What Toxic Masculinity Actually Means

Originally shared by Pria Eirene Grace

There's a lot of confusion about what "toxic masculinity" means. Let's clear it up.

Toxic Masculinity is NOT

These are perfectly fine and have nothing to do with toxic masculinity:

• Having a beer with the boys
• Barbecuing
• Hunting and fishing
• Playing sports
• Taking the piss (friendly banter)
• Enjoying traditionally masculine things
• Having a beard

Being masculine is not toxic. Enjoying masculine activities and aesthetics is completely healthy.

Toxic Masculinity IS

These behaviors and attitudes are what the term actually refers to:

• Treating women as sex objects - Reducing people to their bodies
• "Lad Culture" and "Locker Room Talk" - Normalizing disrespectful speech about others
• Resorting to violence to resolve differences - Using aggression instead of communication
• Using "boys will be boys" as an excuse - Refusing to hold men accountable for harmful behavior
• Feeling like emotions aren't okay - Suppressing emotional expression and vulnerability
• Homophobia and fragility - Attacking men who don't display "typically masculine" traits (wearing makeup, different clothes, dancing, etc.)
• Domestic violence - Any form of abuse in relationships