Chinese state media Xinhua published an editorial slamming the portrayal of men in Chinese media, claiming the popularity of the "sickly aesthetics" in effeminate celebrities was having an adverse impact on teenagers.
Xinhua said that "sissy pants" or "little fresh meats" — who they describe as effeminate young men who use makeup, are slender and wear androgynous clothing — were hurting China's national image.
Masculinity was a mistake
masculinity is a bit like white pride.
okay, sure, youre proud of your quaker grangran and how she helped with the underground railroad, but thats not what white pride parades are about babe.
just wish there were a better way to explain that than "toxic masculinity" because no one wants to think that their masculinity is toxic
Thats the most frustrating ever to explain to people. Those men can't seem to divorce masculinity as a concept from their performance behavior and ego. Yet apparently men are sooo good at 'compartmentalizing'.
That masculinity is hurting you too, dear, its not an attack at you but on your behalf by behaviors you were forcefully taught to enact.
I remember reading from a literature anthology book how often times modern western men never owned their own masculinity but instead insisted it existed in others and it was such a strange idea, but it stuck with me
No it was not. The mistake is emasculation and masculinity threat.
It is only a defensive or threatened masculinity that poses any risk of harm to others.
Being masculine is totally harmless and there is no dichotomy between masculine and feminine traits.
What results from masculinity threat is theatrical toxic masculinity.
Masculinity threat and false dichotomies construct an anxiety towards femininity, empathy, emotion, vulnerability.
Emasculation ties perceived masculinity onto social status; such that theatrical toxic masculinity becomes adaptive behavior within toxic cultures.
As a transwoman, I am not the least worried about hypermasculine men; but toxic masculinity is a different matter.
Some of the most LGBTQ accepting people I know are hypermasculine men, because they understand their own gender as self-expression rather than performance.
What needs to change in culture is dismantling of false dichotomies, affirmation that behavior is context dependent, and dismissal of the inane overvaluation of masculinity with respect to femininity.
Links to the mentioned articles:
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-09/06/c_1123391309.htm
http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/m/2018-09-07/doc-ihitesuz4688235.shtml