Abstract
Over the past three decades, the psychology of men and masculinity has gained increasing presence in academic discussions about gender. More recently, curiosity about the socially constructed nature of masculinity has made its way into public discourse as well. Whether related to high rates of suicide and undetected mental health problems, sexual violence, or a host of other social concerns, there is a global increase in attention to men and masculinity. Of course, interest in men is not a historical novelty; as feminist scholars and activists have long underscored, men’s interests, desires, and experiences are typically front and center under patriarchy. What’s different now is the focus on men not as a genderless normative reference, but as gendered beings themselves. We are witnessing historically unprecedented curiosity about how different meanings of manhood affect the physical, psychological, and relational health of people around the world.
In Is Masculinity Toxic? A Primer for the 21st Century, Andrew Smiler provides readers with a contemporary and historical analysis of the social construction and social learning of masculinities and its impact on human well-being. The book is part of Thames and Hudson’s “Big Idea” series which is intended to provide brief, easy to digest treatments of pressing social issues in an engaging format (e.g., graphics on every page, multiple different size fonts, boldfaced terms). This is a book one can open to any page and quickly get the lay of the land. A major advantage of this approach is accessibility for readers who may be less familiar with the material. A disadvantage is that more complex issues by necessity are not covered in much depth. For example, throughout the book, Smiler equates masculinity with the manbox, a metaphorical representation of restrictive gender norms that have been shown empirically to negatively affect men’s well-being. Although the manbox metaphor is a popular way to raise gender consciousness, it does not highlight other well-documented aspects of masculinity including discursive processes, intersectional aspects of gender, and basic social learning processes. Similarly, the term toxic masculinity itself has virtually no presence in academic theory and research but a growing presence in popular culture. Thus, the question “Is masculinity toxic?” is multi-layered and not easily answered, as Smiler acknowledges in a brief concluding chapter.
The book begins with a thorough and compelling historical analysis of the changing nature of masculinities. From the medieval European emphasis on the code of chivalry through the 19th century mass influx of people to cities as a result of urbanization and industrialization, Smiler traces the evolution of what some currently call a masculinity crisis, as worries mount over men’s apparent shedding of traditionally masculine virtues in exchange for an emphasis on violence, hypersexuality, and risk-taking. Throughout, Smiler does an excellent job of illustrating both the historical multiplicity of masculinities and the way various forms of power are inextricably bound to their performance.
In the following sections, Smiler centers hegemonic masculinity as the dominant model in contemporary Western society and confronts the question of how harmful, indeed toxic, it is. The author outlines the oppressive features of hegemonic masculinity, including sexism, racism, and homophobia, and deftly alerts readers to the negative consequences of rigid adherence to its mandates, some of which include impoverished interpersonal relationships, psychological and physical distress as the result of rigid emotional restriction, and increased rates of suicide compared to women.
Prior to a brief concluding chapter, Smiler considers the nature of contemporary masculinities. This is a bold undertaking given the fast-paced evolution of ideals that characterize contemporary society and all its subsections. He observes that the designated places of women and men in society have become much more fluid. For example, while more women are taking on professional careers in which they may find themselves in supervisory positions over men, men are increasingly foraying into arenas that were previously considered to be entirely a woman’s domain, such as stay-at-home parenting. Smiler also acknowledges the increasing visibility of non-binary gender identities as a contributing factor in calling into question how society views masculinity. Overall, Is Masculinity Toxic? A Primer for the 21st Century is an accessible book for readers who may not have a background in the psychology of men and masculinity, and a useful guide for anyone interested in the history and evolution of ideas about what it means to be a man.
