Toxic masculinity is an ongoing and current issue. Toxic masculinity in our society is caused from homophobia, sexism and gun violence that is consistently spread. This prohibits men from expressing their emotions and can make them struggle with their identity. Many forms of media, whether it be movies, documentaries, news segments, and articles have been created to try and understand where this stems from and how we can change it.
The Tough Guise 2 documentary explores the nature of violence and how it can stem from toxic masculinity. The creator of this documentary Jackson Katz, an activist, educator, and author explains that when men are held accountable for violent crimes the reasoning is always mental illness. Men and Women both suffer from mental illness but the men are the ones committing these horrible crimes. I believe the reasoning for this is because it's more acceptable for women to seek treatment while men don't feel it's manly to ask for help. In our society for men to be considered masculine they have to show zero emotions and always have a tough persona.
Author Michael Ian Black a comedian ,writer, and actor wrote the article “The Boys are Not All Right” that also brings up the concern that men do not have outlets for their emotions. Women have been given movements and always told words of encouragement. He brings up that girls are excelling in all school levels while the boys are not. Men have seemed to lack this guidance. Expressing their emotions has been called feminine so they conceal how they feel. Men have nowhere to reach out to without feeling emasculated because of the control on what it means to be masculine.
Journalist and American author Matt Labash wrote the article “Not Your Fathers Masculinity” about redefining masculinity. The word masculinity has been turned into a negative word because of the harmful actions associated with it. Violent crimes like mass shootings are the most commonly related to toxic masculinity . Now masculinity is being determined by everyone besides them. Many don't understand or know how to be a man. Like the other pieces discussed there is a lack of guidance.
Each piece discussed brings up the issue that men don't have guidance and the issues surrounding emotional expression. The boundaries that have been created by toxic masculinity have affected men's mental health. They don't have outlets or people to seek help for their emotional problems without fear of judgement. Our society has created a place where men must not show any form of emotion. Concealing their feelings and thoughts can make their issues worsen. There is no movement for them and most men don't even know what it means to be a man anymore.
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