My project topic is on toxic masculinity, a set of behaviors and expectations that society has placed on the male gender and negatively impacts men and the communities we live in. I chose this topic because I was interested in the male perspective of oppression instead of women, and we don’t talk about the social challenges that men face as much as we do women’s. I obviously couldn’t cover everything on the male experience so I decided to focus on forced identity, but even that was too broad. I narrowed it down to toxic masculinity because while women are suppressed in many ways, at least we are allowed to share our emotions freely and are open to be sensitive. Men do not have this privilege and instead, they already have their paths paved as the money-making, aggressive, strong, womanizing gender. This relates to forced identity because lots of men have to hide or suppress their true identity, whether that is their sensitivity, sexuality, gender identity, or even a hobby that they enjoy that may be seen as “too feminine”. Toxic masculinity is very damaging to the male psyche and it portrays men in a very negative way. There are many males that embrace this identity and it’s very dangerous for everyone.
Here is the link to my presentation slides :
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-dV_Csr-CeOhIeCsaDxZbM1BmC_rSgKQWedmfUJ-kMQ/edit?usp=sharing
It very interesting that you chose this topic because it’s like you said not talked about enough. I completely agree that it is definitely problem, especially in certain cultures and communities. For a lot of people it is not ok to breakdown or cry when you need to. When a man does let himself feel, he’s looked at as weak or even gay.
Hello Samantha. I believe that you bring up some great points in your post about your research topic. When it comes to toxic masculinity it is something that needs to be spoken about in society.
This is such a great topic. Like you said women’s issues are talked about more than the effects of toxic masculinity. In high school, boys refuse to be emotional and embrace hyper masculinity. They also use sexual interactions with girls as a way to impress other boys.