General News ‘Traditional masculinity’ deemed ‘harmful’ by American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association has issued its first official warning against toxic masculinity.

The new “Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Boys and Men,” marks the first-ever report published by the association aimed at helping practitioners care for their male patients “despite social forces that can harm mental health.”

Citing more than 40 years of research, the APA warns against the “masculinity ideology,” which it defines as “a particular constellation of standards that have held sway over large segments of the population, including: anti-femininity, achievement, eschewal of the appearance of weakness, and adventure risk and violence.”

“Traditional masculinity ideology has been shown to limit males’ psychological development, constrain their behavior, result in gender role strain and gender role conflict and negatively influence mental health and physical health,” according to the 36-page report, featured in January’s issue of Monitor on Psychology.

 

Have you seen the backlash against Gilette? Incredible how many horrible men are out there.

 

There is nothing wrong with masculinity.

Toxic masculinity is the belief that there is only one way to be a man and that men should stay away from any feminine traits. If you believe that, then you end up with a guy who is pressured to act violently all the time, not able to empathize or care for others, not able to ask for help, and believes strongly in gender roles.

Its the reason why men commit suicide way more often than women, the reason why most mass shooters are men, the reason why men have been horrible fathers for a majority of US history, etc.

We have slowly come to the understanding that we all have masculine and feminine traits. Sadly there is a LARGE portion of the population that still thinks toxic masculinity is a good thing and its "under attack". Hence why people lost their shit over the Gillette commercial.

A bit of an over simplification and it can be a much larger conversation, but in essence toxic masculinity rejects the notion that its okay for guys to have feminine traits.

 

If you look into any research about the matter, it isn't a mistake that literally the overwhelming majority of mass shooters in the US are men. The discussion is for some reason too taboo to have, but there is sooo much research about the lack of tools we give men (in the US) to deal with anger out there. Its the reason for suicides and lashing out is so common for men.

Mass shootings are complex so solving toxic masculinity won't prevent all of them, but it will help. The culture of guns in the US is a completely different topic, but I fear bringing it up will completely derail the thread so lets just stick with toxic masculinity for now.


Even from this exact article that I posted at the beginning of the thread:

"Another area disproportionately associated with boys and men is violence. Epidemiological research indicates that men of all races are at an increased risk for being either a victim or perpetrator of violence, especially during adolescence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) reported that violence is the second leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 24, and reports from state and national surveys of youth behaviors suggest that young men are more likely than young women to engage in serious aggressive behaviors. For instance, findings from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Eaton et al., 2012) indicated that teenage boys were significantly more likely than teenage girls to report carrying a gun to school. Investigators have also noted that nearly every school shooter in the past 30 years has been an adolescent male (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010; Kaufman, Hall, & Zagura, 2012; Kimmel & Mahler, 2003). For adults, the National Center for Victims of Crime (2013) estimates that 90% of all homicides in the United States are committed by men, and men constitute 77% of all homicide victims. State and local data also indicate that men are far more likely than women to be arrested and charged with intimate partner violence (Hamby, 2014)."

"Psychologists also strive to increase awareness of the influence of gender role socialization practices associated with violence and problem behaviors for boys and men among public health officials, other mental health professionals, and policymakers. Work with public health officials to disseminate information regarding the destructive aspects of rigid notions of masculinity may result in inclusion of gender-sensitive public health initiatives for boys and men. Psychologists also are encouraged to advocate for more financial support for research studies aimed at boys and men with special attention to neglected areas of research, such as examining masculinity with other social identity–based experiences"


This is why this is so important. Tackling toxic masculinity saves the lives of so many men who are in pain and suffering from the horrible teachings of the past. This is not an attack against men like so many people like to think, this is the only way to safe men.