Why Are Men Discriminated in Society As Toxic Masculinity?

Toxic is not a good thing at all. Masculinity defend as a characteristic of men or the role that a man supposed to play. Now when you put the two words together Toxic Masculinity you think of a poison, harmful or ill man. The effect Toxic Masculinity has on man and as well as woman is that man are supposed to act dominant and women supposed to be passive. Our society label men as strong, aggressive and violent as their characteristics and woman as weak, nurturing, emotional. Toxic Masculinity is a system in which society confer greater level of power and influence on male than on females. Why are men discriminated in society as Toxic Masculinity? Men are expected to act in a role of masculine don’t show any emotions, keep everything bottle down and that can lead to self-destructive behavior in men. I will examine the difference among masculine and female characteristics, and show how these variations cause poisonous masculinity amongst males. Since birth, men and women have been handled differently. Whether this is through the way parents raised them or the way society tells them they have to act. Imagine you are strolling in the mall when a pleasing couple with a stroller is walking toward you. As you pass by, you Trice 2 glance into the stroller looking ahead to peer a lovable infant girl or a boy.

To your surprise, you see a small baby wearing yellow conserving a rattle. You recognize that without the social ques that let you know the gender of the child, blue or pink garb for example, you can’t with a bit of luck gender the baby. This demonstrates how society puts characteristics traits on male and female. The effect that Toxic Masculinity has on men and women is that society has set rules on characteristic each gender that men are supposed to be dominance over women. Growing up in church I heard that the man leads the household, that if the man don’t work he don’t eat. My understanding was that the woman stay home and take care of the children and household while the man works and provides for his family. Now, I think that was great back in the biblical days but in today world woman are working just as much as men are or even harder. The role that women are in today: are providing for their families, cooking and cleaning as well as taking care of their children. Our society say that men and women are equal but yet they are still treated different.

According to Callie Zimmerman “Women are more emotional than men” (web). Society expect men to feel less emotional than women, so men tend to suppress their feelings. This is a concept that has been deeply rooted in our society such that people believe it’s far true. It is, however, an assertion that cannot be proven. Men and women are alike in many ways; they are both human beings and created the same way just with different sex organs. The suppression of emotions has brought men to be depressed and lonely by bottling up the way they honestly feel. Zimmerman states, “Emotional stoicism is a result of sociocultural expectations and pressure that have built up over time, creating what some have termed toxic masculinity” (web). Aside from the organic and bodily variations between male and female, there may be emotional Trice 3 variations as well. A women who suggests dominance or power might be considered as a tomboy.

On the opposite side, a man who expresses his emotions might be called emotional and a sissy. As females are told they must be skinny and wear makeup, men have a list of requirements constructed with the aid of society they have to observe as well. Throughout records men had been given the greater risky jobs, while woman were given the passive jobs. In society today women are taking on those risky jobs. Back then, when one strays from these characteristics they are look down upon. Cornell (1987) wrote, “What it does imply is the maintenance of practices that institutionalize men’s dominance over women. In this sense hegemonic masculinity must embody a successful collective strategy in relation to women” (pg. 185). Toxic masculinity has been putting roles on men that are making men depressed and self-destructive. Toxic Masculinity is a system in which society put greater level of power and influence on male than on females. According to Christopher Kilmartin in the introduction to his book The Masculine Self, “patriarchy is a system in which a society confers greater levels of economic power, influence, and prestige on males than on females” (57).

In other words, its miles a system in society wherein guys get hold of the most strength and authority. Grayson Perry, author of The Descent of Man, mentions in his book that “men have been in power for so long, and have built a world that reflects them so accurately, that masculinity is woven into the very fabric of society” (32). Perry approach that men have been in power for decades and basically handed down to every generation and that being in power appears to be a “normal thing” in our society to this very moment. Men are raised a certain way because of our societal standards that was created to fit the term “masculinity.” Those are the molds as to where men are supposed to fit Trice 4 into. In a society men gain more power, influence and privilege to which women are not entitled to. An instance of male privilege is when a man is having an awful day, human beings aren’t going to charge it on his gender however if a female is having a horrific day, she may be blamed for her gender due to the fact she’s a “girl.” Women are victim of their own emotions. Toxic masculinity are killing our men.

Men are caught up in this image that they have to display to the world, that it is affecting their inner man. Men are predicted to act under a positive code that involves violence and sheltering emotions. Although it may no longer be bodily killing them, it’s far attacking them mentally. As long as these social cues are around the worse it will be for guys. If the arena continues telling men that they must fall into the strict pointers set by way of society, then we’re going to be left with statues: unmoving, emotionless, impossible-to-crack statues. In order for men to be looked as superior, high power he must first gain the status and achievement a “masculine” man would. In today world women have been viewed as the inferior to the man. I believe that men supposed to be leader and lead by example for their families, but society had put so much on a man that it’s causing men to build this wall up and bottle up their feelings. Men are expected to act in roles of inexpressiveness and independence which means taking charge and be disciplined in the most difficult times, to solve complications by himself, be tough, not express feelings to others, and “maintain emotional composure” (Kilmartin 53). Women are tormented by this in two important ways – firstly, they have a tendency to be excluded from selection and promotion opportunities due to the fact they aren’t manifesting the behaviors associated with right leadership.

Secondly, they may be endorsed to emulate these male behaviors on the way to progress. Toxic masculinity has been around for years and as you can see masculine power can be found in just about every men. This role that men has been put in Trice 5 has cause men to be look upon as discriminated in society as toxic masculinity now men our being called poisonous. Why are men discriminated in society as Toxic Masculinity? From an early age, men are taught to shape their masculine behaviors. Masculine gender roles and behaviors used by some male to show their manliness can lead them to a poisonous masculinity. Toxic masculinity promotes self-destructive behaviors and the in search of to govern others, every so often with aggressiveness. On a few occasions, toxic masculinity can lead to self-destructive actions. Some unfavorable behaviors are emotional instability, emotional manipulation, jealousy, possessiveness, neediness, violence and so forth. The simplest way men can get rid of all this pent-up aggression is to fight or devote crimes. Hegemonic masculinity is a manifestation of masculinities that is characterized by the enforcement of restrictions in behavior based on gender roles that serves to reinforce existing power structures that favor the dominance of men (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Courtenay, 2000).

Masculine depression is characterized by pressures felt by men to limit certain emotional expressions. Expressions of vulnerability and introspection are avoided to adhere more closely to masculine norms (Magovcevic & Addis, 2008). Toxic masculinity also includes a strong measure of the male proclivities that lead to resistance in psychotherapy (Brooks & Good, 2001; Meth & Pasick, 1990). Because our society is telling young boys not to express these feeling some grow up lashing out and hurting others. Experts, like Terry Kupers, believe toxic masculinity may be a root cause of why some men end up lashing out and hurting others, through psychological aggression, sexual assault, domestic violence, and even mass shooting. (Web) Toxic masculinity leaves little room for emotionally attached relationships and indicates that when guys have close male friends, they’re acting gay. Trice 6 Expressing emotion must be kept away from and feminine human beings are allowed to behave that way. Men are pressure into masculinity role at an early age, parents and society has created a theory that if a boy cry they are consider a weak. Toxic masculinity has influenced violence in our society and in history. When a man displays toxic masculinity he’s poisoning himself. Men are harming themselves and destroying our culture. And unfortunately, they’re mistreating human beings alongside the way.

Toxic masculinity generates violence in an attempt to manipulate others by promoting aggressive behaviors amongst men. Toxic masculinity became a term that is used to outline when a person is being toxic toward himself. Just like when you devour something this is toxic to your frame when guys act on masculine behaviors that are poisonous, they begin to poison themselves. Men discriminated in society as Toxic Masculinity because of their action. What I mean about that is men are using substance abuse to hide those feelings. Those feelings that they had bottle down in them for years because they couldn’t express them or even talk to anyone about it, they start using drugs and committed crimes. So society said those men that use to be “masculinity” and leader are now becoming poison “toxic” masculinity. But yes they still have power, influence and privilege just in a toxic way. Men has carry around these burden that they have to be prefect for society, that they forget to take care of them self causing them to be self-destructive and want to harm themselves and as well as others. The same society that put pressure on men is the same ones tearing them down; by not giving them the help that they need, when they first notice those signs of depression and self-destructive. Kilmartin mentions that “the most serious result of being interpersonally unconnected to others is its influence on men’s willingness to do physical and psychological harm to others” (57).

To similarly clarify, since guys have been taught to “hold their feelings and Trice 7 emotions locked” he will not recognize to express himself in terrible situations, which nicely then cause him turning into violent and act rashly against people he can’t understand or identify with. All of these consequences and cost are emotionally unfavorable to guys and their health and the worst element is, it can make them suicidal. In order to fix and assist our society grow to be an equal surroundings and get rid of toxic masculinity, we ought to first reconfigure the term “masculine” and what it is to be a conventional man. One will have to admit that they may be living in this poisonous masculine world. We have emerge as so use to this society where guys have more strength and respect, that it seems ordinary to us. To move far from this toxic society, we should let men choose their very own roles and their own personalities in place of forcing them to comply with these inflexible society norms. A man may not admit or realize that they’ve poisonous traits, but they do and it has affected both adult males and females. Understanding and solving the troubles that poisonous masculinity has brought will help us emerge as a better and more equal society. Society need to eliminating gendered insults such as “you throw like little girl” or “don’t be the sort of sissy” is also a major step in fixing toxic masculinity. We need to also pay both women and men the equal wages and allow them to work in any field they need whether it is “manly” or “feminine.” We may not live in this amazing, best world yet, but putting off the toxic things around it, it will assist us a step closer. Understanding and fixing the problems that toxic masculinity has added will assist us turn out to be a better and more identical society. We need to let men know that it is okay for men to have feelings, it is okay for men to cry, and that it is okay for men to be human.

By not telling men this as young boys this is causing them to be damage as men. Statistically, men are much more likely to grow to be alcoholics, depressed and arrested for violent crimes. Trice 8 Masculinity is a pattern of behaviors created inside the circle of parents and society. Sometimes these behaviors are exaggerated or misunderstood. Some men might think that doing manliness movements will shield others, however at the contrary, they can damage humans with their actions. In conclusion, a part of society and also the circle of parenting make masculinity poisonous. All expectations of manliness that men should follow on the way to be a man force them to fall into a toxic masculinity. Probably the society and those men aren’t aware about the damage induced by selling poisonous masculinity. I agree I think Toxic masculinity is destructive. The term toxic masculinity is useful in discussions about gender and forms of masculinity because it delineates those aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are socially destructive, such as misogyny, homophobia, greed, and violent domination; and those that are culturally accepted and valued (Kupers, 2001). If we can put off it from our way of life other prejudices and problems will follow. If we removed this fake male expectation, we could lessen misogyny, homophobia, violence, sexism and the harm that follows. If men should lose the toxic masculinity in their lifestyles then they would find themselves a happier and healthier human.

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