Quentin Thomas of Brown University wants to “liberate not only men, but all of society, from the constraints of toxic masculinity.” He includes men and not only their “victims,” because, as Thomas writes, “men suffer greatly from toxic masculinity, too.”
Except, they don’t.
They don’t because “toxic masculinity” is a myth, a pathetic attempt by feminists to paint masculinity as equal to “predatory.” Never mind that virtually every man you’ll ever meet in this country believes masculinity is about heroism — being providers and protectors. Nope. Masculinity is just seen as toxic.
As PJ Media contributor Toni Airaksinen notes at Campus Reform: “Thomas identifies himself as a student coordinator for the school’s emerging Masculinity Peer Education Program, a newly formed program which facilitates discussions on masculinity in efforts to promote a ‘healthier’ social environment.”
Of course, a “healthier” social environment includes one where all men are supposed to feel like their innate drives to achieve and lead are evil. It’s not surprising that so many millennial men are suffering from mental health issues.
Thomas tips his hand as he closes, revealing he doesn’t understand traditional masculinity, or reality, at all: “My vision for such a revolution is certainly not comprehensive, and will require lots of time and the active participation of people of all genders and backgrounds,” Thomas argues. “And it’s possible such a revolution has already begun: Adam Rippon, one of the first openly gay athletes to compete for Team USA at the Olympics, just won a bronze medal while actively rejecting the narrow, predefined stereotype of a ‘real man’ as a large, lumbering and aggressive athlete.”
Um … Adam Rippon is a figure skater. He won a bronze medal in a sport that requires flexibility over size and in which aggression plays no part. He’s also not exactly groundbreaking, as men have been figure skating for over a century. And American men like Brian Boitano and Scott Hamilton not only preceded him, but actually won gold medals.
And they weren’t large, lumbering, and aggressive athletes — but America, of course, embraced and celebrated them anyway! Hamilton has been a beloved media star for decades.
So Thomas is simply referring to Rippon being out of the closet as the revolution.
I’ve known very masculine, aggressive gay men. I bet hundreds of thousands of gay men in this country prefer football to figure skating. A gay rugby player charged the cockpit of Flight 93. Gay men are participating is all sorts of “toxic masculinity.”
The fact that Thomas thinks Rippon’s status as a gay man has any bearing on the discussion shows that he might need to take a step back from talking about a revolution in masculinity, and actually study up on the subject in the first place.
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