Toxic masculinity

The concept of toxic masculinity is used in the social sciences to describe traditional norms of behavior among men in contemporary American and European society that are associated with detrimental social and psychological effects. Such "toxic" masculine norms include dominance, devaluation of women, extreme self-reliance, and the suppression of emotions.

Conformity with certain traits viewed as traditionally male, such as misogyny, homophobia, and violence, can be considered "toxic" due to harmful effects on others in society, while related traits, including self-reliance and the stifling of emotions, are correlated with harm to men themselves through psychological problems such as depression, increased stress, and substance abuse. Other traditionally masculine traits such as devotion to work, pride in excelling at sports, and providing for one's family, are not considered to be "toxic".

Toxic masculine norms are characteristic of the unspoken code of behavior among men in American prisons. The term toxic masculinity has also been used by some in the mythopoetic men's movement in contrast to a "real" or "deep" masculinity that they say men have lost touch with in modern society.

Overview

The concept of toxic masculinity is used in the social sciences to highlight the idea that some traditional norms of masculine behavior – ideas of how men should behave – are in fact harmful to men, women and society overall.[1][2] Terry Kupers, a professor at The Wright Institute school of psychology, defines toxic masculinity as "the constellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia and wanton violence".[3][4] The concept of toxic masculinity is not intended to demonize men or male attributes, but rather to emphasize the harmful effects of conformity to certain traditional masculine ideal behaviors such as dominance, self-reliance, and competition.[1][2]

According to Kupers, the term toxic masculinity serves to outline aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are socially destructive, "such as misogyny, homophobia, greed, and violent domination". Kupers states that other aspects of hegemonic masculinity such as "pride in [one's] ability to win at sports, to maintain solidarity with a friend, to succeed at work, or to provide for [one's] family", are not part of the concept of toxic masculinity.[3]

According to the psychologist Ronald F. Levant, the socialization of boys into gender roles idealizing toughness, dominance, self-reliance, and the restriction of emotion can begin as early as infancy. Such norms are transmitted by parents, other male relatives, and members of the community. Many media representations of masculinity on websites such as YouTube promote similar stereotypical "alpha-male" gender roles.[5]

Bullying of boys by their peers and domestic violence experienced by boys at home can also be expressions of toxic masculinity, which creates hierarchies that benefit some males and harm others.[6] In American prisons, toxic masculinity is reflected in the behavior of both male staff and inmates. The qualities of extreme self-reliance, domination of other men through violence, and avoiding the appearance of either femininity or weakness, become necessary coping skills and comprise an unspoken code among prisoners.[7][8] These conditions, defined by harsh punishment, suppression of emotions, social isolation, and aggression, likely play a role in suicide among male prisoners.[7][9]

Health effects

Men who adhere to traditionally masculine cultural norms, such as risk-taking, violence, dominance, primacy of work, disdain for homosexuality, need for emotional control, desire to win, and pursuit of social status, tend to be more likely to experience psychological problems such as depression, stress, body image problems, substance abuse, and poor social functioning.[10] The effect tends to be stronger in men who also emphasize "toxic" masculine norms, such as self-reliance, seeking power over women, and sexual promiscuity or "playboy" behavior.[2][11]

The social value of self-reliance has diminished over time as modern society has moved more toward interdependence. Both self-reliance and the stifling of emotional expression can work against mental health, as they make it less likely for men to seek psychological help or to possess the ability to deal with difficult emotions.[5] Preliminary research suggests that cultural pressure for men to be stoic and self-reliant may also shorten men's lifespans by causing them to be less likely to discuss health problems with their physicians.[12][13]

Toxic masculinity is also implicated in socially-created public health problems, such as elevated rates of skin cancer among men,[14] and the role of “trophy-hunting” sexual behavior in rates of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.[15]

Men's movements

Some authors associated with the mythopoetic men's movement use the term toxic masculinity to contrast societal expectations that men be violent, competitive, independent, and unfeeling with a "real" or "deep" masculinity that they say men have lost touch with in modern society.[16][17] Shepherd Bliss proposed a return to agrarianism as an alternative to the "potentially toxic masculinity" of the warrior ethic.[18]

Psychiatrist Frank Pittman wrote about the ways in which men are harmed by traditional masculine norms, including through shorter lifespans and greater incidence of violent death and ailments such as lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. He suggested in 1993 that such toxic masculinity originates in men being raised by women in the absence of male role models. Feminist author John Stoltenberg, on the other hand, approached toxic masculinity from an antimasculinist perspective.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hess, Peter (21 November 2016). "Sexism may be bad for men's mental health". Popular Science.
  2. 1 2 3 Kaplan, Sarah (22 November 2016). "Sexist men have psychological problems". The Washington Post.
  3. 1 2 Kupers, Terry A. (June 2005). "Toxic masculinity as a barrier to mental health treatment in prison". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 61 (6): 713–724. doi:10.1002/jclp.20105.
  4. ↑ Kupers, Terry A. (2010). "Role of Misogyny and Homophobia in Prison Sexual Abuse" (PDF). UCLA Women's Law Journal. 18 (1): 107–30.
  5. 1 2 Weir, Kirsten (February 2017). "The men America left behind". Monitor on Psychology. American Psychological Association. 48 (2): 34.
  6. ↑ Keith, Thomas. Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture: An Intersectional Approach to the Complexities and Challenges of Male Identity. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-31-759534-2.
  7. 1 2 Kupers, Terry A. (2004). "Prisons". In Kimmel, Michael S.; Aronson, Amy. Men and Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 630–633. ISBN 978-1-57-607774-0.
  8. ↑ Kupers, Terry A. (2007). "Working with men in prison". In Flood, Michael; et al. International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities. Routledge. pp. 648–649. ISBN 978-1-13-431707-3.
  9. ↑ Friedman, Howard S., ed. (2015). Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Oxford, UK; Waltham, Massachusetts: Academic Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-12-397753-3.
  10. ↑ Wong, Y. Joel; et al. (2017). "Meta-analyses of the relationship between conformity to masculine norms and mental health-related outcomes" (PDF). Journal of Counseling Psychology. 64 (1): 80–93. doi:10.1037/cou0000176.
  11. ↑ Panko, Ben (22 November 2016). "Sexism Sucks for Everybody, Science Confirms". Smithsonian.
  12. ↑ Horowitz, Kate (28 March 2016). "Psychologists Say Macho Behavior May Help Explain Men’s Shorter Lifespans". Mental Floss.
  13. ↑ Ellis, Marie (24 March 2016). "'Tough guys' less likely to be honest with doctor". Medical News Today.
  14. ↑ Nicholas, Donald R. (July 2000). "Men, Masculinity, and Cancer: Risk-factor Behaviors, Early Detection, and Psychosocial Adaptation". Journal of American College Health. 49 (1): 27–33. ISSN 0744-8481. PMID 10967881. doi:10.1080/07448480009596279.
  15. ↑ Muparamoto, Nelson (December 2012). "‘Trophy-hunting scripts’ among male university students in Zimbabwe" (PDF). African Journal of AIDS Research. 11 (4): 319–326. ISSN 1608-5906. PMID 25860190. doi:10.2989/16085906.2012.754831.
  16. ↑ Ferber, Abby L. (2004). "Racial Warriors and Weekend Warriors: The Construction of Masculinity in Mythopoetic and White Supremacist Discourse". In Murphy, Peter F. Feminism and Masculinities. Oxford University Press. pp. 228–243. ISBN 978-0-19-926724-8.
  17. ↑ Longwood, W. Merle; Schipper, William C.; Culbertson, Philip; Kellom, Gar (2012). Forging the Male Spirit: The Spiritual Lives of American College Men. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 65–6. ISBN 978-1-55-635305-5.
  18. ↑ Hartman, Rebecca (2003). "Agrarianism". In Carroll, Bret. American Masculinities: A Historical Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-1-45-226571-1.
  19. ↑ Dowd, Nancy E. (2000). Redefining Fatherhood. New York University Press. pp. 185–6. ISBN 0-8147-1925-2. [Pittman] links toxic masculinity to men being raised by women without male role models. In his view, if men raised children they would save their lives, and save the world. On the other hand, John Stoltenberg views toxic masculinity from a strongly antimasculinist, radical feminist perspective, arguing that masculinity can be serious, pervasive, and hateful.

Further reading

Academic sources

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