Word.ws English Dictionary

toxic masculinity

toxic masculinity noun: the aspects of traditional masculinity perceived to reinforce aggression, emotionlessness and other negative qualities.

Noun

toxic masculinity (uncountable)

  1. (media criticism) The aspects of traditional masculinity perceived to reinforce aggression, emotionlessness and other negative qualities.
    • For example, I speak of toxic masculinity as that which damages men, women, children and the earth through neglect, abuse and violence.1990 January 18, Shepherd Bliss, “Letters (Gay Supportive)”, in Bay Area Reporter, volume XX, number 3, San Fransisco: Benro Enterprises, page 8
    • In addition, many male feminists seek to rid themselves of what they regard as toxic masculinity promoted in men by socialization and to develop in themselves sensitivities and tenderness more typically socialized into women.2005, Eli Sagan, Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender & and Culture, Wadsworth, →ISBN, page 302

toxic masculinity meaning in Arabic

toxic masculinity in Arabic

toxic masculinity
الذُّكُورَة السَّامَّة

Origin of toxic masculinity

Coined by psychologist Shepherd Bliss of the mythopoetic men's movement around 1986 and first attested in 1990 (see quote below). Compare hegemonic masculinity, which was coined in 1982.

Questions about toxic masculinity

What does toxic masculinity mean?
Toxic masculinity means the aspects of traditional masculinity perceived to reinforce aggression, emotionlessness and other negative qualities.
What is toxic masculinity in Arabic?
Toxic masculinity in Arabic is الذُّكُورَة السَّامَّة. See Toxic masculinity meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is toxic masculinity?
Toxic masculinity is a noun.

Words near toxic masculinity in the dictionary

  1. toxic debt
  2. toxic debts
  3. toxic femininity
  4. toxic hellstew
  5. toxic hellstews
  6. toxic masculinity
  7. toxic megacolon
  8. toxic megacolons
  9. toxic oil syndrome
  10. toxic positivity
  11. toxic shock syndrome

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: toxic masculinity (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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