Unlearning Toxic Masculinity

1. Toughness: that men should be “physically strong, emotionally callous, and behaviorally aggressive.”
2. Anti-femininity: that men should reject anything that is considered to be “feminine,” such as showing emotion or accepting help.
3. Power: that men must work toward obtaining power and status (social and financial) so they can gain the respect of others.

Impacts of toxic masculinity culture include:

1. Discouraging men from getting support from mental & physical health providers
2. Having their perceived level of masculinity undermined or reinforced by their race or ethnicity
3. Being less likely to intervene in the moment they witness someone committing sexual or physical violence

We know it doesn’t have to be this way. A study from the APA (American Psychological Association) found that when they removed stereotypes & cultural expectations, there weren’t many differences in the basic behaviors by men and women. For example, studies of participants’ time diaries showed that men, just as much as women, enjoyed caring for children.

How do we make progress in supporting men, boys, and all people to express their natural ways of being without forcing them into a mold?

Ben Reuler (he/him) is the Founder & CEO of In the Area Productions where he supports other white people, especially white men, in progressing on their antiracism journey.

During his 7+ years with Seattle Works, Ben acted on his commitment to building workplace cultures where employees from all backgrounds feel supported, and where harmful default systems are dismantled. With his team they evolved the white-founded, white-led civic organization into one where power was shifted to a BIPOC-led staff and board, leadership was distributed, and all employees could bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Ben has delivered keynote remarks and spoken on panels throughout the country, including at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft World HQ, and the Global Engagement Summit. Ben also gave keynote remarks at a gala featuring Grammy Award winning musician Ben Harper; you can find out more about his experience here.

On July 15th he hosted an interview with Jason Wright, President of the Washington Commanders of the NFL and the first Black NFL President! Three early registrants of Toxic Masculinity won a free ticket to that conversation when they registered for his event here before Friday, July 15th.

➡️ You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn, and learn more about In the Area Productions here.

Muchinga Mutambo (he/him) has more than eight years of experience in the fields of social work and public health. Currently, Muchinga is head of programs for Copper Rose Zambia, the largest youth-led organization in Zambia championing sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV prevention, and youth empowerment.

Previously, he served in different positions in USAID programming to the position of Deputy Chief of Party at the age of 26 years, making him one of the youngest people to hold the position.

Muchinga holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Public Health. He is passionate about youth empowerment, HIV Programing and Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programming.

He is a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders fellow, a prestigious program for young African leaders.

➡️ You can connect with Muchinga here on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Tim Hanley is a comic book historian and the author of Wonder Woman Unbound, Investigating Lois Lane, The Many Lives of Catwoman, and Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale.

His newest book, Not All Supermen: Sexism, Toxic Masculinity, and the Complex History of Superheroes, is out in July 2022. Three registrants of Unlearning Toxic Masculinity who registered by July 27th won a free copy of this new book, with a signed bookplate from Tim Hanley!

You can learn more about Tim’s essays, analyses and other appearances, such as on the AMC series Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics  as a featured interview subject in “The Truth about Wonder Woman”, here.

Tim has a Master’s degree in history from Dalhousie University, writing his honours thesis on DC Comics and the 1950s juvenile delinquency crisis and his Master’s thesis on Wonder Woman and feminism.  In Tim’s words, he’s “kind of a nerd, really.”

➡️ You can follow his latest writing here on WordPress, follow him on Twitter, and check out the new book, Not All Supermen, here!

We explored this together in the shared space of our virtual Zoom event on Unlearning Masculinity.

Registration is free for this event each first Wednesday of the month; bring a friend!