Toxic Masculinity

Is there a war on masculinity? No. Not at all, actually. Masculine traits are upheld more than not. Women used to wear shoulder pads to emulate a more masculine look. We're told to lean in and ask for more like the men do.

What is being criticized, however, is toxic masculinity.

Google toxic masculinity and you'll probably find a few rants by man-boy Ben Shapiro on the Left's war on masculinity and manhood or Tucker Carlson making this face on his show:

In a society that teaches boys to be sociopathic robots on the hunt for sex, it's no wonder that we have a rape culture and victim blaming mentality. We can't hope to stop violent sexual behaviour if we insist that dominance and aggression are male traits.

Empathy, which is traditionally a more feminine quality, is not weakness. Vulnerability is not weakness. It's a tool for progress and it's a virtue. Empathy is what makes us human. So why are we stripping men's humanity away? It's not fair to them; it's not fair to anyone.

Building better men is a process and it will take generations because many men find comfort in toxic masculinity. Maybe that's one of the reasons Trump is so popular. He appealed to men's yearning for the re-establishment of “traditional” gender values in which men are dominant, women are subservient, and the "natural" order of things are in place.

A man goes to work. He uses his hands. He gets dirty. He brings home the bacon. Any man in Caro's North Country would know this routine. However, the economy is changing and so is what it means to be a man. Divorcing masculinity from misogyny and violence can only help you. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.