WEBVTT

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During your travels around the internet,


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you may have bumped into the term

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“Toxic Masculinity.”

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It usually shows up in connection with

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particularly abusive male behavior--

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so, things like harassment, homophobia,
sexism, or violent outbursts.

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But what does it really mean?

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Well, let’s find out.

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(Intro music)

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Now, since there tends to be so much
confusion and defensiveness

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surrounding these two words, I think

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we might need to start off with a really
clear example. You know, something

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that we can all agree on.

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Okay, yeah.

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but honestly I think he needs his own video

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so maybe something else would--

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Biff: What do you think you’re doing?!

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---- ok, that’s gonna work.

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This charming fellow is Biff from
the Back to the Future series.

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Biff: Hello, hello, anybody home?

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Biff: Huh? Think, McFly, think!

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Ok, so let’s start with the word
masculinity itself.

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Very broadly speaking, masculinity is
a set of behaviors and practices that

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have traditionally been associated
with men and manhood in our culture.

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And that includes both
positive and negative things.

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“Toxic masculinity,” on the other hand,

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is a loose term that’s used to refer
to a subset of those behaviors

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which are harmful or destructive.

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It’s often used as a sort of shorthand

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to describe behaviors linked to
domination, humiliation, and control.

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It’s marked by things like emotional
detachment and hyper-competitiveness --

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Lorraine: Look Biff, somebody already
asked me to the dance.


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Biff: Who? That bug George McFly?

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Lorraine: I’m going with Calvin Klein, ok?

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Biff: Calvin Klein? No, it’s not okay.
You’re going with me. Understand? 


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Lorraine: Get your cooties off of me!

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Biff: When are you gonna get it through your
thick skull, Lorraine? You’re my girl.

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It’s also connected to the sexual
objectification of women, as well as


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other predatory sexual behaviors.

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Biff: You know you want me to give it to you.

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Lorraine: Shut your filthy mouth.
I’m not that kind of girl!


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Biff: Well maybe you are, and you
just don’t know it yet.

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Jonathan: It’s also linked very closely with
aggression, intimidation, and violence.

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Biff: Do you wanna take a poke at me?

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The modifier “toxic” is used to highlight

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the fact that these kinds of behaviors

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carry with them some potentially serious
and even deadly consequences.

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Much of this type of masculinity is
relational, and as such, it's mostly

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defined in opposition to anything
culturally associated with women.

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Which is why toxic masculinity is driven
by this overwhelming fear of emasculation,

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that is to say the fear of being perceived by
others as “feminine” and therefore “unmanly.”

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Many of the most popular male heroes in
movies are depicted as engaging in

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at least a few of these toxic behaviors.

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James: There, now let’s both play.


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Jonathan: But because they’re the good guys,

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their actions are framed as admirable
displays of strength, power, and manhood.

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James: Dink, meet Felix Leiter.

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Dink: Hello.

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James: Felix, say hello to Dink.

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Felix: Hi, Dink.

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James: Dink, say goodbye to Felix.

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Dink: Hmm?
James: Man talk.

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Jennifer: It’s like Doc’s always saying--

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Marty: Yeah yeah, I know: “If you put your
mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”

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Jonathan: And even when those behaviors

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are not celebrated, it’s often framed as
acceptable or normal and then excused

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as just “guys being guys” or “boys being boys.”

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Just to make sure there’s no misunderstanding

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I want to make something absolutely clear.

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This term is not a condemnation
of men or manhood.

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Because again “toxic masculinity” only
refers to a particular set of harmful

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actions and cultural practices.

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And none of those behaviors are inherent
or biological traits of men.

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There is nothing toxic about just being a man,

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but some men do act in toxic ways.

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So in other words “toxic masculinity” is
not something that men ARE,

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but rather it’s something that some men DO.

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Alright. So, let’s return to our friend Biff here. 


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Now Biff is an obvious buffoon.

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I mean, he's a schoolyard bully.
He’s like a cartoon villain.

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His actions are easy to spot and
understand as damaging because

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really toxic masculinity is what
defines him as a character.

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Biff: You heard him, girls. Party’s over.

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At every point in Back to the Future
there might as well be a giant neon sign

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hanging over Biff’s head that says,
“Hey, this is the bad guy.”

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So that’s really easy, but things
are rarely so clear cut.

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In the real world all kinds of men can
participate in toxic masculinity.

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Including seemingly normal guys who might
also be nerdy or charming or witty or intelligent.

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Since toxic masculinity is a set of behaviors,
and not a biological trait, the real men who

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participate are not really one dimensional
character archetypes like Biff.

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And they usually don’t do all of the things on the list.

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Okay, well, sometimes they do,
but usually that’s not the case.

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There is a mistaken impression out there

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that “toxic masculinity” means that everything
about masculinity is somehow toxic.

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But that is not the case.

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In fact, the term “toxic masculinity” is used
very deliberately to try to differentiate 


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the more damaging or destructive male
behaviors from more positive male behaviors.

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When it comes to this term, it’s really
important to understand that it’s used

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to reinforce the fact that there are many
different types and formulations of masculinity,

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or as RW Connell puts it,
different masculinities.

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And since there are many ways to practice
masculinity, we as men, can choose not to

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engage in the more toxic behaviors, and
instead choose to pursue more positive,

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empathetic, and cooperative
forms of masculinity.

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Now we only just scratched the surface here,

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but I’ll leave some links and resources

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in the box below if you want to learn more.

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I hope this video did give you a better
understanding of this term

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and maybe help clear up some of the
misunderstandings about it.

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If you’d like to see more videos related
to media and manhood,

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just hop on over to my Patreon page and

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help fund the Pop Culture Detective Agency.