TAYA FEDORCHUK

TOXIC MASCULINITY AND THE ROLE OF MEDIA 

By Taya Fedorchuk for Ms. Walling's Grade 12 BlogSpot Posted January 16th 2020

Image made by Taya Fedorchuk

Canadian media has a crucial role in accurately addressing and explaining topics related to the well-being of men and women. Unfortunately, the media has been missing its mark. The continued misdirection and spin of media have downplayed the effect toxic masculinity has on men, women, and sexual violence. This lack of accurate representation has swayed the conversation away from the harmful effects of toxic masculinity and toward the divisiveness of politics.

So, what is toxic masculinity? Toxic masculinity is defined as the harmful preconceived ideas of what it is to be a man. These ideas include hypersexuality, violence, emotionlessness, and dominance. The constant normalization of the degradation of women in the justification of “being a man” has been a factor in sexual violence against women and a lack of punishment for the perpetrator. 

“Men who possess hostile masculine or hyper-masculine attitudes are more likely to self-report sexual aggression against women.” - Social Psychologist Sarah Murnen

The fact that generations of boys and men have not been punished for this kind of behaviour and fact that the men have consistently held higher positions of power has contributed to this injustice.

News stations and press have not been addressing these concerns accurately enough though. The media is more comfortable with blaming the victim of the crime or blaming an unrelated aspect entirely E.g. video games. Additionally, some sources have created the false narrative that the term emasculates men and demonizes masculinity entirely. This is not the case, the addition of the word “toxic” in toxic masculinity ensures that the term is only addressing the harmful aspect of masculinity and not masculinity as a concept.

Furthermore, the use of toxic masculinity in the wrong context in far-left sources has left a bad taste in the mouth of many conservatives. The overuse in liberal sources has turned the term into a “blame all men” concept when it isn’t only a men’s issue. These examples have left the term meaningless and have transformed it into another radical feminist buzz word.

So, what can we do to stop this spread of misinformation? We can use the term toxic masculinity in the right context and hold those accountable who intentionally misinterpret it. We can also share the real impacts on both men and women. By talking about it more accurately and addressing the systematic teachings of toxic masculinity, we will come closer to achieving gender equality.

Works Cited

Murnen, S. K. “A social constructivist approach to understanding the relationship between masculinity and sexual aggression.” Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039693

Progress on Women’s Rights: Missing in Action, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2014, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/progress-women%E2%80%99s-rights-missing-action

Rotenberg, Cristine. “From Arrest to Conviction: Court Outcomes of Police-Reported Sexual Assaults in Canada.” Statistics Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, 26 Oct. 2017, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/54870-eng.htm.