Men must work to change 'toxic masculinity'

Discussing the Steubenville rape case, author Jaclyn Friedman has highlighted the work required by men to change the 'toxic masculinity' boys and men are taught which leads to violence against women. She writes:

"It’s time for a serious intervention in masculinity. ... This is going to take real work, which is why so many men resist it. It requires destabilizing your own identity, and giving up attitudes and behaviors from which you’re used to deriving power, likely before you learn how to derive power from other, more just and productive places. There are real risks for men who challenge toxic masculinity, from social shaming to actual 'don’t be a fag' violence — punishments that won’t ease until many, many men take the plunge. But there are great rewards to be had, too, beyond stopping rape. Toxic masculinity is damaging to men, too, positing them as stoic sex-and-violence machines with allergies to tenderness, playfulness, and vulnerability. A reinvented masculinity will surely give men more room to express and explore themselves without shame or fear. (It will also, not incidentally, reduce rape against men as well, because many rapes of men are committed by other men with the intention of “feminizing”—that is, humiliating through dominance—their victim.)"

Friedman also highlights recent positive initiatives on this issue, including Vancouver’s 'Don't be that guy' ad campaign which puts the focus on offenders not victim/survivors, the Feminist Wire's Masculinities Forum set up to facilitate dialogue and Breakthrough's global 'Ring The Bell' campaign, calling for one million men to take concrete action to end violence against women.

'Toxic masculinity', Jaclyn Friedman, The American Prospect, 13/3/13