“Toxic masculinity” (also known as “harmful masculinity”) mostly involves cultural pressures for men to behave in a certain way. And it’s likely this affects all boys and men in some fashion. This in general is an adherence to restricting the often deadly cultural standards imposed for men and masculine-identifying people which makes knowing how to identify toxic masculinity in your life so important. Here are a few indicators of it that you could look out for:
Toxic masculinity demands that "real men" be tough, and that these genuine strong men show no emotion. Men are taught to not allow themselves to feel vulnerable and ''man up’’ when facing unpleasant emotions, so instead of actively working towards dealing with them, they resort to bottling up the emotions. When someone has a strong reluctance to expressing emotion, it's a sure symptom of toxic masculinity.
Small squabbles can sometimes escalate into heated debates. However, the true issue occurs when these tensions manifest as violence. Many times, men who are victims of toxic masculinity feel that they are physically stronger than the other individual and hence more prone to rage and violence, which is highly illogical and is widely prevalent in our society.
This involves the idea that men should reject anything that is considered to be feminine, such as showing emotion, accepting help, dressing up in certain colours and not engaging in housework and childrearing. If a man is being criticised by a woman for not cleaning appropriately, it is often interpreted as an emasculating assault and provokes an overcompensation response.
Men, just like women, are constricted by stereotypes and penalised if they act outside their traditional gender roles. For example, men may be hesitant to take parental leave due to stigma or fear of being penalised at work. Some of the prevailing stereotypes are ‘’ Only men should provide to the family’’, ‘’Men shouldn’t cry’’, ‘’Men should be good at sports’’ and so on. When such stereotypes are expected to be followed, it is a big sign of toxic masculinity.
Many men are programmed to react negatively to the concept of homosexuality as it is a sign of deviating from the traditional male stereotype. From an early age, boys are learning about gender roles, men are taught that to be homosexual is to be less masculine. Throwing hate at individuals who belong to the LGBTQ+ community indicates toxic masculinity.
