When you google what toxic masculinity is it comes up with “Toxic masculinity is a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designating manhood as defined by violence, sex, status and aggression.” Now to make an easier way to say that is, boys feeling like they have to act aggressive, violent, rude in order for their manhood to be valid. Let me preface this by saying some girls can contribute to the spread of toxic masculinity. 

Of course there will be differences in toxic masculinity depending on age but it still doesn’t mean that it can’t happen in our school. Most people by seeing that description or even with a little knowledge on the subject would think that a man would have to hit a woman for them to have toxic masculinity. However that is way far from the truth.  We have it in our everyday lives when boys make fun of other guys for liking anything feminine, or when they make fun of girls in the school for things that are considered feminine in fear they would get made fun of for it too.

 I have experienced toxic masculinity in school and I know some of my friends have too. Someone I know gets made fun of for her height because she’s taller than most guys. Someone I know got called a whore for talking about the dress code. Someone I know has had rumors spread about her because she was friends with a guy. These are all examples of problems that involved or started due to toxic masculinity.

 I know that some of the girls in school realize this problem and are tired of it. I asked a friend of mine how she felt about toxic masculinity and she said “ Toxic masculinity is a massive stereotype that starts and contributes to so many problems in our world.” 

Now what’s the point about writing an article on an issue most people didn’t even know about before reading this? Well I want to help find a solution to the problem. What are ways we can stop this flow of hatred? 

Well we can first call out our friends and peers for what they say and what they do. You don’t have to say it infront of everyone but if you talk to them after class and explain why what they said or did was wrong then that can contribute to the solution. 

Another fix we can use is spreading awareness of this topic. It’s not an easy thing to bring up in conversations but the more that people know about this and the effects it has on people the faster we can stop the source. 

Finally we can check ourselves. People don’t even realize that what they say or do is wrong and that can include us. Of course educating and telling people how to be a better person is helping fix this dilemma but it’s no help if you yourself can’t live by it either.