Written by Michelle Arnetta
Designed by Kiara Andressa
Take a quick scroll through social media, and you'll see that toxic masculinity is not an unspoken issue--at least online, that is. Due to the public's increased awareness of this issue, men have begun to unchain themselves from the gender roles set by society's long outdatednorms. However, they are still perceived derogatorily for it, especially in real life. The issue here is therefore clear: everybody knows about it, but nobody bothers to take action, even when there are countless reasons to do so.
First, let us establish what toxic masculinity actually is: domination, sexism, and violence in the name of manliness. For instance, the notion that boys shouldn't cry is not a stranger to our society, and that, too, falls under the category of toxic masculinity. It's a standard blindly followed by numerous men across the globe. But what benefit is there in limiting a way for men to release their emotions? If anything, it is only detrimental to them and their mental health. If men weren't forced to bottle up their emotions, perhaps men's suicide rates wouldn't be sky-high. If men were allowed to express themselves, maybe violence wouldn't be the only way they knew how to. Despite it all, the unwritten rules of toxic masculinity still demand to be obeyed. But how did something so nonsensical become so engraved in today's world in the first place? To tackle this question, let's take a trip down the history lane.
Toxic masculinity's rule spans millennia. Its origins lie thousands of years ago, when "survival of the fittest" wasn't just a textbook term. Men who could hunt, win wars, and conquer others were the ones fit to survive. The idea of exerting dominance and emerging the victor thus became associated with power, and this pattern continued through history. It was only in the late 20th century that these concepts of glorified aggression and violence were deemed inappropriate to become ideals in a modern society; instead, they fell into the category of expected norms. Even so, men were still pressured to behave in a manly way (for instance, constantly asserting dominance and acting violently) and discouraged to behave in ways typically associated with women (showing emotions and empathy). These traits might have been necessary to dominate during wartime, but in today's world, this obviously isn't the case. Then why are men still encouraged to treat social circles like a battlefield? What good is there in keeping the same ideals recognized as harmful as norms?
In light of everything, it has become abundantly clear that toxic masculinity must be stopped. As the root cause of toxic masculinity is gender norms, the obvious solution here is to deconstruct the gender norms themselves. But if it were really that easy, why haven't we done so already?
The standards of toxic masculinity were set by society, and by definition, society includes many, many people. If everyone, including us, refuses to cooperate, it would be impossible to bring about change. Thus, the answer here lies with you and me. Let's deconstruct these standards together.