What are some examples where the concept of toxic masculinity is used to condemn men and masculinity in general?

RingosTurdFace · 2026-02-05T16:18:21+00:00

Edit - TL/DR

The term “toxic masculinity” is used essentially as a form of ‘victim blaming’, implying men are the cause of their own problems and that is then to justify not creating tailored support for men.

In detail: Rather than acknowledge that men have very little organised support (eg government funded initiatives or awareness campaigns) tailored for us and therefore have to engage with that point and accept that generally problems that men face as a group aren’t important to society at anything like the same level that problems that women face as a group are - ‘toxic masculinity’ is invoked.

This is done to blame men for their problems, essentially implying “well why should we do anything to help men when they can’t be bothered to help themselves with problems of their own making’.

A good example is ‘if only men talked more about how they felt’ as a theoretical way to prevent suicide.

Whilst men taking more openly might help, it only works if there’s someone to listen.

And this is where the above catch can come in - try to raise awareness and get some money to support men by engaging and listening to them, you get - ‘why should we give money to men, do they deserve it when it’s just their toxic masculinity that’s the problem’. And/or ‘men have loads of privileged, you should try to help women instead’.

It’s essentially a form of ‘victim blaming’ that’s used to blame men as the cause of their own problems and prevent meaningful and organised help being set up.

GrandyRetroCandy · 2026-02-05T20:41:03+00:00

Toxic masculinity = feminist propaganda.

ZestyclosePianist277 · 2026-02-05T19:16:06+00:00

I remember once a guy called me "fragile masculinity" just because I told him I would never dress in women's clothes or wear makeup...

It's really messed up how some people try to feminize men, ugh...

Icy-Picture-192 · 2026-02-05T16:15:58+00:00

Because toxic masculinity doesn't exist. There's nothing toxic about masculinity. It's propaganda used to put down men.

pearl_harbour1941 · 2026-02-05T18:25:00+00:00

https://chatelaine.com/living/toxic-masculinity-essay/

"The rules of manhood are holding [men] back"
Researchers have found that men who most strongly exhibit conventional masculine traits, or who are most anxious about their masculinity, are more likely to behave in ways that hurt themselves and others: more likely to have unprotected sex, to binge drink, to sexually harass women, to bully other men through homophobic slurs.

Note: unprotected sex, binge drinking, sexual harassment and bullying of men are all non-gendered behaviors.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-toxic-masculinity-5075107

Toxic masculinity encourages men to avoid doctors and mental health care, which can harm their health.

Men who follow toxic masculinity may not help others or intervene in bullying or assaults.

Note: women over-use doctors and mental health care, and are listed as the vast majority of hypochondriacs. Also, not intervening in bullying and assaults is not a gendered attribute, and is more noticeable with women, who almost never break up fights or stop bullying.

https://genderjusticeproject.org/allyship/talk-toxic-a-guide-to-toxic-masculinity-for-boys-and-men

Note: a woman lecturing men on how to be men. None of the things she lists are gendered - acting entitled, power imbalances in relationships, difficulty asking for help, difficulty with empathy, etc. etc. etc.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886925004210

we investigate, across two studies, the role toxic masculinity, defined as the over-exaggeration of masculine social norms that perpetuate misogyny, plays in restrictive emotionality and intention to seek health support, as well as underlying mechanisms.

Note: women routinely restrict their emotionality (called "being nice") or do "emotional labor" which is the stifling of negative emotions for the purpose of achieving a greater good (usually for children).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znxgh4j#zhmbtcw

This might lead some people to display arrogant, unkind and unhealthy thoughts, feelings and behaviours."

Note: Not gendered behavior.

_______

There are literally dozens of easily accessible articles - scholarly, mainstream, or blogs - that describe non-gendered asshole behavior as if it only applies to men.

Njaulv · 2026-02-05T16:26:22+00:00

You are looking for evidence for a thing that does not exist. Toxic masculinity is made up bullshit from misandrists.

Former_Range_1730 · 2026-02-06T04:29:12+00:00

Mansplaining. The goal when they use this term is to gaslight you into believing that when ever a man speaks, it's abuse against women.

ExportsExpert · 2026-02-05T16:58:48+00:00

The term toxic masculinity is an oxymoron, it doesn't exist. Masculinity is a virtue, by definition it can't be toxic.

As for society in general doesn't care about men's plights, see the old Democrat website, it was online until at least May last year. All major societal groups are mentioned except two: whites and men. https://web.archive.org/web/20250514035245/https://democrats.org/who-we-are/who-we-serve/

63daddy · 2026-02-05T17:44:23+00:00

Any attempt to portray masculinity and by association men as toxic is condeming.

critical_Bat · 2026-02-06T15:01:08+00:00

The whole concept of it is pathologizing men. It is intentionally loosely defined and therefore anything could be said to be an example. It is like blonde jokes on a rather extreme level.

iainmf · 2026-02-05T18:59:43+00:00

https://www.vice.com/en/article/all-masculinity-is-toxic/

I was surprised and intrigued when I came across the powerful ideas of John Stoltenberg, whose theories kind of epitomize the fears of paranoid conservatives and undercut the more tepid critiques of machismo made by my fellow SJWs. In the past, the prominent feminist scholar has openly equated the idea of “healthy masculinity” with the oxymoron of “healthy cancer.” This is because he sees manhood as an identity built entirely out of oppression. He contends that the parts of manhood that we view as non-toxic don’t actually have a designated gender—and describing these actions or qualities as masculine just reflects our disdain for women. His emotive 1993 book The End of Manhood highlights his personal struggles trying to live up to the restrictive norms of manhood while guiding readers on how to drop the mask of manhood so that we can be free to give and receive love.

ApprehensiveMail8 · 2026-02-07T02:23:17+00:00

Why are you asking us for examples when you are the one making the post?

Using the phrase "toxic masculinity" is inherently condemning masculinity by the plain meaning of the words.

Of course toxic behavior is problematic, and sometimes people engaging in toxic behavior are male.

But why not just call it "toxicity" or "toxic behavior"?

Adding "masculinity" is simply making the statement longer for the express purpose of enforcing a gender stereotype.

In some cases I think people use "toxic masculinity" when they means "toxic beliefs about masulinity". But that is a very important distinction.

Can you provide an example of a time when the phrase "toxic masculinity" was ever actually needed?

When either "toxicity", "toxic behaviors", or "toxic beliefs about masculinity" would not work better?

Title	What are some examples where the concept of toxic masculinity is used to condemn men and masculinity in general?
Author	SpectrumDT
Upvotes	44
Comments	89
Date	February 5, 2026 3:38 PM UTC (5 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1qwoj1f/what_are_some_examples_where_the_concept_of_toxic/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/what-are-some-examples-where-the-concept-of-toxic.1572791 https://theredarchive.com/post/1572791

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