Toxic Masculinity vs Masculinity

By Aaron Patel | For Ms. Walling’s Blogspot | Posted: January 17, 2020

Photo was taken during the Women’s March in San Francisco. It can also represent how there is more than one way to “be a man”. (Sundry Photography, 2019)

What does it mean to be a man? Over the years we’ve created definitions for certain terms like masculinity and toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is a type of behaviour exhibited by certain men. This behaviour can be described with having traits attached to it such as suppressed emotions, being strong, being violent, falling into the traditional male culture, risk-takers, purposefully ignoring weakness and anti-femininity. On the other hand, masculinity displays attributes of security, confidence, humble, respect, kindness, and grace. Both definitions are separate, yet somehow over the years, we’ve come to meld those two definitions into one to the point that masculinity has become a perversion of what it once was.

The problem with this is that men have started to be negatively influenced by the overuse and generalization of the term toxic masculinity, as well as that behaviour exhibited by certain men. Men hear this term and it makes them believe that they, in fact, are toxic. It has perpetuated a violent cycle within men that causes them to fall into the “boys will be boys” behaviour. This has additionally led to major mental health problems for men such as depression and suicide. Canadian studies show that men are 4 times more likely to kill themselves vs women. What could be the reason for this? One of the reasons for this is the fact that we have taught men to suppress their emotions. This leads to men not feeling comfortable sharing their emotions during times of distress. If men don’t address their feelings, they don't know how to handle them. There are obviously other factors involved in this, but one of those factors is the negative impacts that misdefinition has had on our society.

In conclusion, toxic masculinity is a type of behaviour exhibited by certain men. This behaviour can be described with having traits attached to it such as suppressed emotions, being strong, being violent, falling into the traditional male culture, risk-takers, purposefully ignoring weakness and anti-femininity. This has harmed all of society, but more to males than previously thought of before. We need to open up to men to get them to talk about their emotions before the problem gets worse. One of the big problems is that we don’t know what masculinity truly is and therefore we can teach it to younger generations, otherwise we would. A big part of the solution is trying to destroy acts os toxic masculinity around us. The simple fact remains that toxic masculinity has changed what it means to be a man forever, and it’s unknown if we’ll be able to recover from it.

Photo Citation:
https://images.theconversation.com/files/257264/original/file-20190205-86202-1pb321c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip

Works Cited:
Morgan, Ashley. “The Real Problem with Toxic Masculinity Is That It Assumes There Is Only One Way of Being a Man.” The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2019, http://www.theconversation.com/the-real-problem-with-toxic-masculinity-is-that-it-assumes-there-is-only-one-way-of-being-a-man-110305

Salam, Maya. “What Is Toxic Masculinity?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html.

Giese, Rachel. “Toxic Masculinity Harmful for Women and Really, Really Bad for Me.” National Post, National Post, 14 May 2019, https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/toxic-masculinity-harmful-for-women-and-really-really-bad-for-me.

CityNews, Toronto. “St. Michael's College School Students Expelled after Video of Alleged Group Sex Assault Circulates.” CityNews Toronto, 15 Jan. 2019, https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/11/14/toronto-police-investigating-alleged-group-assault-at-st-michaels-college-school/.

Beaulieu, Marc. “Toxic Masculinity May Be Quadrupling the Suicide Rate for Canadian Men | CBC Life.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 13 June 2017, https://www.cbc.ca/life/wellness/toxic-masculinity-may-be-quadrupling-the-suicide-rate-for-canadian-men-1.4158731.

Mitchell, Nicholas. “The Making of a Man - How Toxic Masculinity Reproduces and Justifies Itself.” The Good Men Project, 9 Nov. 2016, https://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/the-making-of-a-man-how-toxic-masculinity-reproduces-and-justifies-itself-dg/.

APA GUIDELINES for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men. Aug. 2018, https://www.apa.org/about/policy/boys-men-practice-guidelines.pdf.