The Book of Man also notes that when fighting toxic masculinity, one great step is to dare to be vulnerable with your male friends, to show them that it’s okay and even welcomed. “Show strength by crying. Do this in the knowledge that all men go through emotional difficulties. Daily!” they write. “It’s true that if one man shows it’s okay to do something, we, as pack animals, tend to follow. So open up yourself, and become that person your friends open up to too. Men tend to either keep emotional traumas to themselves or go for female support. While the latter is a wonderful thing, surely we can make a decision to serve that support role to our buddies too. But it takes a hardy soul to stick their neck above the parapet first to see if we’re in the clear to do so. Be that soul.”
And don’t stop questioning why things are the way they are. Because often, there’s not a great reason. “It’s a bloodless revolution,” The Book of Man writes. “A revolution in the head, but not in the inward looking way it was in the Sixties, because you want to effect lasting change, and not be naked all the time. Question the way we are brought up, question the systems of power, question how you are being controlled, question all thinking about being a man. Seek some answers for yourself and take responsibility. The end to toxic masculinity has to be started by men so it becomes socially unacceptable. Let’s start the change now.”
According to this list, men must have beards, have loud, large cars, be great at fishing, play sports, must eat meat, must not recycle, must not wear sneakers, must never take naps, must have tattoos, must not have an iPhone, along with much more… It is exhausting even reading this list, let alone trying to live in a way that conforms to these silly ideas. I hope all of you pandas know that, regardless of your gender, you can behave however you like. As long as you respect others, how you dress and what hobbies you choose to have are completely up to you. A real man is someone who identifies as a man! Keep upvoting the posts you find most comical, and then if you’re interested in reading another article discussing toxic masculinity, look no further than right here.
