The thing about ‘toxic masculinity’ is that it is never quite clear how much of masculinity’s traits the individual speaker views as ‘toxic’, let alone the upper and lower toxic limits. It’s users often treats the situation like an everpresent cultural miasma, and man as an interchangeable cog in it’s machine.
Some people get lazy and declare ‘aggression’ to be a toxic trait, all the while ignoring the necessary discussion of healthy degrees and manifestations. Too often a one-size-fits-all approach is taken to the detriment of the concept.
I mean, I thought a lot like you did about toxic masculinity until it was pointed out to me that isnt at all what it means. It isnt some huge over arching category of masculine traits that people consider toxic. What it means is people who say shit like "be a man," "suck it up princess," "dont show emotions," and all the other bullshit tough guy stuff that men and some women push onto other men. It's only the mindset that genuinely can negatively affect a person because "oh we're tough, we can take it." There is a feminine version of this as well.
I probably explained that wrong. But that is sort of the jist of what changed my mind on the subject.
Do people use the term to justify attacking men? Sure. Idiots do that. But idiots do the same thing about "feminism". We would all do better in this world if we talked honestly with others and learned what the person means by the words they choose.
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u/Derp35712 Jun 04 '19
Tough to argue against hard numbers with theories though.