What Is Toxic Masculinity? How to Combat Toxic Masculinity

Toxic masculinity refers to a set of negative behaviors and attitudes certain men engage in to exhibit a misplaced sense of “manliness.” It arises from societal pressures for men to behave in a specific way, ultimately taken to a problematic extreme.

Men’s health suffers from the effects of toxic masculinity—it leads to a propensity to repress emotions, maximize stress, and lash out at loved ones. Additionally, it also lays the groundwork for an increase in male violence toward others in the form of misogyny, homophobia, and other social ills.

Toxic masculinity manifests itself in a litany of ways. Here are just seven issues this worldview and set of behaviors can give rise to:

1. 1. Competitiveness over cooperation: To some, it’s a masculine norm to jockey for greater positions of power rather than seek opportunities to cooperate. While competition can be healthy and even useful in many scenarios, toxic masculinity leads men to prioritize coming out on top above ever considering the feelings or desires of anyone else. Men can become more boorish or hard to work with as a result.
2. 2. Greater tendencies toward violence: Toxic masculinity is one reason for the amount of male violence throughout society. Since some men refuse to handle their emotions in a healthy way, conflicts between partners can unravel into domestic violence. Similarly, some men might even turn to sexual assault.
3. 3. Higher levels of homophobia and transphobia: Heterosexual, cisgender men who don’t make an effort to combat toxic masculinity might hold biases against people of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Toxic masculinity insists on there being only one way to be a man and excludes or even denigrates any other approaches.
4. 4. Inability to admit vulnerability: When someone tells a young boy to “man up,” the implication is generally for them to hide their emotions and return to the task at hand. From a young age, this instills the belief you can’t be a “real man” if you admit any sense of vulnerability. As a result, many grown men refuse to seek mental health care or ask for any sort of emotional support, leading them to manage their internal state in a counterproductive and damaging way.
5. 5. Increased sexism toward women: Toxic masculinity is practically synonymous with misogyny. Men who take this attitude to heart believe masculinity is innately superior to femininity, leading them to rely on untrue and harmful gender stereotypes in their interactions with women. In extreme cases, this can lead to outright sexual harassment. On a more muted level, it might emanate through “mansplaining,” condescension, or advocating for continued disparities between men and women throughout society.
6. 6. Inordinate senses of entitlement: Toxic males experience a sense of entitlement in their work, relationships, and other areas of life. This can eventually lead to mental health problems like narcissism and delusions of grandeur. Young men might feel they can engage in excessive risk-taking without consequences because of this attitude. The concept of toxic masculinity can even lead to wanton violence, up to the point of some men even committing violent crimes and expecting no retaliation.
7. 7. More repressed emotions: A lack of emotional expression and management lies at the heart of toxic masculinity. Certain men trade any ability to effectively manage their mental health issues in the pursuit of constantly exhibiting stereotypically masculine traits. Underneath the tough, sometimes cruel exterior often lies someone in a great deal of emotional pain with no resources or understanding of how to handle these feelings. For that matter, bottling up all these emotions can affect a man’s physical health as well.

Toxic masculinity isn’t an innate aspect of identifying as a man—there are plenty of ways to combat it and exhibit healthier forms of masculinity instead. Keep these tips in mind to conquer this problematic and pervasive attitude:

• Break stigmas. Modern society is trending toward breaking many of the stigmas that perpetuate toxic masculinity. For example, it’s more common for men to seek mental health treatment from their health care providers now than it was several decades ago. This is largely due to the work people did to destigmatize men’s mental health treatment over the years. Do your part to go against the grain and call out similar problematic behaviors and attitudes.
• Combat traditional gender roles. Recognize masculine ideals of the past are not indelible and infallible. Gender norms morph along with society as a whole, and gender identity is an individual affair. For example, you can borrow the positive aspects of traditional masculinity and reject any of the more negative ones. Listen to self-help podcasts or read books about how to combat harmful gender roles. Think of toxic masculinity as just one attitude among many—there are many other healthy forms of masculinity you can embody.
• Seek out opportunities to help and heal. Focus on your own emotional well-being and reach out to others who you might have hurt while exhibiting toxically masculine behaviors. Seek forgiveness and opportunities to heal. Make friends with people who identify as women and nonbinary folks to learn from people who embody a different kind of identity. Listen without judgment in your pursuit to be a better person. Try on different perspectives as a form of psychological practice.

Practicing empathy can help you lead more effectively while building stronger relationships across the personal and professional facets of your life. Challenge your perceptions with the MasterClass Annual Membership and take lessons on emotional intelligence from Pharrell Williams, Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, Dr. Cornel West, Walter Mosley, Robert Reffkin, and Robin Arzón.