The Stygian Masquerade :: An Advisory Book

〆 Toxic Masculinity

This chapter, like the title suggests elaborates on toxic masculinity.

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○ What is Toxic Masculinity and when did this come about?

● Toxic masculinity involves cultural pressures for men to behave in a certain way. Affecting both adult males and adolescent boys. Toxic masculinity refers to the notion that some people's idea of "manliness" perpetuates domination, homophobia, and aggression.

◍ Toxic Masculinity was coined in the late 20th century. Toxic masculinity was spread to therapeutic and social policy settings since the early 21st century and since 2013 the feminists began attributing to the misogyny, homophobia and violence that men do due to the supposed 'way of how men act'.

○ Why is it considered ideal?

● Toxic masculinity teaches young boys to be embarrassed about their emotions and hide them, or avoid communicating them – unless it's anger. So, a typical rebuff to an upset boy would be to 'man up'. Tim Winton, an author, described it as "boys having the tenderness shamed out of them".

For centuries, male violence and acts of aggression were often the way that power was understood and patriarchy upheld. In contemporary times, in more moderate societies, this has become somewhat tempered, yet it still exists in different forms and has now been given the name "toxic masculinity".

This phrase has long been used by academics to define regular acts of aggression used by men in positions of power to dominate people around them. In the late 1980s, Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell described the ways that white middle-class men used their power and positions to suppress traditionally socially marginalized groups such as women, gay men and working-class men. This idea has since been extended to include other behaviors, such as aggressive competitiveness and intolerance of others.

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◍ Toxic masculinity is not just harmful to boys. Conformity to toxic masculine behavior such as dominance and aggression is harmful to our society as a whole. This desire for superiority challenges women's basic human rights and can be linked to the prevalence of harassment and sexual assaults.

It contributes to ongoing issues like mental health stigma, rape culture and violence by encouraging men to avoid vulnerability, ignore personal traumas and act on homophobic or misogynistic beliefs.

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◍ Now, unlearning something that you personally grew up learning is hard. But sometimes, we need to unlearn toxic ways that we were taught as a child, including Toxic Masculinity. And ultimately, working through Toxic Masculinity is about respect. Respect for others and respect for yourself. Respect for the autonomy of other beings (like women) and thoughtful respect for your own humanity—divorced from toxic gendered norms. Learn to be vulnerable, learn that emotions exist and are completely alright to burst out. Listen and restrict yourself from acting on violence and aggression.

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Learn the way to Healthy Masculinity. And Be free from Toxic Masculinity. 

Here are some tips to have a healthy masculinity mindset. ➷

And here are some more in-depth information about Toxic Masculinity. ➷

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Provided by our Ace _-WiSTERiA-_.

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