Toxic masculinity is going to be the death of a lot of men. There is a whole cesspool of men on the internet selling this idea of what defines a man and it’s all wrong. I grew up in the Caribbean, attended an all boys parochial high school. I took my fair share of abuse because I didn’t conform to traditional gender expectations. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. It took me a while but I realize the whole thing is performative.
Being a man is being comfortable in your own skin. it is recognizing that you are capable of expressing emotions other than anger. it is expressing unbridled joy in the things that make you happy and not the things specified as acceptable for a man. it is the ability to express hurt or sorrow without violence. it is the ability to ask for a help when you need it.none of these things make you less of a man.
it’s fun the two biggest purveyors of ‘masculinity’ seem to have built their entire personas on a fabrication. one has to wonder if they were driven by their own insecurities based on the content they are selling.
treating your emotional, mental, and physical health is not gay. loving and respecting your partner is not gay. and washing your ass is most certainly not gay.
