4 ms·

"Toxic masculinity" refers to the masculine role/behaviors taught to boys from infancy (but really the "toxic" part is meant to soften the criticism for a centr

"Toxic masculinity" refers to the masculine role/behaviors taught to boys from infancy (but really the "toxic" part is meant to soften the criticism for a centrist audience). Who would insult men for being biologically male? What would be the ends of that? The point is to assert that these behaviors are both optional and destructive to teach to just one sex. A constructive human ideal should be taught to everyone, ignoring sex like one would ignore race or shoe size or other physical property.

totalZero 9y ago
> Who would insult men for being biologically male? If you can't see through the rhetorical bent of the term "toxic masculinity," then I will try to show you how I see it. To argue that this isn't an attack on masculinity, let's replace the noun only. It's like saying "toxic communism" but arguing that the phrase is not an attack on communism. Are you saying there is a special, clearly defined sort of masculinity that is toxic, yet extricable from masculinity itself? That's a tall order.
- archagon 9y ago
  > Are you saying there is a special, clearly defined sort of masculinity that is toxic, yet extricable from masculinity itself? I mean, whether or not the lines can be cleanly drawn, there is quite obviously a divide. Think humble family man vs. aggressive jock. (Or, if you’re Christian, Jesus is a perfect example of non-toxic masculinity.) Unfortunately, we often seem to glorify the toxic kind in our media: warriors, gangsters, womanizers. Also, there are plenty of cultures around the world that do masculinity very differently than we in the West — and it has little to do with relative levels of testosterone. I think it’s also disingenuous to say that toxic masculinity poorly defined. It’s not a buzzword, but an entire subfield of sociology that has years of research behind it.

totalZero 9y ago

> Who would insult men for being biologically male? If you can't see through the rhetorical bent of the term "toxic masculinity," then I will try to show you how I see it. To argue that this isn't an attack on masculinity, let's replace the noun only. It's like saying "toxic communism" but arguing that the phrase is not an attack on communism. Are you saying there is a special, clearly defined sort of masculinity that is toxic, yet extricable from masculinity itself? That's a tall order.

archagon 9y ago
> Are you saying there is a special, clearly defined sort of masculinity that is toxic, yet extricable from masculinity itself? I mean, whether or not the lines can be cleanly drawn, there is quite obviously a divide. Think humble family man vs. aggressive jock. (Or, if you’re Christian, Jesus is a perfect example of non-toxic masculinity.) Unfortunately, we often seem to glorify the toxic kind in our media: warriors, gangsters, womanizers. Also, there are plenty of cultures around the world that do masculinity very differently than we in the West — and it has little to do with relative levels of testosterone. I think it’s also disingenuous to say that toxic masculinity poorly defined. It’s not a buzzword, but an entire subfield of sociology that has years of research behind it.