Toxic masculinity

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Toxic masculinity (German “toxic masculinity” or “poisonous masculinity”) is a term that comes from sociology and originated there in the context of the negotiations on hegemonic masculinity . Studies on hegemonic masculinity examine the social practices and systemic power structures of a society that maintain or reinforce the dominant position of men and at the same time maintain the subordinate position of non-men (women and other gender identities ). Attention is also paid to the prevailing notions of masculinity in a society, which can be described by men and collective male structures using corresponding behavior patterns and relationship concepts. Sociological gender research assumes that some of the behaviors and manners used to demonstrate masculinity are to be understood as toxic or harmful, especially because they create a very one-dimensional and template-like image of manhood. This image of masculinity (understood as toxic) includes: a .:

  • Men mustn't show weakness, they have to be tough.
  • Feelings should be hidden or suppressed as much as possible, unless it is anger or aggression . Conflicts are resolved through violence .
  • A true man does not articulate his fears and worries, but keeps them to himself.
  • Men are not overwhelmed or helpless; they tackle problems and overcome them without having to seek help from others.
  • Forms of behavior that are considered effeminate or effeminate (crying, shyness, fear, loving or tender gestures, etc.) do not belong to a real man.
  • When dealing with others, men are generally geared towards competition and dominance , not cooperation.
  • A real man always wants sex and is always ready for it.
  • Men and women are fundamentally unable to understand each other or be friends with each other.
  • Men whose bodies do not correspond to the masculine ideal (broad-shouldered, muscular, tall, pain-resistant) are not taken seriously or are laughed at.

A number of euphemistic words exist for forms of toxic masculinity , including alpha male and macho male. Masculinity has to be proven again and again, for example through tests of courage, drinking games, physical strength tests or humiliation rituals towards others.

The term toxic masculinity is often misinterpreted as an insinuation that all male behavior is fundamentally to be understood as harmful or bad. In fact, toxic masculinity means the stereotypical, repressive notions of the male gender role in a society that limit the types of emotions and behaviors boys and men are allowed to display (and which are not). These forms of behavior of toxic masculinity are demanded and forced by society; This includes smiling at, laughing at, belittling, condemning, hurting, exposing, insulting, insulting and discriminating against men who do not correspond to the idea of ​​being a man. One of the central concerns of gender research that deals with toxic masculinity is to show that men are also under the power structures of patriarchy , i. H. the images of masculinity and role stereotypes propagated in this way.

history

In addition to its academic position in sociology, psychology and gender research, the idea of ​​toxic masculinity can mainly be traced back to the views of the mythopoetic men's movement of the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, men were turning against traditional post-war masculinity concepts; through self-help they wanted to separate their true masculinity from the poisonous masculinity that society had forced upon them. Toxic masculinity stands for the gender norm that forces men to suppress their feelings and to be dominant or aggressive.

The mythopoetic men's movement wants to leave the archetypal idea of ​​the man as a warrior or king behind and critically question the idea of ​​biological determinism (“men are just like that”) and hierarchical thinking (“men are entitled to a dominant position”). Prof. Shepherd Bliss, one of the leading figures in the men's movement, contrasts this with the image of cooperative masculinity in the pre-industrial era, when men worked together instead of against each other. Bliss has made a number of suggestions on how to overcome toxic masculinity, including:

  1. Father-son relationship: Fathers shouldn't keep their sons at a distance, but show them love and affection as much as mothers. Bliss also appeals to forgive one's fathers if they were not equally able to show care.
  2. Maintaining friendships among men that are not geared towards competition but towards cooperation and mutual support.
  3. Pay attention to the well-being of your own body and take its warning signals seriously (seek medical and therapeutic help if necessary).
  4. Establishing modes in which men can allow intimacy (not sexual intimacy, but mutual trust).
  5. The establishment of modes in which men can allow and show feelings instead of suppressing them.
  6. Committing to a more positive body image for men, not shaming oneself and others for their appearance.

In his work Iron John: A Book about Men (1990), Robert Bly has shown how men are trapped in a toxic masculinity that requires efficiency, competition and emotional distance from them and thus keeps them apart; Thanks to the absence of fathers, boys and men experience closeness and warmth primarily through women.

Explanatory models

Often reference is made to (evolutionary) biological factors that attempt to explain toxic masculinity through the nature of men. Men are, thanks to the need to survive ( natural selection ) and reproduce ( sexual selection ), poled to appear aggressive and dominant. The toxin is therefore testosterone , which makes men a danger.

The assumption that forms of toxic masculinity are usually learned from childhood on as socially standardized behavior (“boys don't cry”, “boys just fight each other”) stands against the biological approach. If aggressive behavior is prevented in girls, it is more likely to be tolerated or even supported in boys. Author Jack Urwin noted:

“In English there is the term 'toxic masculinity', a form of masculinity that is based on dominance and violence and does not allow feelings. It is a problem when boys and men are told over and over that a 'real guy' doesn't cry, has an extravagant and downright animal sexuality and has to put aside everything that gets in his way - a problem for women and Men. It is this form of masculinity that we need to address. That it is widespread does not mean that it is in the 'nature' of anyone. "

The possible consequences of toxic masculinity include riskier and more violent behavior, but also loneliness and social isolation , depression and a higher suicide rate , especially since those affected do not seek therapy because of the supposed stigma. It is also assumed that there is a tendency towards a higher risk of work addiction (up to burn-out ), alcohol addiction and substance abuse .

Media processing

A number of media presentations deal with the concept of toxic masculinity.

The Gillette brand's advertising film, which was released on January 13, 2019 under the title We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film) , which recreates various scenarios of how men practice or experience toxic masculinity.

The Disney-Pixar short animation film Purl , released on February 4, 2019, also deals with the subject: Here it is a ball of wool that has to assert itself in the male working world, but is perceived as too soft and then one's own appearance and behavior adapts.

The organization White Ribbon also published the PSA video Boys Don't Cry on February 26, 2019 .

criticism

The term toxic masculinity has met with criticism and is controversial since it was first coined.

Linguistically, the thoroughly polemical attribute toxic suggests the misleading short-circuit that masculinity or male behavior should be understood as toxic per se ( The idea that all men are inherently bad for being men ), which is due to the vagueness of the formulation and a comprehensive discourse therefore initiated which male behavior should be socially tolerated or prohibited and who has the power to dispose of such provisions. The term is also viewed with suspicion because it seems hollowed out as a buzzword and has been condensed in the hashtag culture of the 21st century into theses condensed into slogans with an accusatory character (e.g. #MasculinitySoFragile, #FailingMasculinity).

When it comes to content criticism, a whole spectrum of reactions emerges, ranging from (a) the fundamental questioning of the hegemonic position of men in society, the structural disadvantage of men (e.g. in terms of parental leave or the debates about the quota for women ) is opposed, (b) denying the existence of toxic masculinity in a society and (c) questioning the toxicity of the behaviors and manners understood here, which are instead interpreted as part of normal, biologically based behavior.

Examples

A prominent example is Terry Crews , who, as part of the #MeToo movement, publicly admitted on Twitter on October 10, 2017, that he had been sexually molested at a party in February 2016 by a Hollywood producer who grabbed his crotch . Crews, however, initially did not file a complaint and did not make the case public because he feared the consequences, especially as a black man in show business. Following his public confession in 2017, Crews was ridiculed on social media by various other male celebrities (including 50 Cent , Tariq Nasheed , Russell Simmons and DL Hughley ) why a strong man like him could not have defended himself . In his statement that Crews gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said:

"When my assault happened, quite honestly, I would probably have been laughed out of the police station. [...] This is how toxic masculinity permeates culture. As I told my story, I was told over and over that this was not abuse. That this was just a joke. That this was just horseplay. "

“When my abuse happened, honestly, I would have been laughed at at the police station. [...] This is how toxic masculinity permeates our culture. As I told my story, I was told over and over again: This was not abuse. It was just a joke. That was just fooling around. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What does Toxic Masculinity mean? Retrieved March 13, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Maya Salam: What Is Toxic Masculinity? In: The New York Times . January 22, 2019, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed March 13, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Jacey Fortin: Traditional Masculinity Can Hurt Boys, Say New APA Guidelines . In: The New York Times . January 10, 2019, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed March 13, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Katharina Alexander: When masculinity becomes toxic: This is how men suffer from gender roles. In: ze.tt. Retrieved March 13, 2019 (German).
  5. ↑ Martin Robinson: What is toxic masculinity? A sensitive person's guide. In: The Book of Man. November 29, 2018, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  6. ^ Shepherd Bliss: Revisioning Masculinity. A report on the growing men's movement . In: In Context: A quarterly of humane sustainable culture [Gender: Fresh Visions and Ancient Roots] . No. 16 , 1987, pp. 21 .
  7. ^ Robert Bly: Iron John: A Book About Men . Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA 1990.
  8. ↑ Linda L. Lindsey: Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective . 6th edition. Taylor and Francis, Abingdon, Oxon 2015, ISBN 978-0-205-89968-5 .
  9. ^ Dorian Furtuna: Male Aggression. In: Psychology Today. September 22, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2019 (American English).
  10. ↑ Toxic masculinity: The dangerous silence of men - derStandard.at. Retrieved April 4, 2019 (Austrian German).
  11. ↑ Jack Urwin: Boys don't Cry. Identity, feeling and masculinity. Translated from the English by Elvira Willems . Nautilus, 2017, ISBN 978-3-96054-042-7 .
  12. ↑ Mike C. Parent, Teresa D. Gobble, Aaron Rochlen: Social media behavior, toxic masculinity, and depression. In: Psychology of Men & Masculinity . April 23, 2018, ISSN  1939-151X , doi : 10.1037 / men0000156 .
  13. ↑ Fiza Pirani: 'Traditional masculinity' officially deemed 'harmful' by the American Psychological Association. In: The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Gillette: We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film). January 13, 2019, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Disney • Pixar: Purl | Pixar SparkShorts. February 4, 2019, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  16. ↑ White Ribbon: Boys Don't Cry | White Ribbon PSA. February 26, 2019, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Eric Anderson: 'Toxic Masculinity' why we need to stop using the phrase. In: The Book of Man. April 15, 2018, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Word of the Year 2018 is ... | Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved March 14, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Nina Apin: Debate about "toxic masculinity": Problematic guys . In: The daily newspaper: taz . July 14, 2017, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed April 4, 2019]).
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/HuffPostWomen/status/854394368115003393
  21. ↑ https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/twitter-hashtag-failing-masculinity_us_58f62238e4b0bb9638e67f46?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8F3Srfcs
  22. ↑ https://mic.com/articles/125752/masculinity-so-fragile-hashtag-exposes-toxic-masculinity-standards#.EslfCKfbG
  23. ^ Gad Saad: Is Toxic Masculinity a Valid Concept? In: Psychology Today. Retrieved March 8, 2008, March 14, 2019 (UK English).
  24. ↑ Terry Crews: My wife n I were at a Hollywood function last year ... In: Twitter @terrycrews. October 10, 2017, accessed on March 14, 2019 .
  25. ^ ET Canada: 50 Cent Mocks Terry Crews' Assault. June 27, 2018, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Celebrities Mock Terry Crews Sexual Assault Claims Because He's Too Strong To Get Assaulted, He Shuts Them Down. Retrieved March 14, 2019 (American English).
  27. ^ C-SPAN: Terry Crews complete opening statement (C-SPAN). June 26, 2018, accessed March 14, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Jessica M. Goldstein: 'I believed no one would believe me': Terry Crews' powerful testimony on sexual assault. In: Think Progress. June 27, 2018, Retrieved March 14, 2019 (American English).