Toxic Masculinity

Jerry Seinfeld once had a bit on his show, mocking his uncle Leo. Jerry goes on the Tonight Show, and tells Leno, "my uncle Leo, I had lunch with him the other day, he's one of these guys that anything goes wrong in his life, he blames it on antisemitism."

That's how it is with the neologism "toxic masculinity." It is used to critique any unsatisfactory male behavior, and, according to the geek feminism wiki, "refers to the socially-constructed attitudes that describe the masculine gender role as violent, unemotional, sexually aggressive."

"Socially-constructed." The key assumption is that males are born as some kind of blank slate, and the environment is responsible for shaping their behavior.

What if this were true? What institutions are shaping male behavior, that we may modify them? Well, the family has been rendered to the extent that most children are raised by single mothers. They must be teaching their boys to suppress their feelings! Perhaps.

What of our other institutions? Church membership is declining, so I don't think "the patriarchy" is conditioning boys anymore. Boys are largely socialized in public schools dominated by female instructors.   If toxic masculinity is being socially constructed, it's hard to find the smoking gun (must be the video games).

The concept of toxic masculinity is gaining traction. Amanda Marcotte's article in the wake of the Orlando massacre is titled, "Overcompensation Nation: It’s time to admit that toxic masculinity drives gun violence."

Marcotte first tries to placate the "whiny dudes" who will complain that "feminists are condemning all masculinity." Rather, she asserts, "toxic masculinity is a specific model of manhood."

As a thought experiment, ask yourself how you would feel if certain specific behaviors of black people were pathologized as symptomatic of "toxic blackness." This is the fallacy of composition.

This is a term straight out of critical theory. Anything that is traditional is malignant. This is why the term toxic masculinity is bullshit. It's used to otherize men and stigmatize masculinity. Sexual aggression is not a social construct. It's genetic.

Marcotte evokes some truth when she says that "insecurity is perhaps the most stalwart defining feature of toxic masculinity." I would argue that this is an innate masculine drive, that is, to protect others, with violence if necessary.

The rest of Marcotte's article is a deflection of stunning proportion. It's likely that Achmed Goatfucker was a homosexual who was conflicted about his attraction to men. The source of his conflict was with the Islamic faith and his Afgan heritage. If he can be born with a gay gene, then he can be born with a predisposition to violence.

Marcotte cites domestic violence as an example of toxic masculinity, like the "man who would rather kill his family than lose control." I wonder if Amanda has heard the story of Connie Foster? Perhaps Foster killed her two children during a custody dispute because of "toxic femininity."

Part of male dominance, Marcotte argues, is the need to demonstrate "control over life and death itself." Are the one million women undergoing abortions every year under the spell of "toxic femininity?"

Marcotte pushes back against those who insist on calling the Orlando massacre, "radical Islam," as if the "words they use will somehow be the magic ticket to ending the problem." When you are in a war, it helps to identify the enemy. Amanda must believe the tactic has some power, as she herself constantly employs the modifier, "toxic."

Perhaps we should move to a more "thoughtful, inclusive society." It might just be possible, once the feminists ditch their mugs that read MALE TEARS, stop using the #masculinitysofragile hashtag, and stop referring to men who disagree as "whiny dudes."