Is Toxic Masculinity Becoming A Thing Of The Past?
Society’s perception of masculinity may be changing after all.
The idea of toxic masculinity is considered to be one of the overarching plagues that comes with being a man. There are many different characteristics associated with toxic masculinity. Typically, it’s a man who rarely shows emotion. For decades, showing emotions such as crying has been considered “girly” which was apparently synonymous with weak. These men feared looking weak and would therefore bottle their emotions which can lead to aggression.
These men also generally don’t dress up too often or are very rigid in what they choose to wear. This comes with a fear of being labeled as gay if they wear anything remotely out of their comfort zone. These toxically masculine men will correlate being gay with being girly which, again, is considered a weakness.
Basically, toxic masculinity is the epitome of being a “man’s man.”
These men don’t just end up this way, it’s a process that begins as soon as they’re born. Gender roles are introduced to children when they’re infants and works to separate boys from girls. Girls wear pink and are given Barbies and told they are pretty, while boys wear blue and play with trucks.
An article from the New York Times details a survey among young people and found that girls are more protected and sheltered. Boys, on the other hand, are told they’re strong. If boys cry when they’re young, they’re often told to “be a man” and suck it up. They’ve been taught that certain emotions are bad and that they’re associated with girls, which they shouldn’t be anything like.
However, this practice of toxic masculinity as well as gender roles seems to be declining. There are more and more reports of babies being raised in a genderless home, meaning they’re not encouraged to be one way or another. This allows children to seek out what they naturally want instead of what people think they should, such as a boy playing dress up.
Gilette recently came out with an ad that challenged the way men should be and how they view themselves. The ad was considered controversial, some hated it, and some celebrated it. In any case, it is an indication of the prevalence of what is means to be a man today.
Men are also becoming more adventurous in every way. There are men advocating to be whatever and whoever you want and to disregard the pressures of masculinity. Joshua Czuprynski, a Chicago photographer who works to capture male and female vulnerability in his shots, links this change in masculinity to a wider acceptance of the LGBTQ community.
“Because of the community’s gradual acceptance into the mainstream, it has allowed for more gay and bisexual males to veer from those cultural standards.”
Czuprynski also connected this rise in acceptance to the rise of LGBTQ representation in media. There has been huge success with shows featuring drag queens such as, of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Seeing these figures in media has allowed for not only gay and bisexual men, but straight men to relax their staunch view of masculinity.
Many different celebrities are leading the way in this new definition of what it means to be a man. Czuprynski’s leading celebrity males breaking down these barriers include Harry Styles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, and Ezra Miller.
“There are a few [celebrities] that I believe have been pivotal to helping to break down those barriers of toxic masculinity by adopting strong beliefs for the LGBTQ community or just simply implementing more fluid aspects into their personas that are presented into the mainstream.”
These men are impacting or have impacted the way society views masculinity, and it seems like the world is cheering them on.
In an interview conducted by Harry Styles with Timothée Chalamet, Oscar nominated actor from Call Me By Your Name, Harry revealed his feelings about masculinity.
“I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I’m very comfortable with that.”
This gender blending showcased through clothing, nail polish, or makeup is something that has been prevalent among rock stars for decades, namely Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. However, the difference between then and today is the consistent acceptance. Later generations are paving the way for this acceptance through their support on social media.
When a male does or wears something unexpected, he’s now celebrated by younger people for being different and revolutionary.
Of course, it is important to mention that if a man wants to be a very traditional man, thats just as well. The emphasis is men now more than ever have a choice in who and how they want to be.
