Read and Share: A Plea To Men In The 2016 Election

With only one week left before Election Day, it’s time we come together as a nation and recognize that this election is the ultimate bystander moment for toxic masculinity. I explore this in an op-ed co-authored with Jackson Katz, an expert featured in The Mask You Live In, excerpted below:

“[Donald] Trump, who exhibits this endless misogyny, racism, and narcissistic grandiosity, has been rewarded with 24/7 media coverage, public endorsements, millions of votes, and a major party endorsement. Yes, presidential politics have historically been masculinity contests but rarely this degrading and regressive. As a nation, we have given him platform and amplified his voice. We have normalized his deep-seated bigotry, and by so doing, we are all living in a giant ‘locker room’ that condones and even rewards masculine aggression and dominance. Trump is certainly not the world’s only misogynist with power, but he is currently the loudest. And by seriously entertaining his candidacy for the presidency, we are all complicit.”

To read more of our thoughts, check out the op-ed here and share it with your colleagues, friends, and family. Together, we can create a less toxic and more inclusive world for the next generation.

Onwards,

Jennifer Siebel Newsom


Representation Around the Web

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“When the University of Houston’s football players arrive for a game, they know what to expect as a prelude to the coming hours of brutality as they file into the stadium: a kiss on the cheek from their head coach, Tom Herman. It is an unusual ritual in a sport that embodies America’s most rigid ideals of manhood. ‘A kiss on the cheek is when he shows his love for us,’ Houston safety Garrett Davis said, adding, ‘No one here is thinking, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t let him kiss me’…In fact, Herman expressed sadness that the ritual seems so uncommon. ‘I can tell you I was disappointed — they said it was the first time they’ve ever been kissed by a man,’ Herman said, noting that several of his players grew up fatherless. ‘Which,’ he added, ‘is a shame in our society’…’Men struggle with the perception that they are somehow less manly when they reveal their emotions,’ said Joel Wong, an author of the essay who teaches psychology at Indiana University. ‘That’s related to a lot of problems,’ he added, ‘because it actually inhibits the ability for interpersonal connections, it restricts your ability to be vulnerable’ and it prevents the expression of ‘your full human potential.'” – The New York Times

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Matt McGorry talks about the societal pressures men feel from masculinity.

Matt McGorry talks about the societal pressures men feel from masculinity.
Image via The Mask You Live In‘s Instagram