Toxic Masculinity/Stereotype

Toxic Masculinity:-

; A set of attitudes and ways of behaving stereotypically associated with or expected of men, regarded as having a negative impact on men and on society as a whole.

Toxic Masculinity isn't a vintage topic. Even though men have struggled through the roots of this problem for decades, it only started becoming extremely problematic in this generation. 

What exactly is Toxic Masculinity? In the simplest of words, it is basically a fixed motion against men and transgenders made by the society that they can't put on makeup or wear skirts, dresses, fishnets etc. basically all the things which a woman is "supposed" to do according to the culture. I've never been the one to state my opinion strong enough but I do believe that this notion is very unimportant and unnecessary. I mean it's not ours or anyone else's place to judge a person's style or clothing or what a person should wear on a daily basis. If they want to wear a tennis skirt then let them wear it, who are you to give your opinion?

Even though this topic was highlighted upon by the society in favour of men and to support them, I've seen a lot of famous men on the internet getting cancelled or dragged through hell for dressing 'feminine' and 'vulnerably like woman instead of bring more manly'. I saw this photoshoot once where he wore eyeliner and fishnets to support the wrong notions against toxic masculinity and people automatically started calling him transgender, gay or "not straight." I don't get the point? No one made the rule that only trans men can wear makeup? No one fixed a particular notion about it? I mean it's just crazy to look at the comments of everyone hating on him just because he wore some eyeliner and fishnets in a damned photoshoot. This was the same case with a Grammy-winning artist back in January. He did a photoshoot for the cover of Vogue and he wore a ball gown, a ballerina dress and a long skirt and people automatically cancelled him for wearing "feminine" clothes. 

And this is the same case when flipped in favor of men. Even though it is mostly accepted nowadays, even today there are some people who think that women cannot wear blazers as an outfit or in their workplace. Or that they can't wear pants and sweatshirts with collars or can't tuck clothes in shirt because apparently according to the society, this is the the clothing style of "men." I mean- okay? No one wrote it in a rule book or printed it out or put a law against it then why do people just HATE the idea of opposite genders swapping clothes? In the present time, women are still being accepted for their clothing style or their actions due to the sudden upheaval against their protection. But men are always considered as LGBTQ+ or weak if they show emotions or even the slightest bit of affection towards peers.

As much as this concept is supported by a lot of people around the globe, still a lot of people, mainly conservatives, have gone against the notion of supporting this. Arguably, they've stated that no such thing as 'toxic masculinity' exists and it's just a new topic bought by the gen-z generation to chase for something. Something that I've agreed on is that toxic masculinity mostly highlights the negative aspects of a male's life such as 'violence', 'sadness' and 'hatred'. There is little to no reflection on the positive aspects such as 'courage', 'determination and 'protectiveness'. This doesn't mean I want to degrade women in the society by saying they're not all of these positive aspects but I do believe these positives can be preserved in men as they do prove to be quite helpful at times.  

Who said that this is wrong?

Or that this is wrong?

Exactly. No one. If you're not comfortable or if you're conservative about your opinions on the fact that style swapping is not okay, then please keep your opinions to yourself. Sending unnecessary hate to people on social media just because they didn't dress the way you wanted them to doesn't mean that they don't have the right to choose their own dressing style.

Another notion that I've heard under this topic is "Boys don't cry." Who said this? Did no boy cry during his childhood? And you don't cry openly in front of everyone, boys and men generally tend to be more closed off when it comes to showing emotions so expecting a guy to stay strong 24/7 is not alright. They're humans too and they experience stress and emotions the same way we all do. They're not made of stone or metal, meaning they should be allowed to cry and express their heart the way they want to without being judged by those around them.

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Even though this is extremely short, propping my phone up in my hands to write it took a lot of energy. I've been inactive for more than a month due to school and exam stress but I hope this covers up for some part of it. I've bern on a writer's block so suggest some blog ideas in the comments! :)

Thank you for taking out some time to read this short something I wrote over my break time. Stay hydrated and have a great day/night <3

-Until we meet again.

The Renaissance Youth Leader Forum launched a campaign back in November 2020 to fight against the notions of Toxic Masculinity. This was their punchline:-

"Both men and women suffer from toxic Masculinity. It happens everyday both online and offline. What does toxic masculinity look like? Here are some examples. Together, let's help men unmute their voices. Let's #FightTheStigma with the facts. #UNMUTE."

Here is the link to the original twitter post :)

Renaissance Youth Leader Forum

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- Ilaria :) ©️