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toxic masculinity

Heroes

Study suggests that more men would recycle if it were seen as 'manly'

"Make the man feel manly, and he’s more likely to go green."

Canva

Environmentalism needs men to pick it up.

Environmentalism, it turns out, might have a bit of a gender gap: Women tend to recycle more and leave less carbon and litter behind.

So how do we fix this? According to a Scientific American article, if we want men to make better decisions, we need to make going green feel manly.

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psychology
Culture

Men share ridiculous ways their masculinity was questioned

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash

Is it manly enough to cradle a puppy?

Okay, we’ve come a long way in terms of rethinking gender norms.

Fashion is less rigidly conforming (you’ve seen the man who rocks pencil skirts and stilettos, right?). More men are flourishing in jobs traditionally performed by women. And perhaps most importantly, there is a growing number of male support groups that encourage heartfelt communication and emotional well-being.

But suffice it to say, there still remain quite a few incredibly outdated belief systems when it comes to how we define masculinity.

Case in point, a recent Reddit thread sparked by the question:

“Men of Reddit, what was the most ridiculous reason why someone questioned your masculinity?”

Some of these answers are indeed head scratchers. Others are flat-out offensive.

Here are 10 of the most egregious accounts:

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gender norms
Democracy

People are debating what 'appropriate' fatherly love looks like, and frankly, it's just sad

John Cardillo/Twitter

A photo of Joe Biden hugging and kissing his only living son, Hunter, is circulating after Newsmax TV host John Cardillo shared it on Twitter with the caption, "Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?"

The question is clearly meant to be a dig at Biden, whose well-documented life in politics includes many examples of both his deep love for his family and his physical expressions of affection. While his opponents have cherry-picked photos to try to paint him as "creepy," those who know him well—and who are in some of those viral images—defend Biden's expressions of affection as those of a close friend and grandfatherly figure. (And in fact, at least one photo of Biden holding and kissing a child's face was of him and his grandson at his son Beau's funeral, taken as a still shot from this video.)

Everyone has their own level of comfort with physical space and everyone's line of what's appropriate when it comes to physical affection are different, but some accusations of inappropriateness are just...sad. And this photo with this caption is one of those cases.

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family
Culture

Taylor Swift called out toxic male privilege in her Woman of the Decade speech

If you're a woman, you're going to have to wade through some sexist bull, no matter where you are in your career. Even if you're at the top of your game, like Taylor Swift. Swift received Billboard's Woman of the Decade award on her 30th birthday, and did not hold back in her 15-minute acceptance speech. She used the opportunity to signal boost other female artists, call out institutionalized sexism in the music industry, and describe what toxic male privilege looks like.


RELATED: Jennifer Nettles' CMA dress called attention to the fact female country artists don't get 'equal play'

Women might face more obstacles and double standards. But ultimately challenges are what we make of them, and more obstacles mean more opportunity for growth. It's that old case of "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," or in Swift's case, makes you the woman of the decade. "Female artists in music have dominated this decade in growth, streaming, record and ticket sales, and critical acclaim. So why are we doing so well? Because we have to grow fast, we have to work this hard, we have to prove that we deserve this, and we have to top our last achievements," she said in her speech.

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taylor swift
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