Some people sadly missed the point about #MasculinitySoFragile
The hashtag
#MasculinitySoFragile
was originally started yesterday to point out the failings of society's views on masculinity — namely on how we expect men to suppress emotions and behaviors that we don't deem traditionally "manly."
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Men in dresses are the new normal
This concept, called toxic masculinity, is one of the ways patriarchy affects men by setting up antiquated constructs that constantly tell them any kind of feminine gesture or instinct should be suppressed. It's the kind of thing that leads to stereotyping and even acts of violence.
If you've ever told a guy to "be a man" or "man up," that is exactly what reinforcing masculine stereotypes looks like.
So, people on Twitter created the hashtag to call out many examples of this concept that we see in our daily lives — including everything from subway ads to personal experiences.
However, some people were offended by the idea that masculinity could be called fragile at all and felt that the use of the hashtag was a personal attack on them as a group.
Many users started to commandeer the hashtag to lash out against those who were originally using it, with threats and insults — thereby proving the hashtag's point, and the idea of toxic masculinity, in the first place.
The most important and sadly missed part of this hashtag is that many users pointed to some startling points that affect teens and LGBT people in particular.
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