I really enjoyed this event. We were put into breakout rooms to discuss when we first realized that toxic masculinity was a thing. I ended up in a breakout room ith Mikayla who told me about living on a farm and the gender expectations. I talked about my own personal experiences playing kickball and doing sports as a kid, and how in gym there were masculinity and gender norms. Another student talked about the different toys that are given to children. Such as giving little girls toy dolls and giving little boys toy cars.

Sam said, “gender roles are things we are socialized into” which is a quote that really spoke to me. We were asked about what toxic masculinity means and figures that we associate it with. I said that not being able to show emotion, cry–unwilling to show emotion is seen as feminizing.

Sam made a good point that it can also be grouped with homosexuality.

A student shared an experience about how the boys are expected to not cry and do more manual labor starting at a younger age on her family farm. The use of the body for manual labor is a sign of masculinity.

Guys trying to impress other guys creates a toxic culture that can get out of hand. Many guys don’t want to get their nails done and don’t want their friends to make fun of them for being romantic/saying I love you to their partners. We all see this on our fyp and how unnormalized it is. Masculinity differs by race–ex. Black v white masculinity. Nationality is also linked to masculinity. We finally discussed how there is a masculinity and mental health interface that travels into relationships with partners and can move through and cause other victims.