I read stuff. And every once in awhile I come across something that is so timely and pertinent that I wonder why it is news to me. Toxic masculinity is a term that strikes me as falling into that category. I am not sure how prevalent the term is, but for me credit is due Amanda Marcotte of Solon.com. The abridgment of her article appears in a July edition of The Week magazine, something I read regularly. I don’t know if she is the originator of the term. For all I know it might actually be an official diagnosis in a compendium of psychiatric disorders. But my point is I heard about it and wonder why I haven’t heard about it before.
To paraphrase Ms. Marcotte’s article, toxic masculinity is a distorted form of manhood geared toward dominance and control, views women and gays as inferior, valorizes violence, and glamorizes guns. And while toxic masculinity aspires to toughness, it is rooted in a fear of being soft, weak, emasculated. Almost all mass killers share this fear.
This article appeared in The Week magazine shortly after Omar Mateen went berserk in Orlando. From what I have read about him, toxic masculinity would seem to describe his psychological state, in a layman’s fashion anyway. But there are so many examples of this exhibited by people we see every day walking around in our communities. Take “Bluto” here for instance: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/go-fcking-make-my-tortilla-unhinged-trump-protester-goes-batsht-insane-on-hispanic-protester/
Makes you proud to be an American. We have all seen a guy like this at one time or another. They love political rallies, but lots of times they are at the ball park embarrassing themselves a few rows up from you and totally ruining your day. OK. That guy might be just an obnoxious drunk. But he’s so unsavory you have to label him as semi-toxic at least. The point is these guys are all over the place. Maybe you had a confrontation with one. Yikes! What do you suppose the deal is with the bare chest? You think he wants to show off his sculpted torso or his tattoos? He might want to be careful. He’s got two nipples hanging out there.
Here’s the thing about nipples. I’m just postulating here, but I think my theory dove-tails nicely with masculine toxicity. I’ve been thinking on this for several hours. On a man nipples are confusing. What the fuck are they doing on a guy’s chest anyway? They don’t seem to posses any evolutionary advantage in any way. Bluto might want to be aware not only does he have nipples, but there’s some estrogen flowing around in his chest and elsewhere. Unlike nipples, guys need estrogen- for maintaining bone mass, and believe it or not, some is needed for normal erectile function.
You suppose that female stuff could all of a sudden start surging or something and make Bluto get all girly. I think it’s possible. It could be a big worry for him. I bet that’s why he is lashing out. Maybe its not testosterone overload that’s pushing his buttons. Raging hormones is something attributed to women as well as men. What exactly causes all the fuss is unpredictable. I imagine we all go through a hormonal roller coaster ride now and then. I’m just sayin’. All the ebb and flow of different hormones probably has something to do with feelings of sexual identity. It just makes sense. What guy doesn’t feel a little uncomfortable watching “Brokeback Mountain”, or even “Bird Cage.” Bluto would probably say the movies are disgusting, when possibly, deep down, he’s a little worried he just might be suppressing some underlying attraction. My guess is it’s not muscles or tattoos Bluto wants to show off. It’s his nipples- like so many women liked to do as a form of protest in the 60’s. I came to appreciate the gesture back then. Now- not so much. Toxic masculinity explains a lot. Geezuz Bluto put your shirt back on and go get help. Your insecurity is showing.
Original, more sexually secure Bluto
Or how about this guy.