“What is our society teaching men?
“That the only way to have dignity is not be a woman, not be weak, not be gay, always hit first and never present yourself as vulnerable or in need.”
Honored to talk to @Alisha__g for the @nytimes’ In Her Words series. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
“That the only way to have dignity is not be a woman, not be weak, not be gay, always hit first and never present yourself as vulnerable or in need.”
Honored to talk to @Alisha__g for the @nytimes’ In Her Words series. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
We talked about the much-discussed photo of Bidens father and son and the half-men that such a photo scares — the whole episode “a reminder of a culture of toxic masculinity that trains so many men to turn their sense of vulnerability into a fraudulent performance of strength.”
We talked about that moment when Trump took off his mask after being hospitalized, and I tried to connect it to my own struggles growing up in this society:
“I recognized in the fear and false bravado the same men who threw me into lockers at school.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
“I recognized in the fear and false bravado the same men who threw me into lockers at school.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
This dominant way of teaching men leads to the epic amounts of abuse and assault that women face.
But here’s what we don’t talk about enough:
It also doesn’t really work for most men.
It traps us in images of ourselves that have failed most of us. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
But here’s what we don’t talk about enough:
It also doesn’t really work for most men.
It traps us in images of ourselves that have failed most of us. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
We are at a moment of real reckoning with three interlocking supremacies: white supremacy, male supremacy and capital supremacy.
These things work together and what they have in common is dehumanization and the centering of the aggressor’s point of view. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
These things work together and what they have in common is dehumanization and the centering of the aggressor’s point of view. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...
. @Alisha__g really made me think, and I’m grateful for the conversation. More of us men need to say publicly what we know within: that this toxic vision of manhood disfigures everyone and everything, including ourselves, and that it’s time to break free. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/masks-toxic-masculinity-covid-men-gender.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/2...