Toxic masculinity vs. healthy masculinity

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Toxic masculinity, in part, encapsulates the social pressures on men to behave in specific ways. For example, it may cause men to act in a dominating manner with physical or mental aggression that is inappropriate and harmful to those around them and themselves. Thankfully, there are many discussions these days surrounding toxic masculinity and what healthy masculinity looks like. Indeed, it is in everyone’s interest to understand what both look like.

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There's nothing wrong with masculinity

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

To begin with, there is nothing inherently wrong with masculinity. It's when someone becomes so attached to the set of values that it hinders their well-being and the well-being of those around them that it becomes a problem.

"Man up"

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

It isn’t just behaving “like a man.” It also encapsulates society’s pressure on men to be “manly.”

The kinds of expectations

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Toxic masculinity describes the pressure for men to act tough and be physically strong, emotionally callous, and even aggressive.

Thinking in black and white

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

When people reject the notion that masculine and feminine energies are constructed to help us understand the different aspects of ourselves, much like yin and yang, we run into problems.

Not showing emotions

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Associating masculinity with not showing emotions causes harm to the person. Men who feel like they cannot share how they feel run the risk of suffering from mental health issues.

Toxic masculinity and health care

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

One study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that men who had strong beliefs about masculinity were only half as likely to get preventative health care than men with more moderate beliefs.

The idea that self-care isn't masculine

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Toxic masculinity glorifies unhealthy habits. It’s the idea that caring about yourself is only for women. It sees men abusing their bodies and emotional health.

Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

A study in 2019 found that men who associated masculinity with being strong and aggressive were more likely to perceive negative social consequences with intervening as an active bystander when witnessing an assault.

Healthy masculinity

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Understanding the kind of behavior associated with toxic masculinity is essential to understanding what healthy masculinity looks like.

Vulnerability and masculinity

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Being vulnerable is necessary for our relationships and mental health. Someone should be able to be vulnerable without feeling like it’s wrong or less manly.

Communication, not domination

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Healthy masculinity allows people to develop good communication skills.

Compassion

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Healthy masculinity allows men to be nurturing and compassionate towards themselves and others around them.

It's contextual

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

In a sense, the lines are often blurred as to what constitutes toxic masculinity because it is deemed so based on behavior that happens in a context, which changes.

Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Other forms of masculine culture are less of a gray area. The need to emotionally control others, dominate, and engage in risk-taking behavior are most often harmful to the person and those around them.

There's nothing wrong with masculinity, "Man up", The kinds of expectations, Thinking in black and white, Not showing emotions, Toxic masculinity and health care, The idea that self-care isn't masculine, Associations with masculinity and witnessing an assault, Healthy masculinity, Vulnerability and masculinity, Communication, not domination, Compassion, It's contextual, Emotional control and other harmful aspects of masculine culture, Other related issues

Toxic masculinity is often discussed in conjunction with social issues like gender inequality, sexual abuse, and race/ethnicity discrimination because they are linked in many ways. 

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