Some of us men are too masculine and must take a class to cure us of this illness or some might even go so far as to say evilness.

The news site cut.com is reporting on a program designed to help us men overcome our “toxic” Masculinity.  The class is a partnership between the Washington, D.C., Rape Crisis Center, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, and ReThink, an organization that works to prevent sexual assault and is titled Rethink Masculinity.

The class/program we are told will help men:

learn how social constructs of masculinity harm them and the people around them, and work to construct healthier masculinities.

One student in that class Stephen Hicks stated it this way:

It was eight weeks of guys discussing how they can address their actions with better self-awareness and less toxicity.  We spoke of emotional labor, consent, violence, communication, empathy, and vulnerability.

You might be thinking this is an anomaly but it is not.  These types of retraining men efforts are growing.  As these programs state they are for people who identify as men and include the Men’s Project at the University of Wisconsin, Masculinity 101 at Brown, and the Duke Men’s Project at Duke. There overall goal is to help us men examine our own biases and behaviors so we may cut down on misogyny and gender-based violence.

I had no idea that us men are inherently or are taught by our fathers and society to be such horrible human beings.  Maybe if we men actually had mothers, wives, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and girlfriends we would not think of them as only vessels that we can use for our enjoyment.

Eric Mankowski, associate chair of the psychology department at Portland State University and head of the school’s Gender and Violence Intervention Research Team stated the following:

but we don’t know whether they prevent sexual violence. Some studies show promising effects on attitudes and behavior intentions, but a single class is unlikely to undo years of socialization in toxic masculinity.

Mr. Mankowski argues that the concept of “toxic masculinity” has four main components:

  1. suppression of anything stereotypically feminine;
  2. suppression of emotions related to vulnerability,
  3. like fear, sadness, or helplessness;
  4. male domination over women and other men; and aggression.

Are there men in this world who have an issue with women, YES!  Does that mean most if not all men are born or taught to have such issues with women NO!

By believing that most if not all men are inherently evil does it not minimizes the issue of violence against women?  If all or most men have an issue with “toxic masculinity” does that not then let the men who truly have an issue somewhat off the hook?  They could say this is not only my problem it is all men’s problem so is it a real problem or something that is inherit in men.

That is not to say this is a very serious problem and should be addressed but to address it as “toxic masculinity” goes a bit too far for me.  Yes many men are pigs when it comes to sexuality but the question might be we are born to want to have sex in-order for our race to procreate and men seem to be more vocal about it.

Is there such thing as “toxic femininity”?  I have not heard anyone bring this point up, have you?

When women use their femininity to get what they want out of men, to essentially manipulate men, is that toxic femininity?  If it is then where are the throngs of “professors” teaching classes that will help women with their “toxic femininity” problem.

We need to really zero in on the men that have issues with sex and women and attempt to help them with those issues, we do not have to blame most if not all men for being, well essentially men.

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