Examples Of Toxic Masculinity

I recently attended Byron Hurt’s talk “Locker Room Talk of Toxic Masculinity”. In his talk, he spoke about the reasons toxic masculinity is being formed, and the outcomes of it. He tied in many interesting facts, and connected them to current events. One major point Hurt made was stating that we need to drastically change the way boys are raised. As boys are growing up, they are provided poor examples of what it means to be a male. Most of what is learned about being a man comes from TV, music, movies, and other forms of media that do not portray a good image of manhood. Along with that, if boys act outside of the “male stereotypes”, they will be made fun of. This leads to boys growing up feeling the need to be the type of male they see in …show more content…
Most of the words used to make fun of boys have feminine or homosexual connotations. When one uses these words as an insult, it is degrading towards homosexuals and females. This may be a reason for the large amount of gender violence. When boys are growing up hearing insults centered on feminine connotations, it makes it easier for the boys to grow into men that think less of women. This type of thinking can ultimately lead to gender violence. Hurt also tied this toxic masculinity back to current events. Ninety-eight percent of mass shooting are by men, and ninety percent of murders are by men. One potential explanation for this is there is not a place for boys to express healthy masculinity. This leads to a buildup of violent toxic masculinity that comes out in the form of aggression. This may be a factor in the Vegas shooting. If we give boys a place to express their masculinity, we may be able to greatly reduce the amount of violence in …show more content…
When boys make fun of other boys by using words with feminine and homosexual connotations, it dehumanizes these groups of individuals. When this happens, you will not have the ability to fully understand and respect their perspectives and thoughts. Another way you would not develop the ability to understand and respect others’ perspectives and thoughts is by making fun of other boys for doing so. Attempting to understand others’ perspectives may not be seen as something the “stereotypical male” would do, so a young boy could get made fun of for doing that. Because they would get made fun of, boys would choose not to attempt to understand and respect others’ perspectives and thoughts. Overall, I really enjoyed Byron Hurt’s talk. He made many great points about how this toxic masculinity is being formed, and what is happening because of it. Along with stating many interesting facts, Hurt had a great stage presence. His charismatic speaking made the talk much more enjoyable. I had a great time at Hurt’s talk, I would recommend everyone to see