{"id":36685,"date":"2025-12-19T21:30:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=36685"},"modified":"2025-12-19T21:30:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:30:09","slug":"hate-speech-24-groups-call-for-ban-on-toxic-masculinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/hate-speech-24-groups-call-for-ban-on-toxic-masculinity\/","title":{"rendered":"Hate Speech: 24 Groups Call for Ban on \u2018Toxic Masculinity\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Twenty-four organizations around the world are today calling for classification of the phrase, \u201ctoxic masculinity,\u201d as hate speech. The organizations consider \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 24 organizations are located in nine countries in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America \u2013 see listing, below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the 1980s, masculinity was seen as a positive attribute: \u201cactive,\u201d \u201cdominant,\u201d and \u201cself-contained.\u201d But over time, gender activists began to assign a variety of negative qualities to the ideal, such as \u201cmisogyny\u201d and \u201chomophobia\u201d \u2013 attributes that conflate common normative characteristics with deviant traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in 2005, psychologist Terry Kupers issued a sweeping condemnation of \u201ctoxic masculinity,\u201d which he characterized as the \u201cconstellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.\u201d (1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, British psychologist John Barry conducted a survey to ascertain how persons viewed the term, \u201ctoxic masculinity.\u201d Large majorities of both men and women saw the phrase as insulting: Men: 88%; Women: 85%. (2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A follow-up survey of over 4,000 men in the UK and Germany found that thinking masculinity is \u201cbad for you\u201d is significantly related to a person\u2019s worse mental well-being (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignoring these insights, the United Nations jumped on the ideological bandwagon, issuing a guidance document in 2023, Men\u2019s Accountability for Gender Equality<\/em>. The UN report irrationally condemns \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d as a \u201ckey driver of violence against women and girls in all spheres of life.\u201d (4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The female counterpart, \u201ctoxic femininity\u201d is widely seen as unacceptable (6). Likewise, growing numbers of groups have called for viewing the phase, \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d as hateful and harmful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n