TOXIC MASCULINITY AND HARMFUL PATRIARCHY FOSTER AGGRESSIVE

BEHAVIORS AND INTENSE CRIME ACROSS SOCIETY

By Danang Dwi Praditya

1. Description
Indonesia has known as a country that has many cultures inside. Even people's
lives in Indonesia are influenced by culture and customs. One of the people's cultures in
Indonesia is patriarchy, which is still prevalent in society. Over the last 25 years or so,
the term toxic masculinity has become a kind of generic term for indicating traditionally
masculine behavior that oppresses and injures others, both men and women, around the
world, particularly in Indonesia. This issue is becoming one of the pervasive effects of a
society that privileges and empowers primarily ‘manly man’ over all others, also known
as systemic patriarchy.
In this section, the writer will provide some resources about toxic masculinity and
patriarchy. The writer brings up a current case that is now trending on social media. Here
are some photos and video links from Google and TikTok.

Picture 1.1 Toxic Masculinity in Social Media

The picture above has taken from one of social media, called as TikTok, which
conveys a hate speech which refers to the issue of toxic masculinity. As well as the
pictures below, which indicate nowadays situation who normalize a toxic masculinity in
any forms.

Picture 1.2 Masculinity Bullying & Toxic Masculinity Poster

The similar cases concerning about toxic masculinity and patriarchy retrieved from
TikTok:
1. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSdGQTtJP/?k=1
2. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSdGC2AWp/?k=1
3. https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSdGQAbbD/?k=1
Patriarchy society has produced toxic masculinity, which limits male gender roles
as then men may always be valued and considered as more than women. In addition to
restricting women's movement and making them vulnerable to violence. Toxic
masculinity culture turns out to have a significant impact on men's mentality, although
the primary indications like power, control, and aggression give the men prestige at first
look. As proof is the source that the writer listed above, there are three images and three
TikTok video links, all of which address the issues of toxic masculinity and patriarchy.
Then, starting from this, the writer will discuss about the problems that have been
provided before.
All of the TikTok videos above were concerned about a recent case that is now
trending on social media, particularly on TikTok. The chronology was started when a
Tiktoker named Emil Mario made a statement concerning the issue of gender pride. This
statement provoked debate and uproar on social media, particularly TikTok. This event
started when Emil and his friends created stuff that smelt strongly of gender pride. They
made fun of men who labeled them ‘sissy’ or loved to act like women while really hitting
women. In the viral video, Emil and his buddies say, "It is said to be a sissy with a
person who likes to abuse girls." From there, arguments are unavoidable. Many people
disagree with Emil, stating hate speech and verbal abuse. Even one netizen said
emphatically, "A real man will not beat women, much less even resemble women."
Additionally, several people stitched his video by assaulting his personality, who is
acting like a woman.
Meanwhile, based on one of the videos the writer provided above, a TikTok
netizen named Carine Benedict stated in her video that comparing two mistakes will not
improve the situation. It would be wise not to compare ourselves to other humans and
feel superior to them. "The fact that we are all created biologically different, then do we
still judge a real man or not just based on masculinity? Is it fair to judge humans only
from one side? While humans are made up of many facets from many aspects?" she said.
She also explained that every single person might have different viewpoints, and we can
convey a disagreement. However, in obtaining a disagreement, it is unnecessary to attack
 people's personalities or even degrade our fellow beings. We do not need to believe that
we are superior to others. In addition, many netizens also defended Emil that the initial
statement made by Emil was only aimed at men who like to beat women, not all men. So
that men who do not feel hit the women, they no need to feel offended by this statement.
Moreover, they are two different things. This proves that toxic masculinity still exists in
society.
One netizen who insulted and delivered toxic masculinity is proven in the first
picture above. He stated that a 'real man' is relatively silent and does not respond to such
a 'bencong/effeminate.’ There will surely be an answer. It is pointless to remind them
since they did not realize it. Furthermore, in the video above, a netizen named Ms. Bong
stated that males who do not smoke are not 'truly men.' A man who does not have a
girlfriend or beats women is not a 'real man.’ A man who is continually sobbing or
unhappy is not a 'real man.’ Even men who do not meet the ‘real man’ standard will be
labeled as 'Bencong/Banci/Sissy.' Based on this situation, it appears that our society is
still full of fools and uneducated people. This issue leads to the conclusion that toxic
masculinity involves not only the subjection of women but also of boys and men who do
not actively engage in the norm of superior masculinity. This viewpoint can lead to acts
of violence and aggressiveness against others they (The 'real men') perceive to be weak.
This issue highlighted that toxic masculinity is essentially a social construction of
how men should act by "enforcing" ideals of "manly" or "real men" where males are not
allowed to cry, are not allowed to play with girls, are trained to deal with physical abuse
and other stereotypes. This concept tends to be closely related to cultural patriarchy in
which men are considered subjects in a social order. Men are considered to be the
primary power holder and dominate in political leadership roles, moral authority, social
rights, and property control.

2. Discussion

Definition of Toxic Masculinity and Patriarchy

People have begun to recognize that a tremendous amount of their actions and
attitudes are daily impacted by cultural and gender standards that produce significant
discomfort in the experience of their gender identity and sexuality in recent times due to
increased knowledge on social issues. Patriarchy has become one of those issues that are
influenced by cultural and gender standards. According to Jufanny & Girsang (2020),
patriarchy indicates placing women as subordinates and positions men as the primary
control holders who dominate and regulate women. Subsequently, the practice of the
patriarchal system often brings women into an unfair position. This injustice can also
enter into various aspects of life, such as domestic, economic, political, and cultural
aspects. The basic form of gender inequality can also be seen in the gap between men's
and women's roles in society. The patriarchal system that considers women and men to
be not in equal positions can cause social problems, which is a condition that most
people do not want to happen.
However, patriarchal culture also has a significant impact on men's mentality. Men
are expected to be dominant in all areas. As a result, both men who lack masculine
characteristics and women are victims in this society. Thus, patriarchal society gave rise
to a toxic masculinity culture, as stated before. Patriarchy is defined as a complex term
with various causal mechanisms impacting multiple dimensions (Benstead, 2020). In
general, patriarchy is a social structure in which men control the majority of power and
dominate in positions of political leadership, moral authority, social rights, and property
ownership. Nevertheless, it has been recognized that a patriarchal system is at the heart
of gender standards, having long maintained a gender hierarchy.
Meanwhile, masculinity refers to the roles, actions, and characteristics that are
deemed proper for boys and men in a particular society. Masculinity is constructed
socially, historically, and politically produced rather than biologically determined. The
term of masculinity is generally defined as the set of physical, psychological, and
behavioral characteristics associated with being boys and men (Rotundi, 2020).
According to Lease, S. et al. (2013), masculinity ideology is the endorsement of a set of
culturally based male role norms that influences gender-related attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors.
A set of cultural and societal norms, attitudes, and practices linked with
masculinity have come to be known as 'toxic masculinity in the public and academic
discussion. This concept emphasizes how a certain socially created definition of
masculinity may be detrimental to society, women, and men themselves. Several voices
have recently raised concern about the toxicity of masculinity. Therefore, toxic
masculinity is defined as suppressing emotions or hiding problems, as well as viewing
aggressiveness as a sign of strength. According to Husodo & Sethio (2021), toxic
masculinity is pervasive and validated in patriarchy, which continues to divide gender
roles into binary terms. In other words, most men instinctively act in conventional gender
roles under these situations; males must be powerful, strong, independent, and
emotionally detached. Hence, toxic masculinity is a term that is frequently used to
characterize the negative parts of excessive male characteristics, which essentially refers
to social constructions of how men should behave through enforcing standards of being
‘manly’ or ‘real men.’

Patriarchy Cultures In Indonesia

Based on the issues discussed above, patriarchal culture and incredibly toxic
masculinity culture still exist in Indonesia nowadays. According to www.soco.id
(Radhita, 2019), some of the negative stereotypes of Indonesian society towards men
essentially limit the scope of men's expression, such as: should not pour out the heart,
should not cry, no need to dress neatly, have to be more dominant than women, should
not use cosmetics and skin care. When a guy ignores these rules, his masculinity is
widely debated. As technology and understanding advance, this issue is regarded as toxic
masculinity by society. Additionally, as stated by Satrio (2019) in Republica.co.id,
according to Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia statistics, 29 percent of
suicide victims in Indonesia are women, while the remaining 71 percent are men. Even
though women commit suicide at a higher rate, men are considered to be more
vulnerable to depression. That was because men are indoctrinated from an early age to be
strong and not to show destructive emotions such as disappointment, sadness, or tears.
As a result, men are more hesitant to seek mental health treatment. This occurred as a
result of people who attempt to legitimize and preserve patriarchal culture, as well as
toxic masculinity culture.
Indonesian people tend to have the wrong view of the term of masculinity, which
eventually leads to toxic masculinity. Some views of Toxic Masculinity that exist in
society include:
1. Men should avoid anything feminine or related to women. For example,
reluctance to perform household activities that are considered women's work,
such as cooking, gardening, parenting, and sweeping. Though in the
development of dynamics in society, men can also do all these things.
Moreover, all these activities are part of life skills that every human being must
master. Another example is the issue that the writer has explained previously.
A current case about one of TikTokers or netizens on TikTok, Emil, who was
 assaulted and bullied by many people after making a video that satirized men
who denounced feminine boys but liked to harass women.
2. The obligation of men is to strive for success and achievement. Men are
required to carry out all the burdens in the family, including meeting all the
needs of the family.
3. Men are not allowed to show weakness and can solve the problem itself. If a
man cries, then he is showing signs of his weakness. Can not undeniable that
the culture of the society in Indonesia that distinguishes behavior based on
gender is common.
4. An adventurous spirit and required to take risks even when using violence. Men
are considered to need to show dominance and power towards other people.

At the moment, Indonesian culture still compartmentalizes someone's beliefs and

behaviors based on their gender. As a result, breaking the masculine stigma and
stereotype in Indonesian society is extremely difficult because the internalization of
masculine values has been rooted and passed down from generation to generation, which
from the minor environment where the family teaches how a man's attitudes and
behavior, until it developed in the largest community. In addition, patriarchal culture has
been considered as a regular thing and must be done in Indonesia. Likewise, with the
culture of toxic masculinity, which is part of patriarchy. There have been thousands of
more visible and unseen cases of toxic masculinity. The example of the toxic masculinity
case experienced by Emil that is stated above is just one of those cases. This indicates
how strong the toxic masculinity and patriarchal culture in Indonesia is.

Toxic Masculinity and Patriarchy Might be Harmful To Someone and Society

Without recognizing it, these toxic masculinity attitudes and expressions might
have a harmful impact on men in the future. This is especially relevant to men's mental
health. Several studies throughout the world show that limits on rigorous masculine
standards can have an effect on males by increasing psychological strain, increasing the
risk of depression, and making men more aggressive in committing acts of violence. As a
result, society's stigma and perception must experience a change to this toxic
masculinity. Man who is born do not have everything in common; and some are gentle,
some are firm, Some are weak, some are strong, some are thin, some are fat. All things it
is not their fault, and society has no right to judge them. People just have to appreciate
them. The facts that researchers have described about the dynamics that occur in society
today regarding gender equality should make this toxic masculinity evaporate by itself.
As per Vijayan (2020), masculinity may be harmful in a variety of ways, as most
women and some men would admit. As stated in Rotundi (2020) that toxic masculinity is
a concept that finally confronts excessively a collection of subtle men's problems that
were built long ago by patriarchal systems but still have harmful effects on male people
themselves and, at the same time, on the entire humanity. Indeed, the concept's goal is
not to argue that masculinity is toxic in and of itself but rather that some masculine traits
appear to be associated with harmful activities. Toxic masculinity implies fundamentally
gendered constructs producing toxic masculinity-related behaviors, from which men are
conceptually separated and do not exemplify an issue by nature, with the aim of
anticipating critics of men's rights and anti-feminist movements that reclaim the
devaluation of men and masculinity as a result of feminism.
Boys are traditionally trained to "act like men" and, in many circumstances, to be
treated like men, which may have a significant influence on their perception of
themselves and their place in the world. If boys and men consciously avoid sensitivity,
act on 'real men' views, neglect personal traumas, or engage in discriminatory conduct
toward women, they contribute to a wide range of social issues, including gender-based
violence, sexual assault, and gun crime. Although men are frequently the perpetrators of
sexual assault, people frequently disregard the fact that millions of men in society have
also been victims of sexual assault. Male victimization is an issue, but so is male
violence. According to statistics as stated in verywellmind.com (2020), Penetrative
sexual abuse affects 5-10% of girls, but it also affects 5% of boys, which is rarely
mentioned.
Unfortunately, many males are not taught to be vulnerable, to overcome trauma, or
to accept all aspects of themselves. Societies frequently place pressure on males to "be a
man" in the conventional sense rather than simply being human. For males, vulnerability
is frequently ignored, rejected, or combated. Men's mental health suffers when they
suppress emotions, neglect sentiments, or denigrate feminine characteristics. Thus, toxic
masculinity and patriarchal culture are harmful to both men and women and also give
impact society.

Toxic Masculinity Lead to Aggressive Behaviors and Intense Crime

 The concept of patriarchy and toxic masculinity is called as gender role conflict.
This idea, known as gender role conflict, puts pressure on the guy who does not possess
these characteristics. When a boy or adult man perceives the world through the restricted
lens given by these exaggerated masculine traits, they may believe that they would be
accepted only by living up to these traits. The behaviors of toxic masculinity might
generate can lead to a range of serious issues, including bullying; academic difficulties;
time in jail or prison; domestic abuse; sexual exploitation; dangerous behaviors; suicide-
related psychological distress; a lack of meaningful friendships or ties; social crimes; and
many more. Of course, issues influenced by toxic masculinity are classified as crimes.
Furthermore, as per the Rotundi (2020), the concept of toxic masculinity emerged
in recent years as a result of a more in-depth investigation of those traditional practices
that portray men as socially dominant and that, over the period, have become toxic and
harmful among all society due to their implied promotion of violent behavior, sexual
assault, misogyny, bullying, and homophobia.
According to Woodson (2019), men and boys commit more serious crimes than
women and girls, and hegemonic masculinity has provided a few ideas as to why that is.
One such argument is that gendered social factors, commonly known as the "male sex
role," influence the types and quantities of crimes committed by males. Due to criminals
seeking to chase the attributes of hegemonic masculinity or men dominance, specific
patterns of aggressiveness have been related to some of the traits of so-called hegemonic
masculinity. There have been issues with this train of thought, such as the reductionism
of gender roles, which asserts that men are essentially aggressive.
Therefore, the term of patriarchy and toxic masculinity must be stopped. Toxic
masculinity is a culture that must be removed from the social community. Paradigm
What is wrong with masculinity in society, of course, cannot be remedied by removing
men's ethical obligations and replacing them with feminism. Gender-based behavior
should be avoided and replaced with values-based behavior. In addition, to overcome
toxic masculinity, society must first address archaic/anachronistic gender roles.
Extending and incorporating new ideas into an individual's definition of masculinity may
aid in greater understanding and acceptance of themselves and others. Emotional
awareness, compassion, tenderness, interdependence, and admitting vulnerability are all
tremendously beneficial.
References

Benstead, L. (2020). Conceptualizing and measuring patriarchy: The importance of feminist

theory. Mediterranean Politics, 26(3):1-13. DOI:10.1080/13629395.2020.1729627
Google.com. Masculinity Bullying & Toxic Masculinity Poster. Accessed on June 2022.
Holligan, C., & McLean. (2018). Violence as an Environmentally Warranted Norm
amongstWorking-Class Teenage Boys in Glasgow. Social Science, 7, 207;
doi:10.3390/socsci7100207
Husodo, E., & Sethio, C. (2021). Destruction of Indonesian Men’s Masculinity as A Result of
Perfect Male-Lead Portrayal in Korean Dramas. Internasional Seminar on Teacher
Training and Education (ISTED), ISBN: 978-602-6697-93-6, Page: 7-13.
Jufanny, D., Girsang, L. (2020). Toxic Masculinity Dalam Sistem Patriarki (Analisis Wacana
Kritis Van Dijk Dalam Film “Posesif”). Jurnal SEMIOTIKA, Vol.14 (No. 1 ) : no. 8 -
23.
Lease, S., Montes, S., Bagget, L., & Sawyer. (2013). A Cross-Cultural Exploration of
Masculinity and Relationships in Men From Turkey, Norway, and the United States.
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(1):84-105. DOI:10.1177/0022022111432293
Novalina, M., Flegon, Valentino, & Gea. (2021). Kajian Isu Toxic Masculinity di Era Digital
dalam Perspektif Sosial dan Teologi. Jurnal Efata, Vol. 2, No 1, https://e-
journal.sttiman.ac.id/index.php/efata
Rotundi, L. (2020). The Issue of Toxic Masculinity. Luiss Guido Carli. P 4-92.
Samuel Paul Louis Veissière, (2018) "“Toxic Masculinity” in the age of #MeToo: ritual,
morality and gender archetypes across cultures", Society and Business Review,
https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-07-2018-0070
TikTok. 2022. Accessed June, 2022. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSdGQTtJP/?k=1,
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSdGC2AWp/?k=1, https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSdGQAbbD/?k=1
Verywellmind. 2020. The Dangerous Effects of Toxic Masculinity. Accessed on June 2022.
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-dangerous-mental-health-effects-of-toxic-
masculinity-5073957#toc-effects-of-toxic-masculinity
Vijayan, P. (2020). Patriarchy’s Engines Toxic Masculinity, Desire, Sexual Violence.
Countercurrents. 1-19.
Woodson, M. (2019). The Best We Can Be: How Toxic Masculinity Creates a Second
Inescapable Situation for Inmates. Public Interest Law Reproter. Volume 23, issue 2,
124 (2019).
Yun, M. (2016). From Hegemonic To Post-Patriarchal Manhood In The Korean Context: A
Theological And Psychological Analysis. Faculty of the Graduate School.