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What Is A Man, Anyway?
ON GUNS AND “TOXIC MASCULINITY”
As important as it is to reduce the number of firearms in this country, it is perhaps even more important to address the topic of “toxic masculinity.”
“Toxic masculinity” is the wound left by this culture’s punishment for men who express feelings of fear or vulnerability. It is the sense of loneliness that haunts us men behind our stoic masks.
“Toxic masculinity” is the damaged sense of self-worth resulting from working long hours apart from the families and communities we love.
“Toxic masculinity” is the bravado that finds us men marching off to die in wars because we are afraid to question why.
It is incredibly important to confront America’s fetish with guns, but that ambition may be futile if we do also ask what those guns may be symbolizing to lonely and terrified souls poisoned by toxic masculinity.
Shepherd Bliss is usually credited with coining the term “toxic masculinity.” He made the following appeal to men:
“The warrior ethic has damaged us. As we move into the twenty-first century we need to mature beyond war and warriors. I disagree with those men’s movement writers and activists who speak so highly of the warrior. I appreciate some of his traits — like courage, teamwork, loyalty — but the archetype itself…
