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What you didn’t know about Toxic Masculinity and Men

Renato Marranzino

ENGL 2030 018

Toxic masculinity is a very real problem in our society today. Because of the very nature of toxic masculinity itself we as a people tend to overlook how men are affected by how toxic masculinity manifests itself in our everyday life and our ways of thinking. The negative stigma around what is considered masculine in our society is what the word “Toxic” refers to in toxic masculinity as it is something sickening and hateful.

Sissy! You big Baby! When are you going to Man up?

Childhood is full of phrases that can degrade a young impressionable boy. Implanting a desire to become more masculine in order to fit in, while at the same time not feeling as masculine as their peers. Needing to be masculine starts early and for some it will never be possible for them to view themselves as masculine.

For more information on common phrases and their impact visit:

Montero, Henry A., LMHC. "Depression in Men: The Cycle of Toxic Masculinity." PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986. December 5, 2018. https://www.psycom.net/depression-in-men/depression-in-men-toxic-masculinity/.

Stress and Loneliness

Toxic Masculinity contributes to stress and loneliness in men due to seem tough and to not show emotion. In the pursuit of being “tough” there are those that need serious mental help that won’t seek it out leaving themselves to continue on a negative spiral. Seeking out help should not be seen as week, it should be seen as normal. Every human alive needs help at times. Healthline.com has a good article about the negative emotions associated with toxic masculinity here:

McCarthy, Kevin. "‘Toxic Masculinity’ Leads to Mental Health Problems for Men." Health News. December 2, 2016. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/toxic-masculinity-mental-health-problems-for-men#1.

Norms

The need to fit in is not just a childhood dilema. The desire to fit into what is considered normal in our society in an attempt to be more likable is a basic human instinct that realistically will never go away. Instead we must focus our attention to changing the “norms”m that are considered detrimental to society in order to solve the issue. Researchers have found 11 in total social norms that are a part of toxic masculinity. To learn about all the masculine norms discovered including the need to be self reliant visit this website:

"Is the Drive to Be Masculine Hurting Your Mental Health?" Greater Good. December 21, 2016. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/is_the_drive_to_be_masculine_hurting_your_mental_health.

Belonging

Humans need to be social by nature. Toxic masculinity creates a fear in young boys and men alike that they are not enough. This plays on one of humankind’s biggest fears, the fear of rejection. Feeling like you don’t belong leads to anxiety, early forms of depression. As young boys deviate from what is considered normal they are often ostracized by their peers accentuating the feelings of worthlessness that could already be present. Psychology today wrote a good article about anxiety and it’s relationship with toxic masculinity which you can visit by clicking here:

White, Ruth C., Ph.D. "Toxic Masculinity as a Mask for Anxiety." Psychology Today. December 22, 2017. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-in-mind/201712/toxic-masculinity-mask-anxiety.

Signs of depression go overlooked

A study shows that because the United States in particular is a patriarchal society, meaning primarily run by men. The attitudes towards the more dominant gender shift. Men are less likely to be seen as weak, or suffering from depression due to a belief system that sees most men as strong and powerful.

The full study is here:

Swami, Viren. "Mental Health Literacy of Depression: Gender Differences and Attitudinal Antecedents in a Representative British Sample." PLoS ONE 7, no. 11 (November 14, 2012). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049779.

College

As young adults head off to college toxic masculinity takes three main norms that researchers have coined “Self reliance”, “Playboy”, “and “Violence”. The new found independence of college is valued highly by some men which will make these men more concealing of their mental state which increases the risks of mental health problems. Those who follow the “playboy” norm feel their self worth is directly related to how many sexual partners they have to emphasize their heterosexuality to themselves and to others. These men suffer from an inability to form more meaningful relationships leading to loneliness and depression. “Violence” oriented men are more aggressive and act out when they need help often violently. Their relationships and subsequently their emotional well being are affected negatively as a result. To read more about masculinity in the college environment click here:

Iwamoto, Derek K., Jennifer Brady, Aylin Kaya, and Athena Park. "Masculinity and Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation of Multidimensional Masculine Norms Among College Men." American Journal of Mens Health 12, no. 6 (July 04, 2018): 1873-881. doi:10.1177/1557988318785549.

Tradition

In a study focused on masculinity in boys who grew up in rural communities shows that there is more of an emphasis to go with what is considered tradition and to uphold the family legacy. Boys who grow up in this environment are expected to act tough and dominant and boys who don’t act this way, who are not following what is expected of them, are isolated. Leading to depression. To learn more about the study done in rural communities you can read this article:

Roy, Philippe, Gilles Tremblay, and Steven Robertson. "Help-seeking among Male Farmers: Connecting Masculinities and Mental Health." Sociologia Ruralis 54, no. 4 (April 16, 2014): 460-76. doi:10.1111/soru.12045.

Conclusion

Everyone needs to belong. There are ways to teach your children as they grow up that is much better than what toxic masculinity forces upon society. If we all teach the next generation to be caring, aware, and that they are good enough then eventually toxic masculinity will begin to crumble. That’s something we would all benefit from.

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Paige Phillips Professor Mohrman English 2030 March 18, 2019

Neoliberalism in Netflix’s Queer Eye Media is the focal point of today’s society and with the many platforms available to the public, television has been the most impactful. How has this impacted our society? TV shows send connotative messages to convey forms of capitalist ideologies such as neoliberalism. Neoliberalism is a term in favor of globalism and trade unions, as well as promoting consumption, individualism, and self-responsibility. It is categorized as being in favor of market transactions conducted through competition. This has been used in forms of media by connotatively encouraging the audience to have these qualities in themselves. One, in particular, is the Netflix Original, Queer Eye. Queer Eye is a show about five gay men known as, “The Fab Five”, who help other people in advancing their own lives using the ideals of neoliberalism. The ideology of neoliberalism is heavily portrayed connotatively throughout this show by having qualities highlighted to both the audience and the people on the show to promote things like individualism, consumption, and self-responsibility. “The Fab Five,” tell their contestants to be more themselves in society but to do this in a respectable way. Consumption is promoted by emphasizing the need if eating healthy, buying fashionable clothes, and keeping up their homes. Self-responsibility is shown by helping the contestants of the show find what is socially acceptable in society. Queer Eye has not been the first show to have neoliberal views, as it has been around for longer than television today. Neoliberalism has been broadcasted throughout television since the early 2000’s, most notably being reality TV shows like the show Survivor. Grazian explains that, “…the narrative conventions of reality television echo the most central policymaking paradigm in American politics during the last decade, the neoliberal agenda,”  and that most reality television shows use their platforms to convey the messages that neoliberalism supports. This can be reflected in Queer Eye because the agenda of this show portrays many aspects on both sides of neoliberalism. The show promotes things like self-responsibility through teaching how to be acceptable in society and having a healthy consumption of goods to a better life. He also explains that the principles that are in neoliberal ideals circle around global free trade. The deregulation of industry is when the government takes away regulations on industries to improve the operations of business and increase competition. Neoliberal views find this important because when the government steps in to push business operations helps promote consumption for the people who want the products these businesses are creating. “in the advanced capitalist countries, redistributive politics, controls over the free mobility of capital, expanded public expenditures,”  The qualities that neoliberalism finds important in the political-economic sense is designed to help build public spending. This helps build economies because is adds more capital flow in the business model. This is important in neoliberalism and with Queer Eye because with more flow of money means there will be a higher chance of people spending their money on clothes, food, and objects in the household. While it is important to see where neoliberalism originated in media, it is also important to see where it has advanced with queer identity. Queer Eye has many connotative messages tying to both neoliberalism as well as queer identity. Karamo Brown, one of the Fab Five members often encourages people to be acceptable and likable in society. “Jeremy is throwing a fundraiser to help firemen, and I thought what better way to than to auction off a dance with firemen?”  Karamo says this in the 8th episode of the first season. He does this with the hopes of teaching the firefighters how to dance as well as how to be more desirable to society. This ties in with queer identity because dancing is seen as a feminine skill that most men do not delve into. But with the help of Queer Eye, straight men are being taught how to do this, something they would have never done if it had not been for “The Fab Five”. It also uses neoliberalism because when a person feels required to uphold the principles of individualism and self-responsibility like learning how to dance for an auction at a firefighter fundraiser, they are unknowingly following a concrete principle of neoliberalism. This is an import view for media because without people being self-reliant, people cannot upkeep themselves than then fall out of the positive side of society. Queer Eye is using their expertise in this principle by having men with queer identities explain how the contestants are not living to their full potential. Jonathan Van Ness is another example of using his queer identity for the growth of neoliberal views. Van Ness does this by explaining to the people that they need to take care of their image in a more acceptable and societal way. He explains to them that what they are doing before meeting on the show is not okay in for their own health and they can do more to look more sustainable in society. “If you’re ever going to a major night, and you just want to calm some of your redness down, just put a bit of [green concealer] on your nose.”  Van Ness tells this to Tom, the first contestant on Queer Eye. He tells him this because Tom’s face is naturally red, and he is aiming to help make him look more neutral tone for society. By following these simple steps of beauty, they can then be presentable in society. Antoni Porowski is a professional chef who shows the candidates how to cook healthily and buy groceries that can add to a person’s health. This is important in individualism because it adds self-reliance to an average person’s daily rituals. Neoliberalism is a key determinant in this because they are required to be more socially acceptable. Consumption is also a key determinant in neoliberalism because in short is putting to use all the goods and services used in a household. This is shown often in Queer Eye by “The Fab Five” to connotatively promote neoliberal ideologies and how they can help better the lives of people in an economy. Bobby Berk is a member who is a designer and lifestyle expert. He shows neoliberal views by transforming the how that the contestants live in from what they were before to what is now “sufficient for them.”   by saying this, he is connotatively saying that the peoples' house was insufficient before he was able to enhance it. This shows how neoliberalism is communicated in relationship to queer identity because he is showing the average American that living in an environment made by someone with a queer identity helps create an adequate household for the contestants. Queer identity is shown in this because the house is more feminine than it had been before. Consumption is a large principle in neoliberalism and is used by Tan France by taking charge of enhancing the contestants clothing. He typically buys a new wardrobe that is stylish and acceptable in today’s society. This exemplifies consumption because clothes are a good that can be used over time but must be bought periodically by consumers. He typically gives people the ideals of a good wardrobe based on his own style. This is important in queer identity because how he dresses is widely used in the LGBTQ community, but less typically in the straight community. Using this allows people to want to dress more fashionable like gay men typically dress without having a queer identity. Without having an acceptable look in society, people will be looked at differently. Porowski also uses consumption with his professional advice in food by telling people what is good to make in the kitchen and how long before they should have consumed it all. This is important in neoliberalism because through consumption they are more advanced in cooking for their household. This also pertains to the show using queer identity because Porowski uses his identity to power the wants and needs of cooking to the contestant. Self-responsibility is the main principle in neoliberalism because it makes a person in society not stick out negatively. In season two of Queer Eye, “The Fab Five” meet a “Couch Potato.”  They call him this because he had dropped out of college and cannot seem to keep a job. This is a problem in neoliberalism for self-reliance because he is not being a productive member of society. Throughout this “The Fab Five” use all of their talents to help this man re-enroll into college to finish his final class and give him the courage to find and keep a job. Porowski uses his talents to remind him of his roots by helping him make a dish that is a part of the man’s culture. France does this by bringing him to a gym and also showing him the appropriate clothing to wear in society instead of wearing gym shorts every day. Berk helps find his way by having him help in fixing his apartment in the places that he was ignoring. All of this tie queer identity into neoliberalism because while these points matter in self-reliance, they use their queer identities to help drive this man into being better than what he thinks is who he should be in society. Using their queer identities for this show the man that he can show a feminine side of life while still being “a man” in today’s society. Using media platforms like Netflix to emphasize neoliberal principles shows a positive outcome for members of society to live and how to be better individuals. They use many connotative messages to do this throughout the show Queer Eye. Media today uses this to have its principles relayed to the public in a positive way that they do not see first hand. Queer identities help this by driving neoliberal views into the people by showing it is better to live in a certain way that what they had been living before. This is important because reality tv shows like Queer Eye perpetuates a neoliberal ideology while adding in five queer-identified men to exemplify these traits. Neoliberalism is communicated in Queer Eye through “The Fab Five” in relation to their own queer identities. Without knowing this, the audience would not be able to see how it portrays these beliefs using the help of the LGBTQ community.

Works Cited Grazian, David. (March 2010) Neoliberalism and the Realities of Reality Television, pp. 68-71.

Harvey, David. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

“Hose Before Bros” Queer Eye, season 1 episode 8. Netflix, www.netflix.com

“You Can’t Fix Ugly” Queer Eye season 1 episode 1. Netflix, www.netflix.com

“From Hunter to Huntee” Queer Eye, season 3 episode 1 Netflix, www.netflix.com

“Big Little Lies” Queer Eye, season 3 episode 6. Netflix, 15, June. 2018. Netflix, www.netflix.com

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Lorena Tafoya

Dr. Mohrman

ENGL 2030- Core Composition II

March 12, 2019

Ten Informative Resources About How Toxic Masculinity is Taught to Young Boys

             Toxic masculinity is something that has been around for years now. It has been experienced or is something that is seen in society. Toxic masculinity can be seen in workplaces, in homes, on social media, and even in schools. Toxic masculinity refers to when typically, a masculine man is aggressive, violent, emotionless, and controlling. Unfortunately, this is what some men from all places around the world believe it means to be masculine or a “real man”. Since this is how some men view masculinity, they teach their children, specifically their boys that this is what a man is. There are many debates whether toxic masculinity is introduced to children from a young age or not. Many children, especially boys, are introduced to toxic masculinity from a young age. These young boys are taught that this form of masculinity is what a “real man” is. These ten sources below help show how toxic masculinity is taught to boys when they are growing up.

Five Popular Sources:

1.      Heilman, Brian, and Gary Barker. “Toxic Masculinities Study Focuses on U.S., U.K., and Mexico: Unmasking Sexual Harassment.” Voice Male Magazine, February 2018. https://voicemalemagazine.org/unmasking-sexual-harassment/

This article in Voice Male Magazine is about the results from a survey called “Man Box’’ created by Promundo, which is an international gender justice organization. This survey asked a series of questions to find out how many young men from the U.S., U.K., and Mexico have harassed women and men. When the men are asked why they did this they said they were raised to think that the norms of toxic masculinity were what a “real man” is supposed to be like. They repeat the fact that not all these men in the survey follow these norms of toxic masculinity but that there are still some men who do.

This article is good to read because it supports that young boys are taught toxic masculinity at a young age. The thing that sticks out in this article is the reason why these men harassed the women and men. In the survey these men agreed with the statement, “Guys should act strong even when they feel scared or nervous inside.”, when they were asked why they did the harassment.  This shows that these young men were being taught that men should act this way because they had it in their head that this is what a “true man” is. This is not something that could just come to someone naturally, they had to have been told that this behavior is what defines them as men.    

2.      Wilstein, Matt. “Terry Crews Delivers Powerful Testimony Against ‘Toxic Masculinity.’” Daily Beast. 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/terry-crews-delivers-powerful-testimony-against-toxic-masculinity?ref=scroll

This article on the website Daily Beast is about how Terry Crews made a testimony to support the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights by sharing his personal experience of when he was sexually assaulted. Terry explains that this bill will give everyone a chance to be seen as equal under law. He spoke out against toxic masculinity by sharing how he has seen his father “violently abuse” his mother. Towards the end of his testimony he explained that this bill will make long term changes and give power back to the survivors of sexual assault.

This article is a good example that helps support that toxic masculinity is seen from a young age. In his testimony he explains that he has seen toxic masculinity since he was younger. He shares how he watched his dad violently abuse his mother and how he learned that the belief, “as a man, he was more valuable in this world than women” was something he would not take from his fathers’ teachings. This testimony against toxic masculinity not only informs about why this needs to be considered wrong, but it also shows that children, specifically boys, were shown toxic masculinity. In this example it shows how some children might take in toxic masculinity. Terry crews was one of the children to choose that this is not what it means to be a “real man”.  

3.      “Toxic Masculinity Is Poisoning Our Society.” Daily News (South Africa). 2018.

This article from the Daily News (South Africa) starts off by giving two examples of toxic masculinity, one that could happen in everyday life and one that happens in social media. In this article toxic masculinity is explained. This article also shows how it affects the behavior of men.

This popular source is an example of how toxic masculinity is shown and taught to children. One of the examples that is given in the beginning of the article is when they talk about a DJ on the radio talking about how he might get arrested for a traffic violation. After the DJ says this, a male calls in and says, “You must be careful because you know what they do to pretty boys like you in jail” and then after they laughed together. This is an example of toxic masculinity because these two males are just laughing about possible rape. They are also referring to the statement “pretty boy”, which is typically thought to be male who is petite, weak, and or not a “real man”.   If a child were to be listening to this and hear them laughing about it the child might take this behavior as normal. A child is like a sponge and they soak up things they hear and start to apply it to their lives. This is a good article to read because it shows how social media is a place where kids learn about toxic masculinity.

4.      Miller, Dan. “If We’re Against Toxic Masculinity, Guys, What Are We for?” Voice Male Magazine, February 2018. https://voicemalemagazine.org/toxic-masculinity-guys/

This article in Voice Male Magazine is a letter from a father named Dan Miller. He wrote this letter to other men to help them consider not to continue to teach toxic masculinity norms to their children. He shares that he grew up in a jock culture and explains some of the ways that he was taught that toxic masculinity is a normal way of being a man. He asks multiple questions to the other men to make these men consider what the true meaning of a “real man” is.

           This is an article to consider reading because it gives examples of how toxic masculinity is shown to young boys when they are growing up. In the article Dan Miller states that “ If you’re like me and came up in jock culture you might have had a father who taught you boys don’t cry or talk about their feelings, a coach who yelled at your team to take off your skirts and toughen up, friends who called you a sissy for taking piano lessons or a fag when you did something not considered ‘manly’”. In this one statement made by Miller you can see that toxic masculinity is taught to young boys through parenting, school, and even through friends. This gives multiple examples of how toxic masculinity is taught and how it is interpreted by other young boys.

5.      Martina, Devlin. “Sports clubs and schools have a crucial role to play in fighting toxic masculinity”. Irish Independent, March 2018.

This article is Devlin Martina explaining the Belfast case (which involved rape) and how things like this happen because toxic masculinity is shown through social media. Martina gives examples of why toxic masculinity is still influencing many people’s behaviors. She explains that this case should be taken as a wake- up call to change the way sports and schools teach so that this negative behavior ends.

This is a good article to read because it shows a real-life example of toxic masculinity and it also gives awareness that social media is a way toxic masculinity is taught. Martina says, “Round- the- clock access to free porn on smartphones, laptops and tablets; widespread consumption of ‘entertainment’ where sexual violence is normalized, and women routinely called whores…”. In this sentence alone many examples are given of how easy it is to see toxic masculinity as a child. Things like women getting called “whores” and ‘entertainment’ that has sexual violence promoted are behaviors of toxic masculinity. Since children can see these things so easy it makes the opportunity to learn these things even easier.

Scholarly Sources:

1.      Elliott, Kathleen. “Challenging Toxic Masculinity in schools and society.” Emerald Insight. 26 (1) 2018: 17-20.

This journal is about how schools have a big influence when it comes to toxic masculinity and gender inequality. In this article Kathleen Elliott explains that schools need to change how they teach things like this and how they should start teaching not only the girls but the boys too about equality. She gives ideas of what the schools could teach because she says school is the place where children spend most of their time learning.

This is a good journal to read because it gives examples of how school is where some of the behaviors of toxic masculinity is learned by children especially boys. She explains that these behaviors of toxic masculinity need to be shown as a negative thing to young boys. School is a good place for learning this because children spend most of their time in school. If they see the people they know very well, like teachers, around them acting against toxic masculinity they will learn that the behavior of toxic masculinity is not a normal way of how men should act. Since she explains that toxic masculinity is not challenged in schools and that it needs to be challenged, it shows that school is probably an influencer of toxic masculinity as of now.

2.      Amin Avni, Kågesten,Anna, Adebayo Emmanuel, and Venkatraman, Chandra-Mouli. “Addressing gender socialization and masculinity norms among adolescent boys: Policy and programmatic implications”. Journal of Adolescent Health 62 (3) 2018: S3-5.

This journal explains that we need to put not only our focus on girl’s health but also on adolescent boy’s health too. They use facts about how boy’s health is not the best and they show how boys adopt unequal and/or stereotypical attitudes related to masculinity. This journal explains who the influencers of these attitudes are, and it also gives ways on how to prevent these attitudes from occurring.

This is a journal to consider reading because it shows how toxic masculinity is shown to young boys. In this journal they explain that parents, peers, and even schools teach adolescent boys this stereotypical attitude through a direct or indirect communication. These are three places where young boys learn that this type of masculinity is the right masculinity. Young boys or any child is going to listen to the people they trust when it comes to learning. That is why parents, peers, and teachers are examples of where toxic masculinity is learned.

3.      Rosen, Nicole L., and Nofziger Stacey. “Boys, bullying, and gender roles: How Hegemonic Masculinity Shapes Bullying Behavior. Gender Issues. 2018: 1-24.

This journal is about a study about the experiences of bullying among middle school boys across the U.S. They find that bullying constructs hegemonic masculinity and they also find that this behavior is considered normal to these boys.

This journal is good to read because it shows one type of toxic masculinity and gives one more place where toxic masculinity is learned to be normal. In this study they find that bullying creates a masculinity called hegemonic masculinity. This is a type of toxic masculinity because it promotes power and male dominance over women. This journal shows that since bullying is considered normal in these middle schools the boys take it as “this is how boys are supposed to be”. These young boys are learning what toxic masculinity is through their fellow peers/ bullies. This is one more place where toxic masculinity is learned.  

4.      Campbell Darren, Gray Shirley, Kelly John, and Maslsaac Sarah. “Inclusive and exclusive masculinities in physical education: a Scottish case study”. Sport, Education and Society. 23 (3) 2016: 216-228.

This journal is about a study where adolescent boys (ages 16-17 years) in Scotland were examined to see how they construct and experience their masculine identities while they are in Physical Education. They find that they performed a masculinity that revolved around strength, pain tolerance, and the policing of others. In this study they also found out that PE made it harder for these young males to avoid this masculinity, so they encouraged teachers to promote all masculinities.

This is a good journal to consider reading because not only does it inform people about toxic masculinity, but it also gives the reader insight on how peers at school teach what is toxic masculinity is. The authors of this journal states, “Here, it has been highlighted that homophobia and the use of derogatory language in PE, espoused mainly by boys, are key contributing factors to the large numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex pupils who say they do not like PE.”.  This is an example of how peers at school teach others about toxic masculinity. This is an example of this because since one boy started calling out derogatory names it made others feel that it was okay to do it too, which started a chain reaction. Since so many people don’t like PE because of this it shows that it took more than one student to say these mean things. This is a form of how this behavior is taught to other children because it convinced multiple kids to continue to use the negative language and it also showed some kids that this behavior is not okay.

5.      Ljusberg, Anna-Lena. “Doing Masculinity in School-age Child-care: An Ethnographic Study”. International Journal for Research on Extended Education. 6 (1) 2018: 66-79.

This journal is based on the data from an Ethnographic study about children in school-age child-care in Sweden. The study revealed that the teachers promoted independence for the children, especially the boys. This resulted in the boys resolving their problems by using their fist which formed a social hierarchy.

This is a good journal to read because it shows how toxic masculinity is taught to young boys in different places. In this journal they explain that the teachers let all the children resolve their problems on their own which makes it easier for boys to be able to act out this toxic masculinity behavior. Since the teachers do not step in when the boys decide to use their fist it indirectly tells the children that this is how a problem is supposed to be resolved and it becomes a habit. This is a way of how these boys possibly learn that toxic masculinity behavior is okay.  

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Amanuel Chukala

Instructor: Dr. Mohrman

ENGL 2030 018 Core Composition II

12 Mar. 2019

Paper #2 Final Draft

 Ten Bad Consequences of Toxic Masculinity

As the phrase itself is self-explanatory, toxic masculinity is an act of acknowledging men domination over women thereby accepting female as subordinate, inferior, an object, passive and impotent. This kind of myth exists in almost every country or even society that is built upon a patriarchal institution. Even though men are the subjects to this issue, women also make a major contribution to the issue not to get addressed and get a solution by giving appreciation to this kind of behavior instead of condemning. Toxic masculinity comes with a price which can affect the person itself and the people around him. There are many books, journals, newsletters or other kinds of media that tries to address this issue and its bad results. So, in this text, I will go through the top ten consequences of toxic masculinity, which affects both male and female at any age.

1.     Violence: “The Shooting in Orlando, Terrorism or Toxic Masculinity (or Both?)” by Syed Haider.

Haider picks up the Orlando nightclub shooting attack which was done by a man called Omar Mateen, a 29-years-old security guard to show the danger of toxic masculinity. The writer ignores the two over going assumptions by many people at the time – terrorism and homophobic hate attack as a cause to the shocking incident, and instead, he put them under results of toxic masculinity.

2.     Misogyny: ”I can be your Tinder nightmare”: Harassment and misogyny in the online sexual marketplace, by Laura Thompson.

Even though misogyny has existed for a very long time in a patriarchal institution, its existence in the internet world has not got enough attention. Laura Thomson, a Ph.D. at the University of London, discusses misogyny circulating every social media, especially the dating apps. In her journal article, the writer gives her evidence based on the internet accounts, like Bye Felipe and Tinder Nightmares, that are intended to un-reveal insults and harassing words made by creepy men.

3.   Car Accident: Danger on the roads! Masculinity, the car, and safety, by Malcolm Vick.

A car accident is a major reason for the death of many people around the globe, especially young men that are prone to reflect toxic masculinity to get the approval of their manhoods from society. The main point of Vick’s article is giving enough attention to the issue different than what the media is currently doing. According to the author, road safety campaigns are not getting the desired results because they embed the idea of masculinity.

4.     Gun Homicide: Violence as an Environmentally Warranted Norm amongst Working-Class Teenage Boys in Glasgow.

Gun Homicide is another form of violence which is mostly acted by self-defending mentality. The above research paper is a study made on teenage boys in Glasgow, Scotland. It starts with feedback it gotten from different youths who participated in the research. It also discusses the different projects made to avoid such thoughts, but unlucky in getting the desired results. The study reveals the main reason for their failure is not making incorporation with femininity.

5.     Life Expectancy: Theorising masculinities and men’s health: A brief history with a view to practice, by Genevieve Creighton and John L. Oliffe.

This may not be a direct result of toxic masculinity, but it can be a devastating indirect consequence.  “Theorising masculinities and men’s” health claims that communities of practice framework is an effective analytic framework to create awareness and can give the solution to men’s health problems and life expectancy.

6.     Sexual Harassment: Unmasking Sexual Harassment: How Toxic Masculinities Drive Men’s Abuse in the US, UK, and Mexico and What We Can Do to End It, Promundo.org.

7.     Depression: Depression in Men: The Cycle of Toxic Masculinity, psycom.net, by Henry A. Montero, MS.

In this article, Montero starts with statistical data of men and boys who are affected by depression and provides a comparison with women's and girl’s percentage in America. According to his analysis, the number of men and boys affected is increasing at an alarming rate, which increased from 4.3 to 5.7% based on recent research made nationwide. The writer blames the societal thinking of toxic masculinity for the problem. In American culture and others, many men have difficulty expressing emotion due to toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity refers to actions that discourage displays of emotion—other than anger—in men while also encouraging behavior that will deem the male “dominant” in a given situation[1]. Though depression can happen to anybody, it is important to know the symptoms before they get us into danger and Montero lists these symptoms especially the ones that are familiar with men. As the main focus of the article is advice on how to illuminate the toxic masculinity mentality, and it concludes with three major pieces of advice that need to be considered by anyone who cares about the men around them.

8.     Homophobia: American Psychological Association links 'masculinity ideology' to homophobia, misogyny, nbcnews.com, by By Tim Fitzsimons

By referring to APA’s (American Psychological Association) research titled as “Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Boys and Men,” Fitzsimons discusses the danger that men and boys in America are facing due to masculine thoughts and its contribution to homophobia.

9.     Sexual Discrimination: The Real Problem With “Toxic Masculinity,” psychologytoday.com, by Samuel Veissière Ph.D.

10.  Alcoholism: Alcoholism and Masculinity, goodencenter.org

 [1] https://www.psycom.net/depression-in-men/depression-in-men-toxic-masculinity/

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Jack Schumacher

ENGL 2030-018

Dr. Mohrman

12 March 2019

Top 10 Resources on Toxic Masculinity; Exploring Both View Points and What is Being Done to Solve the Problem

Today, toxic masculinity is a concept that is regularly discussed. There are many different opinions on the subject, and it causes some conflict politically and socially in society. Toxic masculinity is the socially constructed idea of masculinity that expresses behaviors dangerous to other men and women. The ideology expresses the need for dominance and aggression and can relate to the patriarchy that exists in society today. The traits behind toxic masculinity cause men to feel the need to be dominant, aggressive, and strong. This can cause men to act in ways that harm women and other men that are viewed as weaker. It also prevents men from seeking help, as they feel they cannot reach out to anyone. This being said, Toxic masculinity is also somewhat of a controversial topic in that there are some who view the concept itself, not the impact, as harmful to men. Some make the argument that toxic masculinity is not necessarily a real concept or that it attacks men and masculinity. In this top ten list, sources will be explored that look at both sides to the argument and provide the dangers of the topic (on either side) to allow viewers to form their own opinion.

1).        Sedoric, Tom “Toxic Masculinity and Us: it’s time to face the painful societal reality of so many angry and isolated young men” New Hampshire Business Review 38.23 (2016) Pg 24 http://go.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=ITBC&u=auraria_main&id=GALE%7CA471473651&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon Accessed March 4 2019

In this journal article, the author explains an encounter he has with a 21-year-old man picking up prescriptions for pain medication due to his injury caused by angrily punching a concrete wall. Tom Sedoric explains how men are most perpetrators behind violent crimes and make up a majority of suicide and implies that the underlying cause of this behavior is men not receiving the help they need with mental health issues due to epidemic of toxic masculinity. This article is a reliable source on the topic, coming from an academic journal and explains an aspect of the dangers of toxic masculinity, allowing the reader to be well-informed on the topic. By doing this, the article allows the reader to explore one side of the argument over toxic masculinity and see the true dangers of the topic.

2).        BWell Health Promotion, “Unlearning Toxic Masculinity” Brown University https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/health/services/promotion/general-health-social-wellbeing-sexual-assault-dating-violence-get-involved-prevention/unlearning Accessed February 27, 2019

           This article explains how the current way masculinity is viewed can be dangerous to other men and women. In the article, it expresses how men do not actively seek help when they need it, which is a large factor in the high male suicide rate. It also explains how men look to violence to solve their problems due to the way masculinity has been constructed over time. At the end of the article, programs that the university offers to men are listed to offer help. The written article is an academic source that effectively points out some of the problems associated with toxic masculinity and the dangers of this behavior. By explaining some programs that are offered on the topic, this source also effectively gives those who are looking to make changes in their own lives a resource to do so.

3).        Haskins, Julia “Men, Boys Can Work to Help Prevent, End Sexual Violence” The Nations Health http://go.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=HWRC&u=auraria_main&id=GALE%7CA535816950&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon Accessed March 4, 2019

           This article from The Nations Health explains how men make up most sexual violence crimes. The article discusses how men have been taught to behave this way due to the construction of masculinity and how sexual violence is a large part of the problem involved with the concept of toxic masculinity. The source offers the solution of men unlearning what they have been taught about masculinity to solve this problem. This academic source explains a major problem with toxic masculinity in an effective way, due to its ability to point out the root of the issue. By offering an idea to solve toxic masculinity, the source causes the reader to think about how they can be apart of eradicating this destructive ideology of masculinity.

4).        Kupers, Terry “Toxic Masculinity as a Barrier to Mental Health Treatment in Prison” The Wright Institute 61 (2005) https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/epdf/10.1002/jclp.20105 Pg 713-724, Accessed March 5, 2019

           This article begins by defining toxic masculinity and introduces the statistics of a male-dominated prison system. In the article, the key concepts of toxic masculinity are discussed with relation to how these behaviors prevent inmates from getting the mental health services they need, as the male inmates practice violence, dominance and express aggression towards others. This academic source provides the many dangers of toxic masculinity with the focus on inmates, most of whom are violent and aggressive men. By providing statistics and examples, the article effectively establishes the harm of toxic masculinity and could persuade the reader to internally evaluate if these behaviors are demonstrated in their own lives. By exposing toxic masculinity in prisons, the article provides an effective message; toxic masculinity is a danger to society that needs to be solved.

5).        Connewel, R.W., James Messerschmidt “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept” Sage Journals Gender and Society 19.6 (2005) Pg. 829-859 https://journals-sagepub-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/0891243205278639 Accessed March 4 2019

           This academic source explains the origins of the studies on hegemonic or toxic masculinity and its relation to gender and societal norms. The article connects toxic masculinity to destructive behaviors of men and to the dominance of patriarchy in society today. The article at one point describes that many men do not display traits of this concept in their day-to-day lives but still benefit from the societal structure of patriarchy. This source effectively goes into detail on the subject, providing its background and the impact it has on society and women. The article provides critical thinking on the concept of toxic masculinity and analyzes its dangers.

6).        Saad, Gad “Is Toxic Masculinity a Valid Concept?” Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/homo-consumericus/201803/is-toxic-masculinity-valid-concept, Accessed February 27, 2019

           In this article the author, Gad Saad, begins by explaining the concept of natural selection and how in nature, female species have set characteristics that they look for in a mate, and applies this to humans as well. Gaad explains how women are attracted to intelligent yet masculine men who sometimes display characteristics of that correlate to toxic masculinity. He states that this is due to nature, rather than the influence of society. This article is a popular source, rather than academic. The author bases the writing more off of psychology ideas and personal opinion. Gaad provides a look into the view of those that oppose the idea of toxic masculinity.

7).        French, David “The Question that Reveals the Heart of the Culture Wars” National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/01/toxic-masculinity-myth-fuels-culture-wars/ Accessed February 27, 2019

             In this article, the author begins by discussing the NBA and a comment made by the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. David French then begins explaining how raising a boy is different that raising a girl, due to biological differences in physical strength and aggression. French then states his opinion that these differences in behavior and physique are caused by nature and explains his view on the concept of toxic masculinity. This article is a popular source rather than scholarly. This is another writing that demonstrates and explains a view that opposes the idea of toxic masculinity and argues its relevance. The article effectively argues this view point but can be viewed as being based more on the personal opinion of the author.  

8).        Scher, Avichai “#Me Too is Making Colleges Teach Toxic Masculinity 101” Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/metoo-is-making-colleges-teach-toxic-masculinity-101 Accessed February 27, 2019

           This article, written by Avichai Scher, explains how the Me-Too movement is affecting colleges around the nation. Scher begins with an example of a football player from Brown University who began education his teammates on the concept of toxic masculinity. Scher then goes on to explain how universities around the country are beginning to offer classes on toxic masculinity, aimed at helping the men that attend school become aware of the idea and teach them how to unlearn the behaviors associated with toxic masculinity. This article provides an explanation on one thing being done around the country to fight the concept of toxic masculinity. It is effective in explaining the concept, also introducing male readers to solutions that they can personally take action with to improve themselves as men.

9).         Flowers, Christine “Toxic Masculinity is A Myth” Watertown Daily Times January 30, 2019 https://www.watertowndailytimes.com/opinion04/christine-flowers-toxic-masculinity-is-a-myth-20190130, Accessed March 4, 2019

           This popular source begins by addressing the controversial Gillete advertisement aimed at toxic masculinity. The author offers her opinion on the add, being that it attacked men and overall sent the message that men are no longer allowed to act like men. This article takes the stance on the topic that the idea is a myth, rather than a real problem, introduced by feminist movements attacking men and patriarchy, and make men viewed in a negative light. This source develops an opposing view to the popular view of toxic masculinity in an effective way. It discusses the effect that the movement has on men and how it can be dangerous to men. By contrasting the popular view, this source provides critical thinking on the topic and points out the other side of the concept.

10).      Shapiro, Ben “The ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Smear” The National Review June 7, 2017 https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/06/masculinity-not-toxic-stop-blaming-men-everything/ Accessed March 5, 2019

           This popular source takes the stance opposing toxic masculinity as a real concept. The article discusses how teaching men to be gentlemen yet still masculine can help to solve some of the problems that are being associated with the idea of toxic masculinity. In the article, the emasculation of men is discussed, as well as the idea that men are being blamed for the problems in society that women face. This article is almost entirely based on opinion rather than statistics, but this article is effective as it provides critical thinking on the idea that masculinity is bad and challenges this popular belief. Providing an opposing opinion causes readers to critical think in a way that allows them to from their own opinion and analyzes the idea of toxic masculinity with a different stance.

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Travis Day

Dr. Morhman

Annotated Bibliography

March 12, 2019

 10 Sources Showing the Internet Leads to Toxic Masculinity:

How Toxic Masculinity Is Not Just Macho Masculine

 Toxic masculinity can often be thought of as an overabundance of masculinity that is inherently tied to a toxic male. However, that isn’t always true when going into some of the causes of toxic masculinity. In this list of sources, it goes in depth as to the different types of men, and what form of toxicity would be most abundant in them. The internet can be seen as a main problem for toxic masculinity, providing grounds for toxicity to build upon itself and spread itself to others. Going down the list, it will be found that toxic masculinity can be caused by a too much masculinity, a lack of masculinity, overcompensation, and even anxiety for what society expects of males.

 ·         Parent, Mike C., Teresa D. Gobble, and Aaron Rochlen. "Social Media Behavior, Toxic Masculinity, and Depression." Psychology of Men & Masculinity (2018). (Academic)

This citation is for a study done to compare heavy internet usage to both male depression and toxic masculinity. They define toxic masculinity as the following, “Toxic masculinity was assessed using three subscales of the CMNI-46 (Parent & Moradi, 2011) that reflect the core aspects of toxic masculinity: sexism, heterosexism, and competitiveness.” While a lot of the paper is scientific jargon and charts, it was a good article to read. And they found that both toxic masculinity and depression went up as usage went up.

 ·         Tait, Amelia. “Spitting out the Red Pill: Former Misogynists Reveal How They Were Radicalised Online.” New Statesman, 28 Feb. 2017, www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2017/02/reddit-the-red-pill-interview-how-misogyny-spreads-online. (Popular)

Amelia’s article talks about r/TheRedPill, a subreddit that was originally made as a safe space for men to vent or talk about problems. But this article worked well because it showed how even internet sites that start good become a cesspool of toxic masculinity.

 ·         Sampert, Shannon. “The Deadly Side of Toxic Masculinity.” Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 Apr. 2018, www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/the-deadly-side-of-toxic-masculinity-480897993.html. (Popular)

Sampert’s article shows the morbid side of spending too much time on toxic websites. The subreddit r/incel is a step ahead of the red pill, and enforces the idea that sex and relationships are all topical and that those on the website are destined to fail. Alek Minassian, part of the incels, ran over 10 people as an act of “incel rebellion”.

 ·         Hess, Aaron and Carlos Flores. "Simply More than Swiping Left: A Critical Analysis of Toxic Masculine Performances on Tinder Nightmares." New Media & Society 20, no. 3 (2018): 1085-1102.(Academic)

This paper talks about the toxic masculinity women find on first encounters on tinder. It then continues to talk about the worst showing up on TinderNightmares on Instagram to be made fun of. I don’t agree with this wholly as it doesn’t really do anything to help toxicity. It could be a learning point of what not to do, but it’s trying to fight negativity with negativity.

 ·         Ging, Debbie. "Alphas, Betas, and Incels: Theorizing the Masculinities of the Manosphere." Men and Masculinities (2017): 1097184.(Academic)

Looking at this from the other direction, this research paper talks about more of the hybrid of masculinities out there on the world-wide web. Looking at multiple versions such as the incels, Alphas, and even Zetas, the article talks about how they think, what they want, and how easy it is for groups like this to grow thanks to the internet. This article works really well with the idea of talking about the different types of toxicity, yet how it all leads back to anti-feminist/women ideals.

 ·         Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy. “At Last Men Are Joining Our Conversation about Toxic Masculinity | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/06/men-joining-feminist-conversation-toxic-masculinity-chris-hemmings-robert-webb.(Popular)

The article talks about how societal ideas of what a man is, is not what a man should be. Hemmings talks about how men learn best from other men, and how dangerous that can be today. The internet radicalizes many ideas, and allows angry confused men to teach vulnerable and naïve men. What he says, and what is the best thing to take from the article, is how men need an internet group ran by loving and caring men who can teach others how to act properly, and what is truly expected of them.

 ·         Manfre, Frank. "At-Risk Boys Need Male Role Models." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA),2010.(Popular)

The article emphasizes the need of positive role models in a boy’s life. How boys who don’t have a positive role model tend to fail more as compared to girls. This article works well though, because it promotes positivity instead of focusing on the wrongs of men.

 ·         Veissière, Samuel Paul Louis. "“Toxic Masculinity” in the Age of #MeToo: Ritual, Morality and Gender Archetypes Across Cultures." Society and Business Review 13, no. 3 (2018): 274-286.(Academic)

Veissière talks about how toxic masculinity is perceived as in today’s culture of anti-toxic masculinity so to speak. He talks about how there are norms for his own boys to fit into, and how good values may be shunned because of the ideals of today. I think this article is one of the best to read because it applies to everyone. It shows the good and bad of people that lie on the fluid gender scale, and how to be the best you can be.

 ·         Cook, Ian. "Western Heterosexual Masculinity, Anxiety, and Web Porn." The Journal of Men's Studies 14, no. 1 (2005;2006;): 47-63.(Academic)

Cook talks about the effects of porn and the anxiety that men suffer because of it. A lot of it pertaining to men not thinking they’re masculine enough to be considered a man, and how large penises, large stamina, and taking on many women are the key points of porn websites. This study works really well with showing how causes of toxic masculinity are rooted by fears of not being masculine enough.

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Annotated Bibliography

Nicole Henry

12 March 2019

Core Composition II

Dr. Mohrman

Top Ten Reasons Why Toxic Masculinity Can Cause Sexual Assault

In today’s society, due to the courageous acts and vocalizations of victims, sexual assault has been much more acknowledged than previously was. This is represented through the #MeToo Movement, which amplifies the severity of sexual assault and elaborates that being a victim is not something to be ashamed of. In the United States, one in five women will be raped whereas one in seventy-one men are assaulted. To go along with this, National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) exclaimed that 63% of rape cases are never brought to the police. With these statistics, why is rape mainly associated with women and why is it so shameful to talk about? One undermining reason associated with rape could be the societal cues for masculinity. Toxic masculinity highlights the norms of how society believes men are supposed to be and act; this can include being dominant, aggressive, and emotionless. With cultures across the world emphasizing that men are supposed to behave in these types of ways, it can create immense toxicity towards women. With this being said, toxic masculinity can be a contributing factor to sexual assault because it indicates that men are supposed to be sexually aggressive and have control. The articles below will demonstrate that sexual assault correlated with toxic masculinity is intertwined in many diverse scenarios with many different people. It is not plausible to justify toxic masculinity as 100% of the reason for rape, but it can be a contributing factor and here is why:

1. Challenging Toxic Masculinity In Schools and Society

Elliot, Kathleen. “Challenging Toxic Masculinity In Schools and Society,” EmeraldInsight. 2018. https://www-emeraldinsight-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1108/OTH-11-2017-0088 

Cultural norms have been shaped through the society individuals live in today. In the past few decades, women have gained rights that allow them to get higher degrees of education, play athletic sports, and get equal jobs. Although this change throughout our history is a significant landmark, there are still battles women a confronted with every day. In this academic article written by Kathleen Elliott, toxic masculinity is indicated as the primary culprit for devaluation of women and the dominant attributes of men. Elliot proposes that although our society has given women opportunities to become more educated and have more substantial jobs, there is still an issue on the cultural norms women must abide by. She explains that women are still supposed to have feminine characteristics and be modest, and in order to have equality between the genders women must follow these rules. This is an important topic to talk about because as a society, many women abide by the rules in “what it takes to be a woman” which includes being ladylike and dressing modest. This insinuates that if women were to bend these rules, they are asking for attention from men which leads to them being sexually assaulted. Personally, growing up my mother would always comment on my outfits, and if they were too provocative for her liking she would tell me that I will give men the wrong impression. This ties back to the article because it implies that women should not live in fear of men, and our society needs to alter these norms. If toxic masculinity was taken into consideration, women would no longer have to be concerned that what they are wearing or how they are behaving will lead to sexual assault. 

2. ‘Dude, You’re a Fag’: Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1097184X16664952 

This popular culture article written by C. J. Pascoe assesses the word “fag” and how it can be tied back to toxic masculinity. Pascoe defines the word fag as a representation of “penetrated masculinity in which to be penetrated is to abdicate power.” Pascoe then proceeds to argue that the word is not used to only define homosexual men, but to heterosexual men who are less masculine as well. This article can help individuals understand that sexist gender slurs can be a form of sexual harassment which is the breeding ground for sexual assault. In this example, the word fag is represents men who do not fit under the societal category of masculine. According to USA Today, 40% of homosexual men are sexually assaulted whereas 21% of heterosexual men experience some form of sexual assault. This data indicates that in the homosexual community there are more hardships than in the heterosexual community. 

3. Gender Violence in Prison & Hyper-Masculinities in the Hood: Cycles Of Destructive Masculinity

Spearlt. “Gender Violence in Prison & Hyper-Masculinities in the Hood: Cycles Of Destructive Masculinity,” 2011 http://go.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=auraria_main&id=GALE%7CA282511824&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon  

There is a very common saying known in society that prison changes a person. In this academic article, the author assesses the hardships prisoners are faced with. It goes into how toxic masculinity is extremely inevitable in prisons because men are constantly trying to be the most powerful. This article can help our society understand that toxic masculinity is not only from man to woman. In this case, prisoners are sexually assaulted by fellow inmates in order to convey dominance. Prisoners should not have to assert dominance towards others because they are all in prison for a reason. It is important to understand that toxic masculinity is the culprit for sexual assault in prison, and not necessarily for sexual pleasure. 

4. Is Sexual Harassment An Endemic Social Issue?

Weathington, Bradley. “Is Sexual Harassment An Endemic Social Issue?,” July 2018. http://go.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=auraria_main&id=GALE%7CA567426033&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon 

This academic article written by Bradley Weathington analyzed interviews from men and women in industries about if sexual harassment is a serious conflict, and if the #MeToo Movement would cause segregation between genders. Both male and female interviewees explained that the movement highlights the deliberate issues accustomed with toxic masculinity. This article also includes broad statistics from each political party and concluded that 41% of republican men believed this movement would create gender segregation. This must be recognized due to the fact that our current president is sexist. Donald Trump has implemented many sexist slurs towards woman, for example, he mentioned how a menstrual cycle can affect women’s ability to make justifiable decisions. Taking into consideration that the president is illustrating acts of toxic masculinity, it can be easily interpreted as okay to other men in our society. The inclusion of toxic masculinity in a high form of power can potentially be a reason that men are now sexually assaulting women. If the president can do it, can’t they?

5. Joe Biden and The Case Against ‘Toxic Masculinity’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/03/21/bidens-hypothetical-threats-toward-trump-may-not-actually-help-decrease-sexual-assault/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ff8adb730e3f 

This article published by the Washington Post brings up the controversy with President Donald Trump. Eugene Scott, the author of the post, amplifies the concerns Joe Biden has with Trump’s toxic masculinity. The article included a quote from Trump stating, “I can grab a woman anywhere, and she likes it.” This statement implies that women liked being grabbed, even if it is not consensual. Taking into consideration that this is just a statement and may not have actually happened, our president is still publishing sexual assault in a positive manner. If this toxic masculinity is embedded into the president of the United States, it can make it much easier to pass on to citizens. Implying that women are asking to be touched creates a false reality in perpetrators heads, and could eventually put women equality where it used to be… Nonexistent. 

6. Rape Is Caused by a Culture of Toxic Masculinity 

Friedman, Jaclyn. “Rape Is Caused by a Culture of Toxic Masculinity,” 2016. http://go.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=OVIC&u=auraria_main&id=GALE%7CEJ3010068407&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon  

This popular article written by Jaclyn Friedman targets the vulnerability of woman and the toxic masculinity in men. The article is focused on two star football players that drag an unconscious, intoxicated girl around to parties and repeatedly rape her. Friedman accentuates how these boys primarily believed that assaulting this girl would make them seem “cooler”, and that they would never have consequence for their actions because they were star athletes. This text can help individuals understand the severity of toxic masculinity in rape cases due to the fact that it is learned in adolescence. According to National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), two-thirds of college students experience sexual assault every year. With this being said, it is true to say that toxic masculinity is so embedded into our society that even in early adolescence, these attributes are cultivated. 

7. Science Says Toxic Masculinity- More Than Alcohol- Leads To Sexual Assault

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/science-says-toxic-masculinity-more-than-alcohol-leads-to-sexual-assault/ 

Maggie Koerth-Baker, a reporter for ABC News, argues that our culture allows men to excessively drink and sexually assault women with virtually no consequences. She evaluated the consumption of alcohol in men and how it expressed more aggressive behavior. Koerth-Baker exclaimed that male college students felt more peer pressure for forced sex and hostility towards women. This popular article assists its audience into reevaluating what our culture thinks is okay. If a man drinks and sexually assaults a woman, it is her fault for drinking too much, and the man was drunk so it does not matter. Unfortunately, this point of view is what our society has shaped young men into believing is okay. No man or woman should ever be concerned about sexual harassment when alcohol is involved. Our culture has made it okay for men to excessively drink and get away with their actions, while shaming the victim of the assault. Just because he was drunk makes it okay though, right?

8. The Masculinity Motivation Essay https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/slro71&id=50&men_tab=srchresults 

This academic article written by Ann C. McGinley redefines the definition of sexual assault associated with toxic masculinity. McGinley addresses that the correlation of sexual assault and toxic masculinity is encrypted with no desire for sexual pleasure, but instead, is to convey masculinity. McGinley also discloses to her audience that sexual assault/harassment can also be from male to male in order to assert dominance. This is an important issue to address because male sexual assault is rarely vocalized, and many individuals do not even consider assault happening to men. In today’s culture, it is more socially acceptable to be homosexual, transgender, bisexual etc. which fortunately results in more people expressing themselves in ways that makes them happy. With this being said, it is unjust to say that women are the only victims of sexual assault. This essay does an exceptional job incorporating that sexual assault does not target one gender nor does it suggest sexual pleasure. Toxic masculinity is the feeling of power and dominance, and that does not mean that women are the only victims at hand. 

9. The Silence Breakers

http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers/ 

This popular culture article written by Time Magazine talks about the sexual assault movement #MeToo. The movement puts emphasis on individuals vocalizing sexual assault and the struggles involved with toxic masculinity. Part of the article talks about how sexual assault victims were threatened therefore resulting in them not coming forward about their assault. Individuals that are sexually assaulted by an employer may feel that they will lose their job if the speak up. This is a serious issue merely because the perpetrators are constantly getting away with their crime and may never face the consequences of them. This movement is important in today’s society because it influences victims to vocalize their stories without being concerned that they will lose their jobs. It is essential to recognize the controversy at hand when talking about toxic masculinity, but the movement is putting immense emphasis about its intentions. The movement is not promoting anti-male incentives, but is introducing a sensitive topic that must be addressed. With this being said, I think the movement does an exceptional job conveying the true definition of toxic masculinity without attacking men. 

10. Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Young Women: An Analysis of 13 Reasons Why

Jenney, Angelique and Exner-Cortens, Deinera. “Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Young Women: An Analysis of 13 Reasons Why,” 7 March 2018. https://journals-sagepub-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1177/0886109918762492?utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider 

In this academic article, Angelique Jenney and Deinera Exner-Cortens dissect the social commentary on the recently released netflix show 13 Reasons Why. The season show conveys the struggles of a teenage girl and the contributing factors that led her to commit suicide. Jenney and Exner-Cortens elaborate on how the show expresses an “overwhelming presence of toxic masculinity” which can be an insight as to why the girl took her life. This article scrutinizes that men are more keen to conveying their power and dominance even if it means insulting a woman. This also ties back to our society teaching young men that in order to be powerful or masculine they must prove it in offensive ways. Toxic masculinity is a social stigma that is taught through culture, and in order to protect men or women from sexual assault, it must be addressed at an early stage in people’s lives. 

The articles above provide an insight on the ongoing correlation of sexual assault and toxic masculinity. Individuals can now understand the severity of this correlation, and that it is an action which is embedded into every day norms. People can now see that sexual assault can be present in the places which are supposed to be safe. Toxic masculinity must be addressed in order for our society to have a genesis on reducing sexual assault cases. 

References

“Get Statistics.” National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Accessed February 28, 2018. https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics

“Trump: Megyn Kelly Has ‘Blood Coming Out of Her Wherever,” Daily Beast, last modified 2015.https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-megyn-kelly-has-blood-coming-out-of-her-wherever 

Dastagir, Alia E. “She Was Sexually Assaulted Within Months of Coming Out. She Isn’t Alone,” USA Today, June 13, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/13/sarah-mcbride-gay-survivors-helped-launch-me-too-but-rates-lgbt-abuse-largely-overlooked/692094002/ 

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The effect that “Toxic Masculinity” has on Domestic Violence

Liya Eguale

English 2030-018

Dr. Mohrman

10 March 2019

           How does toxic masculinity play a role in domestic violence? Attributed to the fact that they are men, starting from a very young age they are taught to be dominant, strong, and emotionless. Toxic masculinity is a portrayal of masculinity in allusion to feminism. Men tend to use their masculinity negatively, abusing their dominance as a way to show their superiority and dominance.  Likewise, in many households’ individuals are a victim of domestic violence due to toxic masculinity. Domestic violence is an aggressive behavior within a household. The relationship between toxic masculinity and domestic violence is the essence of masculinity, because of that, it derives violence to develop into a mechanism where an individual proclaims their masculinity. Gender role and violence are very much associated with each other. The articles below contribute to different aspects of how toxic masculinity play a major role in domestic violence.

1. Hu, Nian. "Domestic Violence." The Harvard Crimson. September 22, 2016. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.thecrimson.com/column/femme-fatale/article/2016/9/22/domestic-violence-toxic-masculinity/.

This article discusses how a female was a victim of domestic violence and no one believed she was being abused in her marriage. It’s hard to imagine that someone is a victim of domestic violence because people often tend to picture a perfectly happy family with no issues, yet men are using their masculinity to show their toxic traits.  This article is credible because it examines how and why toxic masculinity links to domestic violence by giving an example of a domestic violence victim. In addition, how people disregard the sign of domestic violence, even though the victim has proof.

2. Bunch, Will. "Toxic Masculinity Is Killing Us." Common Dreams. August 19, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/08/19/toxic-masculinity-killing-us.

This article talks about how toxic masculinity is killing people. Linda Rios-Neuby pregnant with twins was a victim of domestic violence which led to her death including her babies; because her husband was very toxic. This article is credible because it delves into the different ways that toxic masculinity is killing people in unexpected ways especially women.

3. Próspero, Moisés. "Effects of Masculinity, Sex, and Control on Different Types of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration." SpringerLink. May 07, 2008. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-008-9186-3.

This article discusses the relationship between violence and masculinity and how it results is awful situations. In addition to examining the reasons behind the rise of toxic traits of men. This article is credible because it analyzes the association of masculinity and violence through violence, stating that men become violent because they grew up in a household where they watched someone being abused. Including, by examining that masculinity is only taught and gained by males rather than females.

4. Safvi, Subuhi. "Domestic Violence Starts at Home. But so Does Toxic Masculinity." DailyO. December 04, 2018. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.dailyo.in/variety/why-toxic-masculinity-is-especially-problematic-in-a-world-inching-towards-equality-femininity-gender-equality-dehumanisation-un/story/1/28127.html.

Toxic masculinity is acknowledged by everyone, male and female. When you are abused by your partner you automatically believe that you’re at fault because you are constantly being manipulated. This article is credible because it looks at both sides of victims that have been abused by their significant other,  stating that not only men are victims but also women.

5. Flood, Michael. "Australian Study Reveals the Dangers of 'toxic Masculinity' to Men and Those around them." The Conversation. February 11, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://theconversation.com/australian-study-reveals-the-dangers-of-toxic-masculinity-to-men-and-those-around-them-104694.

Many young men depend upon the societal teachings in order to understand what it means to be a man. Some agreed that violence is a way of gaining the respect they deserve and others didn’t. This article is credible because it examines how men are taught to be violent through their communities to show their masculinity. It also delves into why men think being dominant is a way to gain their respect.

6. Barker, Gary. "Male Violence or Patriarchal Violence? Global Trends in Men and Violence." April 2016. Accessed February 28, 2019.

Domestic violence more so patriarchal violence in a way that isn’t gender-biased. Patriarchy refers to the structure of power. This article is credible because it discusses the fact that male violence is due to power and not because of gender.

7. "Personality and Individual Differences." Www-sciencedirect-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org. October 2014. Accessed March 10, 2019.

8. Moore, Todd M., Stuart, Gregory L. "A Review of the Literature on Masculinity and Partner Violence." January 2005. Accessed March 10, 2019.

The relationship between masculinity and violence relies on gender role. This article is credible because it lists four different approaches that are broken down to identify the relationship between masculinity and domestic violence.

9. KRISTIN L. ANDERSON DEBRA UMBERSON. "GENDERING VIOLENCE: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. June 1, 2001. Accessed March 10, 2019.

Gender plays a huge role in the violence of female partners. Domestic violence is gendered through social and cultural processes that influence men in violent fights with their significant other. This article is credible because it examines the development of gender with men’s version of domestic violence. In addition to gathering information and recording data.

10. Claire G. LiscoRuschelle M. Leona Kathryn E. Gallagher Dominici J. ParrottEmail Author. "Demonstrating Masculinity” Via Intimate Partner Aggression: The Moderating Effect of Heavy Episodic Drinking." Link-springer-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org. June 16, 2015. Accessed March 10, 2019

Drinking on top of toxic masculinity is also the cause of domestic violence. Men who have episodic drinking have a tendency of physical aggression towards their partners. This article is credible because it delves into the many ways that drinking on top of toxic masculinity has an effect on the results of domestic violence. Furthermore, examines the motive of the level of stress on a male individual that has a negative outcome.

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Juliet Josselyn

Engl-2030-018

March 12, 2019

Toxic Masculinity: Rape and Sexual Harassment are Calling for Change

Introduction:

           Toxic masculinity is how men act when they do not show any emotion towards others and seem to think that they are the toughest and most dominant. The social part of the world deems toxic masculinity as the norm for men and the hegemonic trait with men being in dominance and that they have the most power over women. Toxic masculinity has been around for years and now is being presented as a problem. The #MeToo movement brought up how men need to change how they act especially towards women. This movement got many thinking that maybe there is a part of masculinity that is toxic and should not be taught to the new generation. The men know are being told to change and many men have gone against the movement saying that they do not need to change. Toxic masculinity it seems to be more toxic to some and not toxic at all to others. Toxic masculinity came up around the #MeToo movement because of how women were being treated with being sexually harassed and raped. There came a call for men to change their ways. The sources below deal with the #MeToo movement, rape, sexual harassment, and how all these things are calling to men to change how they act. The main theme is how toxic masculinity should be changed because of the #MeToo movement, rape, and sexual harassment.

Castillo, Piper. "ON TOXIC MASCULINITY, #METOO." Tampa Bay Times (FL), 1. News Bank. Assessed September 29, 2018. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/16EC941641741200.

A popular source that is about Roxane Gay and how she compares two cases of sexual assault to toxic masculinity. Gay said her opinions on toxic masculinity and how she was a victim to it when she was raped. She mainly focuses on Bret Kavanaugh and Christine Ford. Gay right away takes the side of Ford and uses her history at Yale to support that the fraternity that Kavanaugh was in was the worst. Using this case proves that toxic masculinity is still out there and that there have been many women who have been raped, but don’t know how to speak up.

Godwin, Richard. "Men after #MeToo: ‘There’s a narrative that masculinity is fundamentally toxic' - Can a new men’s movement bring a positive shift?" Guardian, The (London, England), 28. News Bank. Assessed March 9, 2018.

This article a popular source mentions how men are getting together and talking about masculinity and themselves. Also, how some men want change, but others don’t think change is necessary. With men going to groups to talk about how to change could help decrease the number of men who still have toxic masculinity. The #MeToo movement brought many bad things with masculinity and that caused men to rethink their masculinity and try to improve themselves. Also, that many men were trying to change before this movement hit. The more men change then hopefully sexual harassment will go down and any other violence towards women and men alike.

Heilman, B., & Barker, G. (2018, Spring). Toxic masculinities study focuses on U.S., U.K. and Mexico: Unmasking sexual harassment. Voice Male, 22, 20-21. 

This article which is academic is about how a program called Promundo (international gender justice organization) did studies to figure out who is most likely to sexual harass someone. Figured out that young men are the most likely and it is because those young men were raised believing that toxic masculinity was the only way how to be a man. A study was conducted asking 1,000 young men from the U.S., the U.K., and from Mexico. Each young man was asked questions and from their responses found out that sexual harassment by men starts at a young age. Also, that these young men are taught certain things that have led to them sexually harassing women. These young men are taught to never take no as an answer when it comes to sex and that they should always act strong even if they are scared. These teachings are what causing young men to harass women and these young men should be taught that there are many different forms of masculinity.

Jeremy Posadas. “Teaching the Cause of Rape Culture: Toxic Masculinity.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 33, no. 1 (2017): 177-179. (accessed March 12, 2019).

This scholarly source written by a professor covers what Jeremy Posadas (author) teaches and what he does in his course (sex, self, and society). This course went over sexual violence and how a conclusion to why sexual violence happens is because of toxic masculinity. This source is good for going into how students see sexual violence and what they think is the cause for it. After getting conclusions from his students came to the realization that toxic masculinity plays a role in sexual violence. Posadas then wanted his students to go into ways of how to stop sexual violence not just with women, but with other gender-based sexual violence. If men could get help on how to change their masculine aspects, then less sexual violence should occur.

O'Toole, Fintan. "Protecting women from abuse is good for men too - Men and boys are victims both of abuse and of the toxic idea of masculinity that fuels it." Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland), Assessed November 18, 2017: 3. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/1683FFF27174E380.

This popular source mentions how both women and men have been sexually harassed and that the men who have been do not tell others about it. Then goes into more detail about what is causing men to act badly toward others and the author’s conclusion is that when men are treated badly or do not have a strong relationship tend to gear towards the toxic masculine aspects. This article is on the side of the men who are victims to sexual harassment and how they cannot speak up like women because they are afraid to lose their job or to not look like a man in front of other men. The author goes more into detail about how the men who do sexual harass others tend to go down that path if they are not in a loving relationship. A piece of evidence that author used was looking at people who went to Harvard in 1938 and seeing that John F. Kennedy had a loving relationship and did not turn towards toxic masculinity. There are ways to stop toxic masculinity and sexual harassment.    

PettyJohn, M. E., Muzzey, F. K., Maas, M. K., & McCauley, H. L. #HowIWillChange: Engaging men and boys in the #MeToo movement. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. (2018) doi.

A scholarly journal that goes over how men reacted to the #MeToo movement and started the #HowIWillChange which was started by a man to get other men to say how are they going to change due to the #MeToo movement. The men that on twitter that used this hashtag were separated into groups and what each group meant. A study was made to find the #HowIWillChange on twitter and to separate what most men are saying to groups. Mainly had three groups that all the twitter messages went into. While conducting search found that some men were using this hashtag and saying that they do not need to change and were going against the #HowIWillChange movement. This movement started to get men to rethink their masculinities and to see that maybe what was being taught in the past should stay in the past and that the present has changed how men see other men.  

Samuel Paul Louis Veissière, "“Toxic Masculinity” in the age of #MeToo: ritual, morality and gender archetypes across cultures", Society and Business Review, Vol. 13 Issue: 3, pp.274-286. Assessed July 20, 2018.

This is a scholarly source and this article mentions how people grow up knowing the norms of gender and that those norms can be broken. How both men and women have toxicity and that the norms should not control how they act. This article talks about toxic masculinity, but also mentions toxic feminism which is relating to the worst of women behavior and ideals. The norm that toxic masculinity follows can be broken and changed. With the change comes new ideals on how men can act. The writer uses his own personal findings to describe what he sees and how men follow the norms with toxic masculinity. The writer comes up with a list with how boys should be taught how to act. With boys and men changing how they act then the thought of hurting others like raping or sexual harassment will go away.  

Scher, Avichai. “MeToo is Making Colleges Teach Toxic Masculinity 101.” The Daily Beast. Assessed September 27, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/metoo-is-making-colleges-teach-toxic-masculinity-101

This article is a popular source that talks about how some universities are teaching men how to act around women. These groups are trying to change men and focus on how to change toxic masculinity. This article brings up how universities are trying to get rid of toxic masculinity and trying to stop sexual harassment. When men learn about other kinds of masculinity, they will hopefully try to change how they act toward others. Universities formed talk circles to get men to talk about toxic masculinity and see if they will change. The writer uses an example from Brown University to show how hard it is for men to change. The example is that football is a masculine sport and that if men change then so will the game. Conflicting thoughts on whether men should change or not. If men do decide to not change then the levels of sexual harassment will rise and the #MeToo’s movement would have meant nothing.  

Sheffield, Emily. “Sexual Harassment is Endemic – we’Re Angry and Want it to Change: The #MeToo Movement was just the Start – Equality Involves Confronting the Legacy Left by Centuries of Toxic Masculinity, Says Emily Sheffield.” Evening Standard. Assessed November 10, 2017. https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/emily-sheffield-sexual-harassment-is-endemic-we-re-angry-and-want-it-to-change-a3687911.html

This article which is a popular source mainly talks about Emily Sheffield’s (writer) interactions with males and how each time she was surprised to see the men act like. Then she mentions how men should change and be more open to feel emotions. Sheffield uses her own interactions with men as evidence that toxic masculinity exists and that men should change. She is calling out all the stupid things men do with women. Sheffield does want change, but she thinks that the #MeToo movement only made matters worse. For men started to react to the movement in a negative way. To have change is to do it slowly and get some men to change then have them help others change.

Weathington, Bradley. "IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT AN ENDEMIC SOCIAL ISSUE?" Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice 10, no. 2 (2018): 64+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (accessed March 12, 2019).

An academic article that mentions how the #MeToo movement has brought up sexual harassment in the workplace and how the workplace seems to be a place where toxic masculinity still is. The author conducted a study to find out how many women have been sexually harassed in the workplace and to see if men are still the dominating force at work. From this article it seems that sexual harassment still happens in the workplace and that men seem to still seem to have the dominance. In the study that was conducted over 3,000 women were asked question about sexual harassment and if those who committed the crime were punished. The percentage of those who committed the crime that were punished was much lower than the percentage for those who were not punished. It seems that there are many who are guilty are not being prosecuted. Sexual harassment is still a big thing in the workplace because the men who have committed the crime are not having to change their ways and do not know the consequences of their actions.  

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An Annotated Bibliography: What Toxic Masculinity Does To Health and How Do We Teach It?

Jordan Harms

Digital Annotated Bibliography

Dr. Mohrman

March 9, 2019

An Annotated Bibliography: What Toxic Masculinity Does To Health and How Do We Teach It?

Toxic masculinity has adopted many definitions. In today’s culture, toxic masculinity involves topics such as sex, violence, harassment, status and aggression. These things mask the ability for men to show weakness and emotions, and give men a label as acting “feminine.” Since it is not understood at a young age, children will never be able to understand how it could become apparent in their daily lives. Other things need to be taken into account like health issues that come along with the controversial concept of toxic masculinity.

Popular Sources:

1).Source Cited: Caroline, Gilpin, and Natalie, Proulx, “Boys to Men: Teaching and Learning About Masculinity in an Age of Change,” The New York Times,(April 12, 2018), Accessed March 04, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/lesson-plans/boys-to-men-teaching-and-learning-about-masculinity-in-an-age-of-change.htmlIts

Caroline Gilpin and Natalie Prolux explain how important it is that male roles in younger boys’ lives are being called to prevent toxic masculinity. In this reading, the main focus looked into changing how boys act in the pursuit of their growing lives. Gilpin and Prolux continued to ask questions about expectations from boys at such a young age. What has been modeled to young boys to show them what it means to be a “true man?” How can boys avoid toxic masculinity further on into their lives? This source provides knowledge and guidance when asking young boys questions about their future. It challenges parents or other adults to change the way toxic masculinity is taught to young boys.

2).Source Cited: Diane, Barth, “Toxic masculinity is a terrible shorthand for a real problem plaguing men,” NBC News Think: Opinion, Analysis, Essays,(January 04, 2019), Accessed March 4, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/toxic-masculinity-terrible-shorthand-real-problem-plaguing-men-ncna957941

Everyday men struggle with the concept of toxic masculinity that causes psychological issues. This reading points out that all ideas about masculinity have all become bad. Barth really emphasizes on the health issues, mainly psychological issues, that men are facing due to toxic masculinity. The norms for masculinity are changing and have started to lay foundations to a larger audience. Men are attempting to “undo” the concept of toxic masculinity and working alongside with women. In the ready Barth gives an example of a client she was working with in the past who was three years old and was told by a teacher he was a little “fragile.” What does being fragile mean as a man? Barth incorporates a multitude of psychological issues that comes along with the concept of toxic masculinity. The behaviors that toxic masculinity presents needs to be addressed, not defined.

3). Source Cited:Kristian Berhost “The History and Health Consequences of Toxic Masculinity in the U.S.” The Medium,(January 29, 2018), Accessed March 04, 2019, https://medium.com/@kristianberhost/the-history-and-health-consequences-of-toxic-masculinity-in-the-u-s-82dfbc53f1ca

           Health is something that is very overlooked when toxic masculinity has become a popular topic for discussion. In this article, Berhost provides many statistical numbers that correspond to health issues listed in the reading. The author provides the leading causes of death in men that all surround the concept of toxic masculinity. After reading this article, the controversy of the concept of toxic masculinity isn’t only just a bad rap, it masks other underlying issues.  

4). Source Cited:Alia, E. Dastagir, “Men pay a steep prove when it comes to masculinity,” USA Today,(March 31, 2017), Accessed March 4, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/31/masculinity-traditional-toxic-trump-mens-rights/99830694/

Boys have been taught throughout their entire lives what it means to be a man. Gender equality has changed positively for women, but has it for boys and men? Men are aggressively working hard to teach young boys about what toxic masculinity means and how it can be changed. This article provides statistical evidence to support the idea that toxic masculinity is something that isn’t easy for men to face.

Source Cited:Alia, E. Dastagir, “Men pay a steep prove when it comes to masculinity,” USA Today,(March 31, 2017), Accessed March 4, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/31/masculinity-traditional-toxic-trump-mens-rights/99830694/

5). Source Cited: Samantha, Smithstein, “Toxic Masculinity: What Is It and How Do We Change It?,” Psychology Today,(October 02, 2018), Accessed March 4, 2019, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201810/toxic-masculinity-what-is-it-and-how-do-we-change-it

Psychology and teaching are two major things that need to be taken account for while discussing toxic masculinity. This reading incorporates real mean facing the challenge of toxic masculinity. Smithstein offers the telling of an individual male and his experienced living in toxic masculinity. Not all men strive to live that way and would rather be masculine, without being toxic. One major point in this reading states the act of bullying. Many children in school faces bullying everyday; majority of them being boys. This is a perfect example of how toxic masculinity is very vibrant in schools. Men are striving to educate themselves and their boys.

Academic Sources:

6).  Source Cited:Kathleen, Elliott, “Challenging Toxic Masculinity in Schools and Society,” On the Horizon, Vol. 26 Issue: 1, pg,17-22 (2018), Accessed March 4, 2019

Today, there are very obvious signs moving toward gender equality. In schools, teachers focus on addressing the advancement and empowering of women. Rarely do school focus on addressing masculinity, especially toxic masculinity. It is rare to dive into how boy are being raised in taught in their lives early on. This results in allowing toxic masculinity. The blame is being on put on how parents or guardians do not spend the time teaching their boys how to be masculine in the correct and positive way. It is very important for all educators to focus on masculinity as well as other gender inequalities.

7). Source Cited: Bryant, W. Sculos, “Who’s Afraid of ‘Toxic Masculinity,’ Class, Race, and Corporate Power,(2017), Accessed March 4, 2019

           It is important to understand the meaning of toxic masculinity. People can do this by looking in deeper to popular culture topics and relating them back to other specific topics. The author of this article mainly talks about how he tries to teach people about toxic masculinity. Reading this makes it easier for the reader to understand what toxic masculinity is. It is important that people have the knowledge to understand and teach about this topic because there is so much want for change in society today. This article asks the main question “who is afraid of toxic masculinity?’ It could be that the fear is being a man and presenting toxic masculinity or not teaching younger generations about toxic masculinity.

8).Source Cited: Tim, Lomas, “New Ways of Being a Man: “Positive” Hegemonic Masculinity in Meditation-based Communities of Practice,”

Sage Journals

, (23, Marcj 2015), Accessed March 11, 2019

           Lomas immediately describes how toxic masculinity can be very detrimental to ones health and well-being. Men take on the brutality of toxic masculinity which results in masking their true emotions. Even if men are working hard towards changing toxic masculinity, it is still present in their everyday lives. Lomas does a good job at explaining the term “hegemonic” and how toxic masculinity and the term hegemonic work together in unison. One of the main ideas relating to toxic masculinity is dominance, also meaning hegemonic. Men can change, but Lomas states that social processes can block this from happening.

9). Source Cited:Raewyn, Connell, “Masculinity Construction and Sports In Boys Education: A Framework For Thinking About The Issue,” Sports, Education, and Society,Vol. 13, No. 2 page 131-145

           Sports plays a huge role in masculinity. Boys are expected to play sports during school. If they don’t. In the reading, the author talks about how girls success is a threat to boys. If boys are successful in sports, then the boys feel as if they win. This is a perfect example of toxic masculinity is sports. Education allows for boys to show their masculinity, but doesn’t offer a clear understanding of what toxic masculinity is. It is common for boys to panic about being failures in sports. In the article, Connell states that sports is the most segregated area in schools because of dominance. Schools could apply more information to the students, specifically the ones in sports, about toxic masculinity. Not all boys want to go to school and play sports at the same time. Boys should be able to go to school and know that it is okay not to be involved in sports. Connell explicitly explains the trauma boys receive, even if they are involved in sports, during their school year. Toxic masculinity is very apparent in not only a school setting, but a sports setting as well.

10). Source Cited:Jim, Burns, “Biopolitics, Toxic Masculinities, Disavowed Histories, and Youth Radicalization,” A Journal of Social Justice,(2017) Vol. 29, page 176-183

           Burns disactivates from the term masculinity and uses the term “radicalization.” He puts into terms how children act more radical. This relates to the idea of toxic masculinity. As young boys, the idea of being masculine is greater than being yourself. Boys begin to fear feminism at a young age, so toxic masculinity becomes masked. Burns uses real world examples to explain how the youth are leaning more towards radicalization. Radicalization means people going against norms and adopting extreme political, social or religious ideas that are commonly rejected. This reading supports the idea that toxic masculinity is very present in young boys and something needs to change in education.

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Marlyn Burciaga

03/10/2019

English 2030

Dr. Mohrman

The Top 10 Truths About Toxic Masculinity

Introduction:

Toxic masculinity has recently became a widespread debate in our society. It is a term used to refer to stereotypical masculine behaviors of boys and men through socially expected actions like, being aggressive, violent, or seeking to be a dominant male. Many think that this is caused by teaching boys at a very young age that they cannot show emotions, vulnerability, or sensitivity because those things “are only for girls” and the result of this is boys/men not being able to express or show emotions because it is a feminine thing to do. This leads to terrifying behaviors of violence like: abuse, aggression, and even shootings, all because men feel the need to live up to this definition of “masculinity” that our society has put in place. To challenge or change these societal norms we need to begin to educate boys at a very young age that there is not a certain way “to be a man.” Boys need to know that it is okay to be vulnerable and to show sensitivity. Maybe this way masculinity will be looked at as a positive thing, not a toxic thing.

Academic Sources:

Clemens, Colleen, “What we Mean when we say “Toxic Masculinity” Last modified (December 2017) accessed March 10, 2019, Southern Poverty Law Center.

Colleen Clemens is a classroom teacher who is standing up to and attempting to clarify modern day problems and/or discussions for the understanding of her students. Clemens first states that before even discussing masculinity, we must talk about and understand a few things about gender. She says that “gender identity is a deeply held feeling of being male, female, or another gender, people of different genders often act different, not because of biological characteristics but because of rigid societal norms created around femininity and masculinity.” Clemens brings in a “toxic masculinity” phrase definition from studies that focus on violent behaviors perpetuated by men and is used to describe a form of gendered behavior that results when expectations of “what it takes to be a man” goes wrong. The good man project defines it as: “toxic masculinity is a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designing manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything while emotions are weakness; where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured, while supposedly “feminine” traits -- which can range from emotional vulnerability to simply not be hypersexual -- are the means by which by which your status as a “man” can be taken away.” Clemens firmly takes the side of believing that men are NOT naturally violent. She blames it on the societal norms that instruct men to show their masculinity through physical power. Not showing physical power can cause a man to feel as though they are failing at “being a man”. It is because of this that the men that feel this way will try to show their masculinity through violence. Colleen Clemens believes that if we educate students about topics like toxic masculinity, we can show them there is not only “one way” to be a man.

Clemens, Colleen, “Toxic masculinity is bad for Everyone: Why teachers must Disrupt Gender Norms Everyday” Last Modified (January 2018) accessed March 10, 2019, Southern Poverty Law Center.

Colleen Clemens, in “Toxic masculinity is bad for Everyone: Why teachers must Disrupt Gender Norms Everyday” is arguing against societal norms and refuses to teach her students “gender roles.” She plans on doing so by rethinking how masculinity is taught by teachers and other educators to the youth through everyday deeds and actions. Clemens begins by giving us a few examples of traumatizing events that have occured within the last two years for example, the shooting in Las Vegas at a concert, the man who drove a rental truck down a bike path in New York City, or the shooting at the church in Sutherland, Texas. Why might she be giving her audience these examples? What do they all have in common? That these murders were all men. Clemens implies that educators, like her, need to address these problems, and although they may fall under this category of “masculinity” we need to “push back” against some of the gendered ideas that sometimes are implied after violent actions take place. She says that everyone needs to get away from the idea that “men are just naturally violent” and recognize statements like this as manifestations of toxic masculinity. Colleen Clemens blames the social norms saying that there is only one way “to be a man” or that they need to “man up” or “grow a pair.” She believes that it harms boys and men who feel that they have failed to live up to these expectations and it drives them to perform these violent acts.

Smithstein, Samantha, “Toxic Masculinity: what is it and how do we change it?” Last Modified (October 2018) accessed March 10, 2019, Sussex Publisher.

“Toxic Masculinity: what is it and how do we change it?” is told by John Leimer, he is a lay counselor, writer, artist, and business owner. Leimer tells his story of how he fell into the system of toxic masculinity. He says that he found out late in his twenties that good things don't come easy, and this angered him because he felt as though everyone around him “had it all.” Leimer says that in order to be successful he “fell into the pattern of: seek out, seduce, become what women wanted to have in a man, and get the sex.” He recognizes and says that he was “treating women as objects for my sexual gratification and confirmation of status/manhood because that was the society I was raised in and accustomed to.” Leimer says that he remembers being accustomed to this since he was a little boy in middle school and he has recognized that he was not a good influence on growing boys watching and has changed. He wants all men to “recognize their toxins and replace them with healthy masculinity: The knowledge that I make choices that will have consequences and I must stand in the face of those choices if I harm another or myself whether intended or unintended.”

Avni, Kageston, Anna, “Addressing Gender Socialization and Masculinity Norms Among Adolescent Boys” Last Modified (March 2018) accessed March 10, 2019, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The authors of “Addressing Gender Socialization and Masculinity Norms Among Adolescent Boys” educate their audience on the transition of boys into adolescents. They say that during this transition boys face many risk factors that shape their life course. Masculinity is taught to boys at a very young age and is a big factor that contributes to the idea of toxic masculinity.  Factors taught include: physical toughness, autonomy, emotional stoicism, and heterosexual prowess. The authors indicate that the people teaching these gendered norms are actually parents, educators and peers. Parents do so by direct and indirect communication with their children in terms of different rules and expectations between boys and girls. Educators do so by changing their way of teaching or communicating between boys and girls. Peers do so by teaching other boys their age what they have been taught. The authors say that small group participatory activities to generate critical reflection about unequal gender norms are very successful in showing boys that there is no one way of “being a man.”

      5. Veissiere, Samuel, “The real problem with toxic masculinity” Last Modified (February    2018) accessed March 10, 2019, Sussex Publisher.

In his article, Samuel Veissiere shares his recent class discussion about childhood memories. He shares on of his students stories about camping trips with her father. She is a twenty year old female who with a big smile on her face says that these camping trips with her father were a “ritual family thing.” She makes a comment saying that in today's age, the sight of a father and daughter sharing a small tent would “seem a little creepy.” And it fascinated Veissiere how big of a shift there has been in gender, sexually, and social interactions. In today's world it is looked at as “weird” to see interactions between opposite sexes and a father and a daughter when before this was a “normal” thing encountered. Today it could be looked at as abuse, or kidnap and this is because of the stereotypes we have associated with men. Samuel veissiere believes it is important for men to defend themselves against these stereotypes because really, men themselves are the only ones to blame for this. He believes that teaching boys to challenge these stereotypes would have a significant effect on the world’s masculine ideologies.  

Popular sources:

Salam, Maya, “What is toxic masculinity” Last Modified (January 2019) accessed March 10, 2019, New York Times.

The New York Times article on toxic masculinity believes that this is “by far the worst thing we do to males -- by making them feel they have to be hard -- is that we leave them with fragile egos.” They reference the new commercial by Gillette stating that men must hold other men accountable and that we must move away from the “boys will be boys” mentality.  There was  a lot of backlash from that commercial by men who disagree or felt attacked by the term “toxic masculinity.” A breed of straight male rockers are featured in the article and are who are protesting old notions of Joe Talbot says, “all the norms that we see, aren't normal at all, it’s a giant lie.” According to The New York Times “toxic masculinity,” or “traditional masculinity ideology” are defined by some of the following: suppressing emotions or masking distress, maintaining an appearance of hardness, and violence as an indicator of power (think tough guy behavior). This is the result of teaching young boys that they CANNOT express emotions openly or that they have to be tough all of the time, and there are also some health links associated with toxic masculinity including leaving boys and men at “disproportionate risk for school discipline, academic challenges and health disparities,” Including cardiovascular problems and substance abuse. Former NFL player Wade Davis is one of few males that recognizes just how bad masculinity is being defined and believes that “there are no better messengers to help men confront these issues, than other men.” He agrees with Gillette! (men must hold other men accountable) As he says,  “It’s individual men, who are going to have to at some point, decide how to define manhood and masculinity for himself.

Dastagir, Maya, “Men pay a steep price when it comes to Toxic Masculinity” Last Modified (March 2017) accessed March 10, 2019, www. usatoday.com.

In her article “Men pay a steep price when it comes to Toxic Masculinity,” Alia Dastagir focuses on the statement “ Some say the “future is female.” But what does the future look like for Men?” She begins by giving us the example of the incident with the marines sharing sexually explicit photos of their female colleagues  on social media. The comments on these photos were said to be degrading and alluded to rape. These photos were shared without their consent and its an example of what many call “toxic masculinity.” “For this, men pay a steep price,” says Dastagir. Men are often told that if they do things like share private photos, it will put them in a more “powerful position.” They are told when they are young boys that this is how you behave if you “want to be a man” and are told that it is demonstrated through “fraternities, politics, the military, and relationships.” Alia Dastagir believes that “victim blaming and the excuse that some giving that ‘boys will be boys’ needs to stop.” This isn’t what a boy is. Its what a boy is told he must be.

Hosking, Taylor, “Jonah Hill Wants to fight Toxic Masculinity” Last Modified (Febuary 2019) accessed March 10, 2019, www. vice.com.

In Jonah Hill’s Interview with VICE he hopes that “his fans that loved him in ‘Superbad’ will watch him shed light on the ugly side of what binds bros together.” Jonah Hill is taking a complete turn and is now hoping that his future projects will continue to “challenge traditional masculinity.” Hill says that he grew up in the 90’s where boy adolescents grew up being told that they couldn't show emotion, vulnerability, or sensitivity because that was looked at as feminine or gay. “The 90’s was an era of rampat misogyny, homophobia, and too-cool-for-feelings punk culture,” And believes that the only thing that does is it leads to a lot of horrible behavior.  Hill tells us that his early works like his movie “Superbad” were “stoner bro films” that undermine women in films and made them feel like prizes instead of professional human beings and that in the mid-nineties, it was regular for films to use a lot of homophobic, demeaning words against women. Jonah Hill got a lot of backlash when his movie came out for “sympathetically portraying boys bonding over offensive jokes” He addressed those critics by saying, “I thought it would be way more disrespectful to change history than to show it just as it was, and let the audience see how ugly it feels.” Hill is one of very few icons that recognized how he was contributing to masculinity in all of the wrong ways, and hopes to challenge those ideologies with his future work.

    4.  Barr, Sabrina, “What is toxic masculinity, and how can it be addressed?” Last Modified (January 2019) accessed March 10, 2019, www.independent.co.uk.

In her article “What is toxic masculinity, and how can it be addressed?” Sabrina Barr references the Gillette commercial “The Best a Man can Be” and talks about how the commercial sparked a huge debate about toxic masculinity and whether its a concept that the world should tackle. She relates it to the me too movement and the pressure put on young boys to accept gender norms. Barr defines toxic masculinity as harmful behaviors and attitudes by men like: repressed emotions when they feel stressed and act in an aggressively dominate way. She says that, “one of the ways masculinity manifests through toxic behaviors ends in violence, whether it be towards themselves or others.” The term toxic masculinity “was reportedly first used by psychologist Shepard Bliss in the 1980s and 1990s.  Bliss sought to separate the negative traits of men from the positive traits, and use the term “toxic masculinity” as a means of making the distinction. Jack Irwin is also featured in this article and he believes that “the fact is a lot of men seem to feel their place in the modern world is becoming less purposeful.” Barr says that toxic needs to be addressed first to the young boys of our world by changing what the are taught and how they are raised.

      5. Morgan, Ashley, “The real problem with toxic masculinity” Last Modified (February 2019) accessed March 10, 2019, Theconversation.com.

Ashley Morgan, in her article believes that the “real” problem with toxic masculinity is    that it assumes there is only one way of being a man. She tells us, male violence has been around for centuries but it is now known as “toxic masculinity.” A short film by Pixar is featured in the article about a pink ball of wool named Purl and how “she” tries to fit in at her new job at the B.R.O Capital. She is surrounded by suited white men and is struggling to fit in because “she is being to soft” and “she needs to be aggressive.” This commercial came out a few weeks after the Gillette ad, only this one was praised for the “powerful” story it told. And the real issue is that men with toxic traits are being victimized because they have higher testosterone levels, which is actually being refuted scientifically. They SHOULD actually be victimized because this is how they were raised and being insensitive and aggressive were the norms that they were taught. Morgan believes that men with higher power should recognize this and know that they are the ones privileged enough to make a change by showing that there is no “right” way of being a man.

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Ana Orduna 

English 2030 018

Dr. Mohrman

2/28/19

                        Toxic Masculinity in the Transgender community  

Toxic masculinity has taken many shapes and forms over the years. It wasn’t until recently that the term “toxic masculinity” came to be and with it a definition, which states that toxic masculinity is a social expectation placed on men to be dominant, violent, and strong (usually in the physical sense), and that it is a belief considered to be detrimental to their mental health. It is important to include the trans community as they deviate from what is considered the norm of what masculinity is and they’re some of the first people that wrestle with the ideology and how it affects the people around them and themselves. The trans community tends to deal with the worst of the brunt that comes from this specific ideology, just from the fact that they are mocked for being themselves or even stripped of their identities to having to deal with it internally, also honing in on how trans men deal with the “manliness” that comes with their identities and how they embrace and exclude it.

Pugh, Aleo. "(RE)DOING GENDER: TRANS MEN AND THE REPRODUCTION OF TOXIC MASCULINITY." URGE. February 21, 2017. Accessed March 04, 2019. https://urge.org/redoing-gender-trans-men-and-the-reproduction-of-toxic-masculinity/. 

Pugh explains how the Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) movement creates a hostile environment towards trans women but appears to invite the participation of trans men which, Pugh argues, allows trans men to have a stake in power through toxic masculinity. This article makes great points about how toxic masculinity is deeply ingrained on society and that this ideology is intersectional, adding to it the fact that even in what could be considered more “open” circles one has to make a conscious choice of unlearning behavior that hurts a majority of the minority.

2) Chase. "FTM TOXIC MASCULINITY [CC]." YouTube. March 18, 2017. Accessed March 04, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whhHMNBhDJU. 

Youtuber uppercaseCHASE1, also known as Chase, addresses toxic masculinity in his video talking about his own experiences transitioning and what he has seen in the transgender community, especially with trans men’s behavior when they are transitioning from female to male (FTM). This video succeeds in pointing out awareness towards the community itself and how they seem to agree with ideologies in order to be accepted by others and feel part of a community as well as overcompensating with behaviors like misogyny. 

3) McBee, Thomas Page. "How Do I Reconcile My Masculinity With The Toxicity of Men?" Them. October 05, 2018. Accessed March 04, 2019. https://www.them.us/story/amateur-masculinity. 

Thomas Page McBee draws on their own experiences as to how he navigated through his newfound masculinity and how he separated the set expectations of society from what it meant to him to be a man. It becomes an interesting outlook as this is one of the first articles explaining how McBee (and most of society) had been taught how men and women functioned in a much more black and white way, wrestling between one being “good” and the other being “bad” and how to break oneself from that binary.

4) Giardina, Henry. "Embracing Maleness In An Age Of Toxic Masculinity." BuzzFeed News. August 15, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hgiardina/embracing-maleness-in-an-age-of-toxic-masculinity. 

Henry Giardina explains how (in their own personal life and general pop culture), men appear to be idolized, seen as the better, dominant, more powerful half when the reality is that society has set such a standard for masculinity no matter what one does it becomes impossible to achieve yet it receives an incredible amount of credit and praise. Interesting and well put, this article brings about how general masculinity is thought of, especially for someone navigating through finding their gender identity since a very young age and the influence of media like movies and music.

5) Ward, Katie. "How These Four Guys Bring a Fresh Perspective To What It Means To Be Masculine." A Plus. June 29, 2018. Accessed March 04, 2019. https://aplus.com/lgbtq-pride-month/transgender-men-toxic-masculinity-discussion-video?no_monetization=true. 

Four trans men sit around in a table and discuss their own experiences before and after coming out as trans explaining simple things such as cat calling, receiving encouragement and the new constraints they face as men. This video is interesting since they have the ability to speak from two points of view shared by the same person with the biggest difference being how they are perceived as males now and the pros and cons that come with their identities. 

6) Green, Jamison. "Part of the Package." Men and Masculinities 7, no. 3 (January 01, 2005): 291-99. Accessed March 05, 2019. doi:10.1177/1097184x04272116. 

Jamison Green expresses early ideas in which he argues the studies of masculinity shouldn’t be exclusive towards cisgender men but that they should also account for transgender men and their experiences navigating to the other side of the spectrum in the binary of genders. This is a good earlier piece to read since it helps express some of the earlier modern thoughts on inclusivity towards the trans community. 

7) Gottzén, Lucas, and Wibke Straube. "Trans Masculinities." Norma 11, no. 4 (2016): 217-24. Accessed March 05, 2019. doi:10.1080/18902138.2016.1262056. 

Gottzén and Straube, like Green, argue that there should be more inclusivity in the field research of masculinity for trans men and their experiences with masculinity and their identity. This research acts as a sort of follow up to Green’s research with more recent and updated views on masculinity regarding the trans community. 

8) Haak, Abby M. "The Embodiment of Masculinity among Trans* Identified Men." Order No. 1556980, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2014. 

Haak also argues for the inclusivity of trans men in men’s studies focusing on how they perform their masculinity and juxtaposing it along the opinions and ideas that cis men have about masculinity in society. This research paper also functions as a link between Green’s and Gottzén and Straube’s research on the topic of masculinity and how they fit within their community and the broader social ideology of men. 

9) DeRoest, Aiden. Critiquing Feminism: A Trans Man Perspective. PDF. Monmouth: Western Oregon University, July 01, 2018. 

DeRoest explains how feminism works as an umbrella term that focuses more on the broad terms of equality for all rather than just simply women’s rights by itself, adding that the exclusion of trans men is ignoring one of the many intersecting topics of feminism. This research paper points out the detrimental effects that exclusion by the feminist movement can cause, especially for trans men. 

10) Gardiner, Judith Kegan. "MASCULINITY'S INTERIOR: MEN, TRANSMEN, AND THEORIES OF MASCULINITY." Journal of Men's Studies 21, no. 2 (Spring, 2013): 112-126. 

Gardnier takes a psychological approach to the inclusion and understanding of trans men, especially talking about their mental health and how it fits within masculinity itself. This paper is a much more scientific approach though it still discusses important points in how masculinity bleeds into the trans community. 

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Paige Phillips Professor Mohrman English 2030 March 12, 2019

How Toxic Masculinity Effects Homosexuality

Toxic masculinity is a term we use today in the social sciences to describe stereotypes about masculine gender roles. These stereotypes define masculinity as men who are violent, unemotional, aggressive, and other traits like these. While these traits may be harmless and even sought out for in the workplace or sexual relationships, too much of it can cause them to create toxic masculinity.  This further suggests that men who act the opposite of these stereotypes are not real men and are looked down on by other men. This is a problem because children watch how adults around them act and model after them. If a child is a part of the LGBTQ community, they will automatically try and be something different because of the way they see their parents acting, resulting in suppressing their true feelings. As a gay man in the LGBTQ community, they may feel prone to still acting in these toxic stereotypes despite wanting to be themselves. Toxic masculinity can cause problems in many communities in our social society, but can also cause homophobia in and around the LGBTQ community.

1. Toxic Masculinity in the Age of Me Too

Veissiere, Samuel P. "Toxic Masculinity in the Age of Me Too,” July 2018 Accessed March 12, 2019. https://www-emeraldinsight-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/1 0.1108/SBR-07-2018-0070. In this academic source, Veissiere writes of “Toxic Masculinity” to examine cultural shifts about gender and the relationship of sexes. Between different cultures, he explains there is an importance of a strong gender role and how they use it to be educated on their own well-being of society. He uses thirty different stories of people and their separate cultures for how they are affected either positively or negatively in their cultures and families. As an example, people explained that fathers could be seen as “creepy” if they were to share a tent at a camping trip with their children. Veissiere is aiming in his article that “toxic masculinity” can be seen as negative or positive depending on family and other cultures in today’s society. With families being worried about a Father being creepy with his child at a camping trip, homosexuality may be affected on a deeper sense in regard to toxic masculinity. In this culture, a family culturally shy’s away from having a man and a child sharing a tent because they could act sexually on the child. As Veissiere explains, these children will grow up thinking anything involving a tent and a man could result in a sexual act regardless of their gender. 2. A Very “Gay” Straight: Hybrid Masculinities, Sexual Aesthetics, and the Changing Relationship between Masculinity and Homophobia

Bridges, Tristian. "A Very “Gay” Straight?" Sage Publication September 2013. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://journalssagepub.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10. 1177/0891243213503901?utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider. Bridges begin to explain the ideals of three men that consider their identities as “gay” in this academic source. These men purposely stay away from the stereotyped term masculine and try to create themselves to be more politically progressive. Bridges creates her own theory of “sexual aesthetics” to find the consequences of the behavior of men that are privileged from using their toxic masculinity, and to find the reason for the separation between gay masculinities and straight masculinities. With the three different people explaining different effects of society on how they show their sexuality, Bridges analyses how people are seen in today’s relationship to masculinity and how it can become toxic to these people. She explains different hybrids of masculinity that accumulate scholarly masculine practices, performances, and political forms of toxic masculinity. Her findings surround the idea of toxic masculinity of being a larger part of hurting people who are trying to find themselves in the difficulty of today’s society.

3. Gay Men and Intimate Partner Violence: A Gender Analysis

Oliffe, John L. "Gay Men and Intimate Partner Violence: A Gender Analysis." The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering. March 19, 2014. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-9566.12099. Oliffe explains in his academic article that intimate partner violence has mainly been an issue for women with heterosexual relationships, but there has been a growing population of men being surrounded in partner violence. His findings explain that sexual violence can affect anyone regardless of their sexual orientation or gender; gay men have confessed the most to having a sexually violent history. According to Oliffe, men in today’s society have often chosen to oppress their problems instead of seeking help in terms of sexual violence. The toxic masculinity that is embedded in people since a young age has been a problem for many communities but has been hidden away for same-gendered experienced violence. This is stemmed mainly from toxic masculinity because the violent man has been engineered to have violent tendency’s that have long been accepted. Oliffe explains that most commonly the man experiencing sexual violence does not desire seeking help from a cultural stigma of men not needing to find help and instead suppress their problems. This has been a large problem in the United States because men have a larger percentage of suicides compared to others.

4. The Shooting in Orlando, Terrorism or Toxic Masculinity (or Both?)

Haider, Syed. "The Shooting in Orlando, Terrorism or Toxic Masculinity?" Sage Publication. September 2016. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://journalssagepub.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1177/1097184X16664952?utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider. Haider addresses the shooting in Orlando, Florida and goes deeper into the idea of the shooting to just be a terrorist attack or being something more complex for this academic article. Haider is a Muslim a part of the LGBTQ community intrigued on the shooter’s stance against his community. He began to research more on the subject, concluding the culprit had gained toxic masculinity and stemmed this attack from his homophobia. He claims that this attack has started from the problem of toxic masculinity. Haider looks more into the origin of toxic masculinity, which is a big factor in violent crimes. Masculinity is naturally known to become toxic in the past, and the shooting in Orlando was one of many examples of this. Seeing this attack as more than just a homophobic terrorist attack is vital to see the problems in toxic masculinity and the violent rage that came from this. The LGBTQ community has been vulnerable in the path of toxic masculinity, many people have been attempting to challenge the masculine-feminine stereotypes and the LGBTQ community has been a large advocate for this. With toxic masculinity challenging these changes, there will be more battles to be fought.

5. Gender, Masculinity Threat, and Support for Transgender Rights.

Brian, Harrison F., and Melissa R. Michelson. "Gender, Masculinity, Threat, and Support for Transgender Rights." January 2019. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://link-springer-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/article/10.1007/s11199-018-0916-6. Harrison has written in this academic article about ran tests on people and their ideas toward transgender people. Through his findings, he has discovered that men are less supportive of transgender people, are threatened by their masculinity, and are more strongly affected by men who report their gender identity has a large effect on their day to day lives. He has also found that women are more supportive of the transgender community than men. He has found that attitudes toward transgendered people are closely linked with the way in which people see their own gender identity. Harrison’s findings are important to the LGBTQ community because they are constantly attempting to be accepted in today’s society and while we are getting closer to acceptance, there are obviously still people in society who disagree with accepting them for who they are. Toxic masculinity has been the main aid in denying the acceptance of transgendered people, in particular in ways in which they believe that this will affect their own gender identity and gendered expected performances.

6. The Pressure to be ‘Macho’ Can Damage Gay Men’s Mental Health

Murali, Badri. "The Pressure to Be 'Macho' Can Damage Gay Men's Mental Health." Huffington Post Canada. September 18, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/09/18/how-toxic-masculinity-affects-the-gay-community_a_23530021/. Murali begins to explain his struggles with being a part of the LGBTQ community because of his feminine physique, and that he chose to carry himself in a feminine way. Even though he sees himself as a gay man, the people around him who are the same discriminated him because he was not masculine like the people around him. Being yourself completely in front of others is important but when you see people you feel you should be like are completely different from you, you begin to question of who you are is correct. This is a problem with toxic masculinity because men see themselves as not enough of something because other people are not the same as them. These men are always striving to be their authentic selves but instead are striving for what they believe society wants them to be. This can affect their mental health and well-being, causing anxiety and depression. Men who are a part of the LGBTQ community feel insecure by this because there is a notion that they are not using their masculinity in the way they are expected to, which can become toxic.

7. Reported effects of Masculine Ideals on Gay Men

Sanchez, Francisco, “Reported Effects of Masculine Ideals on Gay Men,” Last Modified (July 2010) accessed March 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC2902177/.

Francisco writes a popular article analyzing what gay men associate with masculinity and femininity, and how it affects their self-image. He has found that the perceptions of identified gay men find perceptions of gender roles are based on masculine and feminine stereotypes. In his research he discovered while in public gay men desire to be seen as having feminine stereotypes, but contradicted themselves in sexual relationships; men wanted a more masculine partner 

The terms masculine and feminine are socially constructed, so for a person to attempt to have all qualities is harmful to them and others around them. Toxic masculinity is a major source of this because while a man may want to be more feminine in their day to day outlook, they feel pressured by society to have a manlier outlook for themselves. Toxic masculinity can cause many problems for these men in their day to day lives and relationships between others. 

8. When Toxic Masculinity Infects Our Queer Spaces, We All Lose

Leavell, Jeff, “When Toxic Masculinity Infects Our Queer Spaces, We All Lose” Last modified January 2018, accessed March 12, 2019. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev55y4/when-toxic-masculinity-infects-our-queer-spaces-we-all-lose Leavell’s popular article explains that many gay men constantly deal with self-doubt, and anxieties over their masculinities and feel as if they are being oppressed as femme gay men. He decided to make a fake poster to reflect the insecurities of a man and how it can affect others. While some praised this act, others felt as if their hyperbolic poster was correct and could actually be harmful. But the reaction showed that this was a real issue in the LGBTQ society, mainly with explaining they have felt oppressed by groups of people because they try to be who they are when others do not agree. Toxic Masculinity in this community could be more troublesome than others because of the people who feel like they are not enough or even too much to be a part of the community they tried too hard to be accepted in. This is important to society because the toxic masculinity in others could deeply affect the way insecurities they already have. This could add to the pain they go through when trying to accept themselves to see others like them still not accepting their way of self-awareness.

9. We Need to Talk About Gay Masculinity

Iovannone, Jeffry “We Need to Talk About Toxic Gay Masculinity” Last modified (May 2018) accessed March 12, 2019, the Establishment. https://medium.com/the-establishment/we-need-to-talk-about-toxic-gay-masculinity-70dbcd13e775 Iovannone claims in this popular article that there has been a new version of toxic masculinity, created in Gay Culture. He explains that men who identify as gay create their own impressions and likeness of others based on how they carry themselves in this community. He explains that media and society explain that being gay should only be allowed if it is in a respectable way. He uses examples from the Netflix show Queer Eye, and a hit movie Love Simon. He claims that there is toxic masculinity in gay culture because of how the media wants the LGBTQ community to be portrayed, masculine and quiet. This is a problem because men should be able to explore who they want to be and explore it in a way that they see fit. Toxic masculinity is changing that because young men who identify as gay see these ideas in the media and want to change who they are as a whole. 

10. Can Gay Culture Survive the Ongoing Reckoning of Toxic Masculinity?

Miksche, Mike “Can Gay Culture Survive the Ongoing Reckoning of Toxic Masculinity?” Last modified, (May 2018) accessed March 12, 2019, Slate. https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/05/gay-leather-culture-and-toxic-masculinity-in-the-metoo-era.html Miksche begins his popular article by explaining that the party culture in the LGBTQ community could be a problem for women and femme men because of the toxic masculinity that others carry throughout these parties. He also claims that men are more attracted to overly masculine men because of how men are portrayed in media and for men who want to be more feminine feel like they are not enough and connect the anti-femme inside of the community. Toxic masculinity is linked to this because the anti-femme behavior is closely connected to men trying to be over masculine and making others feel as if they should hide away their feminine side. Men with toxic masculinity shun feminine men from themselves and as a consequence makes these men feel as if they are not good enough to be like everyone else in their community.

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Bibliography

Allison Brown

Digital Annotated Bibliography

“Top Ten Explanations for How Toxic Masculinity Affects Mental Health”

Introduction:

           Toxic masculinity focuses on the ways in which masculine traits can become harmful to a man or those around him. These traits come from a long history of what it means to “be a man.” Some traits include: not crying, violent, strong, brave, in charge, big, wealthy, etc. In some cases, not all, these traits can lead to toxicity. In today’s world, men are pressured to fit these guidelines, otherwise they are not manly enough. Men are taught to socialize and present themselves in a certain manner. Young boys observe their fathers and mirror his actions/characteristics. A young boy might learn through their father and other men in their lives to provide for their wife, to protect a woman, to shake a man’s hand, to never cry, to become a lawyer or doctor, etc. These stereotypes are taught to young boys by the men in their lives and therefore contributing to the idea of toxic masculinity over time. Surprisingly, despite the stereotype of men being strong, six million men are affected by depression every year. The generalization that all men are strong and men cannot express emotions is leading to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression in men. The assumption that only woman can be emotional or have a therapist or cry forces men or boys to hide their feelings and not show how they feel, which over time can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. By keeping in one’s feelings, the person is stuck in them and never heals or moves on and therefore can become depressed. A common cause of anxiety is stress. If a man does not relieve this stress by either getting it out or talking it out, anxiety might follow. Toxic masculinity traits such as violence, sexually aggressive, non-emotional and strong lead men to hide their feelings or thoughts, leading to an increase in depression and anxiety in men.

Kupers, Terry A. and Aaron B. Rochlen. "Toxic Masculinity as a Barrier to Mental Health Treatment in Prison." Journal of Clinical Psychology 61, no. 6 (2005): 713-724.

This academic article examines men in prisons and their experiences with psychotherapy. This article is credible and useful, because it includes drawing on real life people and using an experiment to test the theory. Terry interviews and observes fifteen men in prison to see the effects of toxic masculinity on their mental health. Approximately 283,000 prisoners have mental health issues due to a lack of resources available combined with men not sharing their emotions; therefore, their mental health goes ignored. The typical and accepted behavior of men in prison is tough and non-emotional and this intensifies toxic masculinity. The article also includes an analysis of prisoners in solitary confinement or extreme circumstances and how this leads to many psychological issues and anger, a factor in toxic masculinity, because a prisoner might get beaten up or made fun of if he does not display these toxic traits. Once the prisoner receives treatment or counseling, counselors report that it is nearly impossible to get the prisoner to open up about their feelings, because they are taught in prison to be tough in order to survive or get through it. The author suggest that counselors try to sympathize with the prisoner and also understand how toxic masculinity affects them in a prison setting. By educating prison counselors about toxic masculinity, they can break it down with prisoners and work through their issues in a healthier way. This article uses an extremely toxic and masculine environment to prove that a man’s toughness can lead to personal issues and is a block when in counseling.  

2.     Parent, Mike C., Teresa D. Gobble, and Aaron Rochlen. "Social Media Behavior, Toxic Masculinity, and Depression." Psychology of Men & Masculinities (Apr 23, 2018). doi:http://dx.doi.org.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/men0000156. https://search-proquest-com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/docview/2029446308?accountid=14506.

In this scholarly article, 402 men are observed to see the connection between social media use and depression. With the growing use of social media, researchers are beginning to explore the effects of both positive and negative social media on a person’s mental health. This article perfectly states the hypothesis of the experiment, how toxic masculinity would be measured and its results. This experiment is interesting, because it is current to today’s world and is an explanation for why depression and anxiety has increased in teens. Sadly, social media is becoming another platform for men to expresses toxic masculinity, due to the non-personal aspect of social media. Social media gives men something to hide behind or and makes everything less personal. The hypothesis at the beginning of the experiment was that the increase of negative social media experiences would reflect an increase in depression among users. This hypothesis seems likely, because bad experiences have a positive link to depression. Sexism, heterosexism, and competitiveness were how toxic masculinity would be tested. In the results, it was proven that more use of social media was leading to depression, especially negative forms of social media. Not only was depression directly linked to negative social media, but also toxic masculinity. This result is essential, because it proves how powerful social media is and that there is a correlation between social media usage and poor mental health. The point of this study, according to the researchers, is to shine light on an unexplored topic: how mental health is influenced by social media and how social media is another platform for toxic masculinity.

3.     Fox, Kathryn R., Alexander J. Millner, Cora E. Mukerji, and Matthew K. Nock. "Examining the Role of Sex in Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors." Clinical Psychology Review 66, (2018): 3-11.

In an academic article titled, “Examining the Role of Sex in Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors,” authors take the fact that on average, more men die from suicide than women and explore how this fact is connected to toxic masculinity and gender. Approximately, three and a half males die by suicide for every woman. Not only does this article include statistics about men vs. woman and rates of suicide but it goes into an explanation of every statistic; there is a reason for why suicide is more common in men than woman and this article explores multiple possibilities. One explanation observed is that the raise in suicide occurs in adolescence and later adulthood, times when gender and identity is being questioned. Identity is especially difficult for young boys, because their feelings or emotions are not usually talked about. It is normal to see a young girl cry or to say she feels like she doesn’t fit in, but it is abnormal to see this in a young boy. Therefore, these feelings may go under the radar for years, leading to a sense of not belonging, which then can lead to depression. The article states that to understand suicide between men and women, it is essential to consider the time, location, and other factors that influence suicide rates. Then the article shifts away from suicide, to non-suicide self-harm. After much research and thorough experiments, researchers do not see a clear difference in the amount of NSSI’s between genders. The authors talk about the different ways females and males hurt themselves and also their different intentions and meanings behind it. The explanation for men committing suicide more than women that connects to toxic masculinity is that women are more likely to use health resources and ask for help. The point of this article is not to say that more men are depressed than woman. The point is that more men are dying because of it. The article gives the explanation that this is partly because men do not seek help or talk to their friends and family as much as woman. Toxic masculinity sways men to hide their feelings and it is argued that this explains why more men commit suicide than women.

4.     Jenney, Angelique, and Deinera Exner-Cortens. “Toxic Masculinity and Mental Health in Young Women: An Analysis of 13 Reasons Why.” Affilia 33, no. 3 (August 2018): 410–17. doi:10.1177/0886109918762492.

This academic article focuses on the presence of toxic masculinity in the show 13 Reasons Whyand why psychologists encourage teens to not watch it. This article is a good addition to the list, because it incorporates pop media. Pop media is a huge influence on teenagers and young adults. This article supports the argument stated in a previous article, that social media is affecting teens and their mental health. This show was watched by millions, so it is important to examine the effects it had on its viewers. Examples such as photographing the main character under her skirt, creating a “best/worst list”, rape, etc. are all examples of how toxic masculinity is present in high schools and teenage culture. The show teaches young boys that in order to be manly or “cool”, one is supposed to be physical with a girl and act on his or her sexuality. The show displays a strong correlation between hegemonic masculinity and violence/aggression by its multiple fights and acts of violence. Besides the scenes of violence or disrespect of woman (rape), the emotional sides of the teenage boys are shoved away and not talked about. Main guy characters are seen obviously struggling, yet there are no scenes of them asking for help or finding a healthy way to cope. This show does not show healthy coping mechanisms. Instead, the boys are shown dealing with life through drugs, drinking, or sex. A healthier alternative would be a show that displays teenage boys going to their friends about their issues or seeking help. Overall, the show 13 Reasons Whyshows the negative effects of toxic masculinity on both men and woman and the unhealthy ways to cope with mental health. 

5. Vincent M. Marasco (2018) “Addressing Hegemonic Masculinity with Adolescent Boys Within the Counseling Relationship.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 4:3, 226-238, DOI: 10.1080/23727810.2017.1422647

In this academic journal, it opens up with acknowledging gender as a social construct and therefore, the idea of “what it is to be a man” is also a social construct. Different from the other academic journals, this one addresses the word gender and how it is a social construct and therefore toxic masculinity is a social construct. This helps the reader understand toxic masculinity and that it is an idea created by society. Factors of toxic masculinity such as: homophobia, emotional restriction, and a certain body image all contribute to poor mental health. The article includes an interview with a fourteen-year-old high school boy to see the presence of toxic masculinity in male adolescents. The issues that come up in the sessions are body image, misogyny, dis-respect, and a fear to appear emotional or vulnerable. These observations by his counselor prove that the main issues for men in adolescence is how to treat woman and an image that they must put up. For boys who are struggling with depression or anxiety, they feel as if something is wrong with them or that they must hide it to be a man. The following section introduces tips for counselors to help change the idea of “what it is to be a man” in young men and that they need to be educated on these issues and how to turn them around; to encourage young boys to express how they feel. By addressing toxic masculinity in school or counseling, these ideas can be broken down and replaced with healthy traits.

6.    Powell, Wizdom. "Speaking of Psychology: How Masculinity Can Hurt Mental Health." American Psychological Association. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/men-boys-health-disparities.

This popular article is a discussion between a host and Wizdom Powell, a professor in the Department of Health Behavior, discussing how racism, discrimination, and gender stereotyping can lead to an increase in poor mental health in men. Although this is a popular source, it is the only one that also addresses racism and discrimination. This article not only talks about emotions, but how race and income can lead to mental health issues in men. Powell addresses the fact that the stereotype of men not sharing their feelings leads to depressive thoughts, because they are lacking an emotional support system, which is essential in difficult times. Instead of talking to others, men use other coping strategies such as substance abuse or violence. The interview goes into how race plays a key role in this issue as well. Colored or white men who are of low income suffer from mental health especially, because of the lack of resources available to them. Also, the sad but true realization that racism still exists in the healthcare system, leads to lack of trust in the system by black people. A continuous or repetitive experience of racism is proven to lead to poor mental health, because men are told by society to ignore it and brush it off, but it does a toll on them and over time will negatively affect their mental health. In conclusion, factors such as race or economic status impact the amount of mental health resources available, leading to high numbers of mental health issues in poor areas as well as violence and substance abuse, because they do not have another way to deal with their issues, or have never been shown another way.

7.    Montero, Henry. “Depression in Men: The Cycle of Toxic Masculinity.” Psycom. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.psycom.net/depression-in-men/depression-in-men-toxic-masculinity/

The popular site, Psycom connects toxic masculinity to poor mental health, due to the lack of emotion expressed by men. In order to understand the connection between toxic masculinity and depression/anxiety, it is important to understand what anxiety and depression are. The article lists the main symptoms of depression in men and boys to show that there is a difference in depression between men and woman. For example, men are more likely to turn to alcohol compared to woman who are more likely to also develop an eating disorder. Due to the lack of emotional expression, men find other ways to deal with their issues such as: over-working, substance abuse, and aggression. The article addresses ways to change this method of coping in men and how society adds to this issue. Instead of laughing at a man’s feelings or saying just get over it, society can listen to men and treat them like a person who is suffering and needs help. The journal states, “Depression is not related to gender. No man or woman chooses to live with depression.” Mental health does not care about gender or masculinity, it can target anyone. Society needs to eliminate the idea that only woman can cry or be anxious. However, people do choose how to cope with depression or anxiety and society needs to create a safer and accepting environment for men to find healthy coping mechanisms.

8.    McCarthy, Kevin. “Toxic Masculinity Leads to Mental Health Problems for Men.” Healthline. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/toxic-masculinity-mental-health-problems-for-men#1

Healthline takes experiments and studies done by professionals to argue that men who adhere to masculinity rules are more inclined to suffer from mental illness. Although this list focuses on men, it is valuable to consider how a woman’s role affects this relationship. This researcher includes woman in his study, because woman help or add to toxic masculinity. It is inferred by society that woman like a strong, independent man; not a “sissy”. Specifically, researcher Y, Joel Wong, a professor at Indiana University, talks about the connection between sexism and a lack of social relations. Wong believes that the way a man treats a woman influences their mental health greatly, if they have poor or unhealthy relationships with the woman in their lives. Poor or unhealthy relationships with woman could include: only sex, violent, cheating, etc. All of these thigs lead to stress, a leading cause of depression and anxiety. This is why it is important to teach men what a healthy relationship looks like and how much their relationships affect their lives. This popular news article sheds light on how the ideas around sexism lead to poor relationships and therefore poor mental health in men.

9.    White, Ruth. “Toxic Masculinity as a Mask for Anxiety.” Psychology Today. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-in-mind/201712/toxic-masculinity-mask-anxiety

The Psychology Today article, “Toxic Masculinity as a Mask for Anxiety,” describes toxic masculinity as, “social expectations that mean should be sexually aggressive, physically violent, unemotional, and homophobic.” This article is valid, because it specifically addresses anxiety and what is causing this epidemic in today’s world. The article addresses bullying and that it is a leading factor in anxiety. The popular article references professor Y. Joel Wong and his argument that men conform to these social expectations even if they disagree with them in fear of not being manly enough. The article also references psychologists Tali Shenfield and her studies that show how negative emotionality is a leading cause of anxiety in young boys. Society needs to find a way to help young boys who are being bullied or suffering from anxiety so that they do not turn to the bad traits of masculinity. Anxiety is now common in our society and yet not spoken about very often. If society begins to open up about anxiety and symptoms and ways to help it, men will not feel alone or like there is something wrong with them. By encouraging emotions, healthy relationships, and freedom of sexuality, boys will feel accepted by their peers and will lead to a decrease in anxiety.

10.  Longo, Lauren. “Toxic Masculinity Harms Men’s Mental Health, Says American Psychological Association.” Care2. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.care2.com/causes/toxic-masculinity-harms-mens-mental-health-says-american-psychological-association.html

The popular cite, Care2, summarizes research done by the American Psychological Association. Although this is a popular site, the APA is credited with some of the most brilliant psychologist, teachers, students, and scientists. The APA has done over forty years of research and has concluded that traits of toxic masculinity negatively impact a man’s mental health. The APA comes to this conclusion through speaking with counselors who have seen the relationship between toxic masculinity and depression or anxiety. The article introduces the idea that counselors are diagnosing men with aggression or a substance issue and ignoring the diagnosis of depression, bipolar, or anxiety. The new guidelines, by the APA, will help psychologists understand their patient and understand gender roles and how complex men are. This article not only focuses on how men can help themselves but how counselors need to step it up to help men. If counselors are not aware of toxic masculinity and its presence in society, then issues such as depression or anxiety may be ignored.

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Demssa, Birktwyte Instructor; Dr. Mohrman ENG 2030 018 FEB  18, 2019 Did emotion make Verizon top commercial?

Calling the attention of the public to a specific product is the purpose of commercials. When producing advertisements for the Super Bowl, they use expensive and creative ways to get their point across. "The team wouldn't be here" by Verizon is one of the top commercials according to CBSN.  In the commercial Anthony Lynn, an NFL coach who got in a car accident, meets the first responders who saved his life. Through the ad, Verizon portrays themselves as the first line of help, even before first responders, when people are having distressing moments. The commercial addresses its audience by evoking pathos through details about Lynn's accident, the imagery of the accident's aftermath, and text that communicates gratefulness for, but also takes credit away from, first responders. Verizon was addressing the criticism that they did not give priority for phone calls to first responders in California's flood and fire disasters by totally ignoring their actions and portraying themselves as having a good reputation for helping others.  

On August 22, 2018, Verizon was criticized by USA Today and The Santa Clare County Fire Department for slowing phone service to firefighters and not being cooperative, despite how critical the situation was for firefighters and the people of California.  As reported by USA Today "Verizon refused to lift the restriction on data speed until the Fire Department upgraded to a more expensive service plan."   Verizon has claimed that Santa Clare Country Fire Department got service according to the plan they had chosen, but Verizon apologized for not being willing to give faster service as the communication company that cares about their customers and defined what happened as a "customer support mistake." As an adjustment, Verizon announced that data speed restrictions on the firefighters' plan would be lifted.

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-verizon-data-update-20180824-story.html 

But it is not just details, but also the images from the ad that connect the viewer to the accident showing that Verizon, as the center of communication, brought the first responders to the scene. At the beginning of the commercial, Lynn put his picture on a wall where there are hundreds of pictures hanging. The imagery of putting a poster or a picture up after a disaster, crime, or incident is used in the ad to demonstrate Verizon cares by helping distribute information and connect people. Later in the commercial, more images are presented including ambulances lights, headlights of the car, and the dark freeway, presented for only a few seconds. The images and the time length they are presented for spike distress for the audience. Images were set up so it can be able to trigger emotions in the audience and feeling relief through the result of good communication provided by Verizon.  Anthony Lynn is the head coach of Los Angeles's team. In the commercial, Lynn gave every detail of the incident that he was in. He starts by saying "I remember laying on a cold pavement … I just prayed." He was hit by a car while he was walking, which threw him onto the top of another car. He also said " … when the car came out of the freeway I just remember seeing the headlight". With this kind of explanation, it is easier to understand the car was speeding: it was hit - and - run. Later in the advertisement, a fireman, later introduced as Craig Kelly, gives further explanation about he saw when the fire department arrived at the scene, "…his nose, his face was just destroyed." The detailed information gives the audience an equivalent vision of the incident, which established pathos with anyone who can connect to the image created. The ad applied details to show its audience that Verizon gives more attention to emergency situations like this to help their customers in every way possible.

Other than images, the commercial combines words to trigger emotions.The commercial is packed with words, both dialogue and text. The pictures and posters on the wall in the ad have captions saying "thanks to first responders" which evokes feelings of gratefulness and happiness. Even if the captions on the pictures are directly connecting to the first responders Verizon uses the captions to serve as a reference to their role connecting victims to first responders. Additionally, Lynn states, "we are people who are given a second chance because of you," referring to the first responders. He is showing appreciation by good word choice that produces grateful feelings and connection with others. The advertisement is saying that even though the first responders were not there at first, Verizon connects the person who needs help with the first responders. In other words, unlike the first responders, Verizon is already there on your hip in your phone.

The Verizon commercial is loaded with emotions and words that are proven to be carefully chosen to disregard the criticism that they face. The video recording, by not showing the incident smoothly and lights and images coming and going over a short period of time, immerses the audience in the incident. At the end of the commercial, we see Lynn crying and a black text which says, "first responders answer the call. Our job is to make sure they can get it."  Even if there is more than one network in the U.S., Verizon shows it is the most outstanding one. The advertisement communicates Verizon as being criticized wrongfully. The criticism threatens trust between customers and Verizon. Verizon made the add to prevent upcoming damage to its business by the criticism.  

Citations Verizon, The team wouldn't be here  (YouTube, 2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEuYhEsxpiE   CBS News, The top commercials from Super Bowl  (You Tube, 2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmgLmgi7f3I&t=175s  Ryan Suppe. "Verizon throttled 'unlimited' data of Calif. Fire department during Mendocino wildfire." USA Today (2018), https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/08/22/verizon-throttled-unlimited-data-calif-fire-department-during-wildfire/1059486002/ (Accessed on Feb 22, 2019, at 1:00 pm).   Hannah Fry "Verizon lifted data restrictions on first responders after criticism for slowing service to firefighters." Los Angeles Times (2018), https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-verizon-data-update-20180824-story.html. (Accessed on Feb 22, 2019, at 1:00pm).    

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Travis Day

Dr. Mohrman

February 22, 2019

Analytical Blog Post

 Michelob Ultra Pure Gold: The Golden Purity of Natural Beer

The new advertisement for Michelob Ultra unveils their new natural and fully organic beer, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold. They do this by showing famed actor Zoë Kravitz doing ASMR, a form of audio sensory reactions for the ears, out in a tropical and mountainous landscape. This commercial works by showing the pureness of nature, promoting primal instincts, and comparing it to their new beer. This beer is the embodiment of nature, and by buying it, provides you the experience of being one with nature. But by digging deeper into the text, I will show how this add uses Steve Craig’s ideal of the Men’s Woman; and Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright’s theory of exoticism and the Male Gaze to target the male audience.

The commercial opens up by speeding through tropical scenes of nature. Each scene seemingly never being touched by human and being completely clean. After several quick transitions, it cuts to Kravitz sitting at a table on a floating platform in the middle of a lush green mountainous landscape. As she promotes the beer, different cuts of nature pop in throughout the commercial. She continues to talk about it while pouring it into a glass, letting it settle, and show the golden amber color of it. She then proceeds to look out at the nature surrounding her.

But, taking a second to look at the image, ignoring the fact that it is obviously just greenscreen effects, the table in front of her and the chair she is sitting on become more noticeable. The table is made of one solid piece of unrefined wood. It is basically a slice of trunk on legs, and the legs themselves are made of glass, along with the chair she is sitting on. All of this combines to form a “naturistic” feeling, where all these items are simplistic and maybe only a step or two from their natural counterpart. Shortly after it cuts to the image above, it cuts to a close up and Kravitz starts speaking into the right (her left) microphone.

And by speak, it is implied whispering as softly and smoothly as possible. Kravitz’s reason for being there is for providing an ASMR experience, which requires whispering instead of talking, soothing and satisfying sounds, and a relaxed feeling. There is also a form of “3D” sound used, in which two microphones are used to capture sound and transmit them accordingly to a stereo system. Whispers in the right microphone will only come out of the right speaker, noise will travel with a moving sound, etc. “Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a euphoric experience characterized by a static-like, or any sort of tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine, precipitating relaxation.” [1].

There is great importance in what she says and how she says it. The way she talks is meant to illicit strange and uncontrollable feelings out of the audience. She starts of by whispering, “Let’s all experience something, (switching microphones) together.”. This creates a sense that the viewer is about to listen to something never heard before, an experience that is out of this world. She then proceeds to clack her fingernails on the bottle which creates a quite unique sound. She then talks about the nature around her, “This place so pure, you can feel it.”. Going back to the purity of nature, how it can be so immense it can be physically felt. She then goes back to ASMR to reinforce a sense of euphoria. She rolls the bottle’s bottom edge on the table, creating a weirdly enjoyable sound. As she opens the bottle, it cuts to underneath an ocean wave, extending the pressure release of the beer. As she pours the beer, she whispers, “This beer, so pure you can taste it.”, which then transforms a feeling into something one can physically taste. This beer is so clean and pure, that it embodies nature and will put physical pureness inside the drinker.

Who Kravitz is in this commercial, or perhaps what she is to the ad, is also important. Looking at the Craig’s idea of the Man’s Woman, she fits that quite well. As he states, “Men’s Women are portrayed as physically attractive, slim, and usually young and white, frequently blond, and almost always dressed in revealing clothing…most men’s women appear outside the home…There are almost always hints of sexual availability”[2].She may not be the white skinned, blue eyed, blond haired girl that Craig talked about, but she is quite beautiful and fills the role of “Men’s Women”. The way she talks is almost sensual in a way, about feeling something around you, something so strong you can taste it. The way she stares down the camera during most of the commercial also elicits a strange and almost primal feeling. This adds on to the way she is dressed, which is a little ironic as it is meant to symbolize simplicity and purity but is also used in a lustful way. But as Craig said, the way to capture the male audience is to use beautiful women in revealing clothing. All of this combines to subtly try and catch the male gaze. To try and keep guys interested in the imagery of the commercial.

The male gaze can be found more in depth from the texts of Sturken and Cartwright that talk about exoticism or Orientalism, and the effects of the male gaze. The idea is that things outside of normal life, such as the darker skinned beauty on a floating platform in the middle of nature, are exotic and can be fetishized or made to be wanted. Which is exactly what Michelob is doing in their commercial. The combination of sights and sounds provide for something out of this world. A feeling that could never be felt outside what they’re providing. This also ties into their definition of the male gaze, “The concept of the gaze is fundamentally about the relationship of pleasure and looking. In psychoanalysis, the term scopophilia refers to the pleasure in looking and exhibitionism-taking sexual pleasure in being looked at.”[3] The text also brings up the other side of Voyeurism, where one would take pleasure in watching without being known. Combining it with the exoticism, it creates a weird subconscious sexual attraction.

In conclusion, this ad works well because it ties so many different internal feelings together. It keeps the idea that nature, in its truest form, is the purest thing in existence. And that when things are organic, like the beer being promoted, it creates a sense of purity from nature that is bottled. The ASMR provided is meant to explore some of the internal feelings that you might not knew existed. This alludes to the idea that these strange feelings can only be attained from nature. Connotatively however, they use the ASMR to tie together exoticism and the Men’s Women. By using Kravitz, the landscape behind her, and the ASMR, Michelob creates a strange feeling towards the ad. A fetishistic feeling that is made in the subconscious to keep the audience completely attracted to the image.

 Citations

[1] En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Autonomous sensory meridian response. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response [Accessed 22 Feb. 2019].

[2] Craig, S. (1992Signs of Life in the U.S.A. - Brought to You B(u)y: The Signs of Advertising Summary & Analysis. 

Men’s Men and Women’s Women

, 187-96.

[3] Sturken, M. and Cartwright, L. (2003). Practices of looking. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.113-28.

  Pictures courtesy of Michelob Ultra on YouTube

YouTube. (2019). The Pure Experience | Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Super Bowl 2019. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXmlN9BAddg [Accessed 22 Feb. 2019].

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Renato Marranzino

Due February 22, 2019

Dr. Mohrman

English 2030-018

Happiness is not Success

 During the 2019 super bowl Michelob ULTRA advertised twice, the ad which is the subject of this paper was titled “Robots”. Michelob ULTRA along with every other company that advertised during this year’s Super Bowl did not push too many boundaries when it came to their ads considering what happened during the 2018 super bowl and its ads. Advertisers the world over saw that being too controversial on one of the world’s biggest stages was not a good idea so this year companies played it safer. Or were at least better about hiding their subliminal messages. “Robots” upon first viewing appears as a testament to humanity’s emotions but unintentionally Michelob ULTRA shows that athletes in today’s world cannot have free time if they want to succeed in their chosen sport. The ad from this perspective portrays athletes as robots, and these robots are better than the average person in every physical way, but in their pursuit of physical perfection athletes lose their humanity. Michelob ULTRA also plays into underlying fears that society has against robots taking over jobs that were previously run by humans and the fear of a robot takeover that is a subject of pop culture movies.

The ad first begins with visuals of a man and woman jogging in the morning. They are quickly overtaken by a humanoid masculine looking robot that is maintaining a pace that the average person people cannot match. The two people glance at each other in a surprised and concerned fashion. The next shot is of another robot at a golf driving range striking golf balls with more speed power and accuracy than any other person there. Two people, one man and one woman, watch in awe of the sheer skill of the robot, amazed. There is then a shot of a boxing robot slamming a punching bag with the force of a jackhammer who is then compared to the female also in the shot who could only dream of having that kind of power. The second to last shot is of a robot as a cycling class instructor pedaling on a stationary bike much faster than the class of average people trying to keep up with the robot’s menacing speed and endurance. This is proved in the next scene by then cutting to a close of a woman also pedaling in class who tries, in vain, to keep up with the robot cycling instructor. All these scenes push a motif continuing to show that these robots are superior to humans. The final and most important scene in the ad is of the first jogging robot we met as it comes to a stop in front of a bar or pub. It turns to the open window of the pub and sees people smiling and drinking. The words “It’s only worth it, if you can enjoy it” appear on screen. The robot then lets out a sigh.

At the end of the day Michelob ULTRA is a company and their intent with this advertisement is to make money. “Robots” was intended to make them money by making viewers feel comforted in the fact that a robot cannot take away an individual’s humanity. After watching the ad however it’s not hard to draw the comparison between the robot and athletes. Athletes and robots are both physically stronger than the average person. Unknowingly Michelob ULTRA parallels the struggles that specifically student athletes go through in this country with how they show their robots. Student athletes are overworked in the pursuit of succeeding. Students in men's NCAA Division I football spend an average of between forty-four hours and thirty-five hours a week[1]. These are the hours of a full-time job. Students in College division one football are under a lot of time constraints once you factor in how much time they must spend on school and studying, many students also have part time jobs which leave little to no free time left. More similarities can now be seen between the robots and athletes now. The robots cannot enjoy the day because they have no emotions and athletes also cannot enjoy their days because they do not have enough free time. The robot sighing at the end of the ad divulges its dissatisfaction with its current situation which is akin to the feeling of unfulfilled socially that student athletes feel. Lacking free time in your everyday leads to not being able to interact with your peers. Michelob ULTRA appears to be acknowledging the fact that student athletes are overworked in this nation and supports an argument of strong social connections over a successful career.

Now knowing this we must look at when this ad aired. It seems ironic to post this advertisement during the super bowl, one of the most famous events on the planet which celebrates the best professional athletes. A contradiction is created here where Michelob ULTRA seems to be telling their audience that to be truly happy all you need is a healthy social life, as those same people watch the Super Bowl, and event that is arguably one of the happiest moments for the winning team. It’s important to understand however that a championship victory, although a happy event, is not the key to long term happiness. Understanding the parallel between the robotic characters and student athletes is important because it highlights a group of people and their unfair struggle to find the time to be happy. The ad calls to light a mindset Americans have that success will bring you happiness which is a false mindset. The ad unknowingly shows how this mentality towards happiness is not only wrong but also unhealthy. Student athletes, because they either commit to this idea of being successful or feel like they do not have the option of saying no, they sacrifice their social life which can lead to feeling unhappy or stressed. A study by the pack 12 showed that 73% of athletes felt that voluntary activities were mandatory.[2] This mindset being also being displayed by the coaches of these athletes proves that Americans believe success is the priority and nothing is exempt from being cut in the pursuit of success. The importance of understanding this mindset exists is very important to discovering individual happiness and the ad by Michelob ULTRA, although unintentional, can be seen as bringing light to this issue and it should be recognized as doing so.

  Citations

NCAA. (2008). The Student-Athlete Perspective of the College Experience. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/The Student-Athlete Perspective of the College Experience.pdf

 Penn Schoen Berland. (2015, April). Student-Athlete Time Demands. Retrieved from http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/Pac-12-Student-Athlete-Time-Demands-Obtained-by-CBS-Sports.pdf

[1] (NCAA, "The Student-Athlete Perspective of the College Experience", 2008, pp. 24-26)

[2] (Penn Schoen Berland, "Student-Athlete Time Demands", 2015, p. 3)