Opinion: Masculinity is not toxic

Article here. Excerpt:

'The phrase “toxic masculinity,” a term first coined in the 1980s, has become a heavily popularized buzzword, with magazines such as “Teen Vogue” publishing articles on the subject.

As defined by dictionary.com, toxic masculinity is a cultural concept of manliness that glorifies stoicism, strength, virility, dominance and is socially maladaptive or harmful to mental health.

According to Medical News Today, toxic masculinity is harmful because it causes aggression, hyper-competitiveness, low empathy and entitlement, which can lead to bullying, academic challenges, substance abuse, psychological trauma and more.

To say that issues such as bullying, substance abuse or even suicide could be solved or mitigated if one were to end “toxic masculinity,” is an oversimplification and surface-level solution. The root of such problems is not merely caused by “toxic masculinity” but rather by deeper, environmental, circumstantial, spiritual, etc. problems that differ from individual to individual experience.

In addition, toxic masculinity is also said to affect men by causing depression, stress and body image issues. However, these problems are far from exclusive to men. Women struggle with these issues too, and have a higher documented rate of depression than men, therefore is toxic masculinity the cause for their problems as well?'