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Toxic masculinity is the constellation of socially regressive male traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.”(Kupers, 2005) The term is useful for discussion because it segregates certain traits of hegemonic masculinity that are generally considered socially destructive, such as misogyny, greed, homophobia, and violence; and other traits that are culturally accepted and valued. (Kupers, 1993) Toxic Masculinity is often a term used by sociologists and feminists to discuss male power dynamics in society, that most deem harmful, and destructive. First coined in the mid 90’s, toxic masculinity is separate from masculinity in the sense that masculinity is an allocated group of similar traits that are associated with typical manhood whereas toxic masculinity is composed of traits and behaviors that are considered negative and harmful.

Toxic masculinity describes the potentially aggressive and domineering aspect of traditional masculinity that exceeds healthy competition among men and can lead to violent and socially destructive behavior. This unique expression of masculinity is considered to be particularly dangerous in social environments such as prisons, where individuals known to express toxic behaviors are placed in shared living conditions where social hierarchy and respect are of significant social value. When males experience stress from not living up to traditional masculine roles, they are likely to react in ways that reaffirm their masculinity known as masculine gender role stress (Smith et al). This leads to the abuse of other persons that are viewed as weaker in order to maintain their masculine identity.