Hate Speech: 24 Groups Call for Ban on ‘Toxic Masculinity’

Twenty-four organizations around the world are today calling for classification of the phrase, “toxic masculinity,” as hate speech. The organizations consider “toxic masculinity” to be a slur that is inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful. The groups are calling for print media, social media, and publications to eliminate use of this offensive phrase.

The 24 organizations are located in nine countries in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America – see listing, below.

Until the 1980s, masculinity was seen as a positive attribute: “active,” “dominant,” and “self-contained.” But over time, gender activists began to assign a variety of negative qualities to the ideal, such as “misogyny” and “homophobia” – attributes that conflate common normative characteristics with deviant traits.

Then in 2005, psychologist Terry Kupers issued a sweeping condemnation of “toxic masculinity,” which he characterized as the “constellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.” (1)

In response, British psychologist John Barry conducted a survey to ascertain how persons viewed the term, “toxic masculinity.” Large majorities of both men and women saw the phrase as insulting: Men: 88%; Women: 85%. (2)

A follow-up survey of over 4,000 men in the UK and Germany found that thinking masculinity is “bad for you” is significantly related to a person’s worse mental well-being (3).

Ignoring these insights, the United Nations jumped on the ideological bandwagon, issuing a guidance document in 2023, Men’s Accountability for Gender Equality. The UN report irrationally condemns “toxic masculinity” as a “key driver of violence against women and girls in all spheres of life.” (4)

The United Nations document does not cite a single scientific study to support this far-fetched conclusion. Indeed, scientists have that repeatedly documented the fact that domestic violence affects equal numbers of men and women around the world (5).

The female counterpart, “toxic femininity” is widely seen as unacceptable (6). Likewise, growing numbers of groups have called for viewing the phase, “toxic masculinity” as hateful and harmful:

GQ: “It’s Time to Retire the Term ‘Toxic Masculinity’” (7)
National Coalition for Men: “NCFM’s Position on Toxic Masculinity… Stop Male Bashing” (8)
The Atlantic: “The Problem With the Term ‘Toxic Masculinity’” (9)

The following organizations are now calling for elimination of the phrase, “toxic masculinity:”

Australia

Celebrating Masculinity
Men’s Rights Agency

Bermuda

Child Watch

England and Wales

APPG on Men and Boys’ Issues
False Allegations Support Organization
Marriage, Sex & Culture Group
Power and Control Wheel
UK Falsely Accused Steering Group

Israel

By Your Side
Fathers for Justice

Italy

Welcome Back Father

Malta

Maricamicallef.com

Netherlands

Father Knowledge Centre Netherlands
Platform for European Fathers

Scotland

Men Only
Men and Boys Initiative

United States

Colorado Resilience
Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Men
Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags
Men Are Good
Parental Alienation Consortium
Parental Alienation Study Group
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)
The Law Center

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — unites 222 member organizations from 42 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse policies are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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