According to the psychotherapist, toxic masculinity is a set of distorted ideas about “what men should be like.” At the core of this is the idea that men ‘shouldn’t’ be weak, soft, or vulnerable and that, instead, they ‘should’ “always be winners.”
“Men with toxic masculinity usually have negative views towards women's rights (including their rights to the freedom of their own sexuality) and they tend to be homophobic,” Silva told Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
“A man with healthy masculinity is the opposite to these traits: someone who is self-reflective, embraces their emotions including sadness, anxiety and crying, a man who isn't afraid of their own femininity and believes that women are equal, and therefore are very clear about respecting boundaries and consent with women,” he said.
From Silva’s perspective, healthy masculinity means that someone “embraces gender, sex, and relationship diversities including gay men and transgender people. Someone who is comfortable with their opinions to be challenged and able to have debates.”
