Around since the 1980s, the concept of “toxic masculinity” only gained any traction the last few years as the denigration of anything male became hip in pop culture. Toxic masculinity is the idea that raw manliness or man in his natural state is dangerous to society or simply toxic. The term “masculinity” used here is confusing or probably misplaced. An uncivilized man without the constraints of morality indulging his primal instincts is certainly prone to hedonism which can lead to bad behavior by misusing intrinsic aggression and natural strength.
In a recent shaving ad for their razors, the Gillette Company suffered a backlash for advocating men abandon “toxic masculinity.” They really only were admonishing bad behavior and encouraging better behavior. There are certainly negative male role models, so endorsing positive male role models should not be controversial. But Gillette got caught up in the feminist notion that masculinity or more precisely men in of themselves are toxic.
Modern feminists insist anything male is hazardous and treacherous; the patriarchy is oppressing everyone, so it must be overthrown and men banished from power if not society. For feminists, it’s not just masculinity that is bad; men are bad. Before feminism, femininity and masculinity were desirable traits. Masculinity is now maligned as violent, unemotional, and sexually aggressive.
Again, perhaps the term is misused, but if we revert to masculinity as the embodiment of manhood for men assuming proper and positive roles in society, then natural male attributes become an asset not a detriment to be eradicated. Men are not necessarily violent, but they should act with force if necessary to protect the weak. Men are not unemotional, but challenging circumstances require difficult decisions. Stoicism is an admirable and necessary trait to handle the burdens of responsibility without shifting them to the unaware or unprepared. Aggression merely for sex is destructive, but a healthy urge to procreate and build a family is vital for a society to survive. Aggressive men guided by morality strive for a better world for their loved ones.
Traditional femininity and masculinity have been essential to healthy prosperous societies for centuries, so looking at our deteriorating culture, where is the toxicity coming from? The short answer is growing apathy and immorality, but there are varied factors and sources for our societal decay. A glimpse of the third annual Women’s March amply shows how feminism is toxic.
Born three years ago out of sheer hatred for Donald Trump, the annual Women’s March is feminism on parade. The initial unavoidable impression is feminism is crass, vitriolic, and patently absurd. The protest signs were quite telling. They demanded Trump’s demise and harm for his children. Masculinity may lack emotion, but feminism wallows in overwrought emotions.
In a richly ironic dichotomy, feminism screams we should respect women for being equal human beings and stop treating them as sex objects, but they brandish womanhood by wearing pink vagina hats. Does this mean women are defined by their sex organs which would include hormones? The parade signs also relished every imaginable euphemism for a vagina, glorified LGBT lifestyles, endorsed prostitution, and liked to mention menstruation. So is that an achievement for feminism? Freedom to flaunt female genitals and bodily functions and getting paid for selling their vaginas?
Tending to be vociferous and vile, what do feminist protests they really want? Hatred for Trump colors everything, but first and foremost, feminists want abortion! Abortion on demand and free for everyone! They basically want to abolish morality, so they can have unfettered sex like those brutish men and if they get pregnant, they want the government to pay Planned Parenthood to cut up and vacuum out that little human being.
It was a mistake. The unborn child pays with its life, the government pays with your tax dollars, and society pays by sacrificing some more humanity. But feminists get to crow about their equality.
Vicious and vulgar, feminists are mostly ridiculous, but certainly toxic to a healthy society. Real women may be soft, but they are strong in their courage and virtue. They will work relentlessly for their homes, fight for their families, and sacrifice for their children with their lives if necessary. Mothers and wives are the bedrock of any successful culture not because they moaned about their lady parts, but because they built loving families.
“A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1
