toxic masculinity

Definition

"Toxic masculinity" is a term from psychology and gender studies for a subset of culturally prescribed masculine norms — such as emotional suppression, dominance, aggression, and hostility toward traits coded as feminine — described as harmful both to the men who hold them and to those around them. According to the psychiatrist Terry Kupers, as summarised by Wikipedia, the concept denotes aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are socially destructive, "such as misogyny, homophobia, greed, and violent domination", as distinct from traits such as "pride in [one's] ability to win at sports, to maintain solidarity with a friend, to succeed at work, or to provide for [one's] family", which are not considered toxic. ^[2] Mainstream psychological research summarised by the American Psychological Association has characterised "traditional masculinity", "marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression", as "on the whole, harmful" — though, notably, the APA's own article discusses "traditional masculinity" and does not use the phrase "toxic masculinity" itself. ^[1] The term is contested, however, as the sections below describe.

Where it comes from

The phrase originated in the mythopoetic men's movement of the 1980s and 1990s: the academic Shepherd Bliss contrasted a return to agrarianism with what he called the "potentially toxic masculinity" of the warrior ethic. It later found wide use in academic and popular writing, and from the 2010s media discussions have applied it to "traditional and stereotypical norms of masculinity and manhood". ^[3]

In the manosphere

This is one of the most contested pieces of vocabulary between gender-studies researchers and manosphere communities. Critics argue the concept is poorly defined, that it risks treating ordinary masculine traits as pathological, and that it is heard less as a description of specific harmful behaviours than as a blanket indictment of men or masculinity itself. Wikipedia notes that many conservatives, including some in the alt-right, regard the concept as incoherent or reject its existence, and that a 2020 pilot survey found a majority of respondents — around 80% — viewed the term negatively, as insulting and unlikely to improve men's behaviour. ^[4] Supporters of the concept counter that it was never meant to describe masculinity as inherently toxic, only a subset of destructive norms within it — a distinction they say is frequently lost in popular use. This entry does not adjudicate between these positions; it records that the term is both used in serious research and genuinely disputed.