TOXIC

MASCULINITY
INEQUALITIES TOWARDS MEN
01 02 03
DEFINITION THE TERM Toxic Masculinity
Signs
WHAT IS TOXIC THE RISE OF THE
MASCULINITY ? MOUVEMENT

04
Toxic Masculinity
risk factors
Men’s mental health
‘’INSTEAD OF TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
ON HOW TO BE BRAVE BOYS AND
PRETTY GIRLS WE CAN JUST TEACH
THEM HOW TO BE GOOD HUMANS ‘’

JUSTIN BALDONI
 01
WHAT IS TOXIC
MASCULINITY ?
 Definition

Toxic masculinity is an attitude or set of social guidelines

stereotypically associated with manliness that often have a
negative impact on men, women, and society in general. 
 Definition
The term "toxic masculinity" isn’t meant to imply that the idea of
masculinity in itself is inherently bad.

Instead, it’s meant to point out that certain behaviors and ways of
thinking often associated with masculinity, have a negative impact
on the world and more importantly on men themselves

These traits may fall short of being a ‘real man.’

 What is toxic masculinuty
This harmful concept of masculinity places significant importance on ‘manliness’
based on:

• Strength
• lack of emotion
• self-sufficiency
• dominance
• sexual virility

According to traditional toxic masculine values, a male who does

not display enough of these traits may fall short of being a ‘real man.’
THE RISE OF THE
MOUVEMENT
02
 The term originally came about during the
late 20th century men’s movements to
describe narrow ideas of masculinity that
were holding men back instead of
empowering them.

They considered toxic masculinity a characteristic of

immature men who had not yet found their deep, spiritual
masculinity.

This men’s movement sought:
Multigenerational bonding,
as they felt that the
inability to bond with their
fathers was a source of
emotional damage

To increase community
among men rather than To be free to express
competition emotion
For all the good things, this movement still contained harmful ideas.

Many men felt that their voices had been silenced by the feminist movement, that
excessive interaction with women was causing them to lose their internal masculinity,
and that accusations of sexism from women were leading to emotional damage.

The phrase “toxic masculinity” was later adopted by the fourth wave of feminism
 https://
www.youtube.com/
watch?
v=KgwI4JkWcsA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=x_HL0wiK4Zc
03 Toxic Masculinity
Signs
 TOXIC MASCULINITY SIGNS
Stoicism.

 A cornerstone idea of toxic masculinity is that showing emotion is weak and

feminine.

Men are expected to be mentally and physically tough without breaking.

Statistics and studies show that men are less likely to pursue mental health
services like therapy despite being 1.8 times more likely than women to
commit suicide.
 TOXIC MASCULINITY SIGNS
Promiscuity

 Toxic masculinity praises men for having multiple sexual partners while
expressing disgust at women who do the same. 

Need for control.

 Toxic masculinity encourages men to assert their power and dominance.
 Sexual aggression toward women. 

Men who have been influenced by toxic masculinity are more likely to believe
they're entitled to women’s bodies, leading to sexual comments and
harassment toward women and a higher likelihood of believing rape
myths.

Violence.
 Toxic masculinity encourages men to use aggression and violence to assert
their dominance and masculinity. "The Man Box" report found that 23%
of U.S. men believed that, if needed, men should use violence to get
respect.
04

MEN’S MENTAL
HEALTH
In a survey of over 1000 boys and young men researchers found
that fear or shame of feeling or being perceived as ‘weak’ is
meaning many young boys and men are not seeking help for their
mental health problems.

The research also found that many are not given the help, even
when they do ask for it.
“As you get older no one cares about your mental health, so
you say you're OK when you're not, because you're supposed
to be a man. And men aren't supposed to have emotions.
Parents push toxic masculinity onto their children. It messes
their head up later in life. But who really cares that we're
suffering?”
While there are no simple solutions to
the many complicated factors that
impact on men’s help-seeking
behaviours, we can offer some ideas
for policy-makers to consider.
These include:
Supporting the mental health needs of the most vulnerable or at-risk subpopulations of
men by tackling the root causes of disconnection and isolation

Promoting collaboration and partnerships between the health sector and community
organizations working with diverse male constituencies on a range of projects
Co-creating male-friendly initiatives with those most in need, in
order to tailor interventions around their values, customs and
priorities

Promoting appropriate online support forums.

THANKS