Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Attacking 'toxic masculinity' won't stop sexual assault


Attacking 'toxic masculinity' won't stop sexual assault

For this post, I decided to take a step away from my comfort zone and the media outlets I usually go to for op-eds and news stories. I found myself on the Fox News website, reading this article. 

"Attacking masculinity won't stop sexual assault," says Fox News contributor Tom Shillue. According to Shillue, attacking masculinity is a step backward—it forgets the "good guys." He repeats the same mantra throughout, emphasizing the strengths of masculinity that help society—assertiveness, dominance and so on. 

I encourage you to read this article, because I think it is a classic case of avoiding man guilt. Shillue spends the entirety of the article making the distinction between masculine men who are good and masculine men who are bad, swearing he isn't the latter. He refuses to admit that he may house some of the same qualities as men who posses toxic masculinity, committing acts of violence inspired by it. Once again, it becomes a story of "masculinity isn't bad, it's the person who makes it bad." 


But if violence against women (and other men) is becoming so rampant because the perpetrators all possess the same qualities promoted by society as "manly," then is it really the men who are the problem? People are born as clean slates. And while we may differ in genetics, experiences and societal norms are inflicted upon us all the time. We learn masculinity, and society decides what level becomes acceptable. If this much sexual violence has occurred for centuries, then it seems society long ago decided this form of masculinity was acceptable. 



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