Look at the examples in the table below and work with your shoulder partner to decide why they are problematic for both men and others in society. Some of the terms in the reading above have been described in more detail for your understanding:
| TOXIC MASCULINITY | THE ACTION | WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM FOR THE MAN AND THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE SITUATION? |
| Acting like a bully to retain status | A man makes homophobic slurs in front of his friends towards an openly gay work colleague. Until this point, both the man and the work colleague have got on very well with no issues in their relationship and the man has never made slurs towards him before. | |
| Restraining emotions | At the funeral of his mother, a young boy is told to ‘be brave, don’t cry, boys don’t cry!’ | |
| Dominating other men or women by suing microaggressions (a microaggression is an action which may seem like an innocent comment but is used to denigrate a person’s status in society) | In the workplace a female colleague is told by her male boss “You look so young!” |
