“Toxic masculinity” is a trait shown by only a small subset of men, according to a new study that narrows down the definition of problematic male behaviour.
The study, which involved around 15,000 heterosexual men in New Zealand, identified five distinct profiles of masculinity and found that only one of them could be defined as “toxic”. Toxic masculinity is an online buzzword for stereotypically masculine traits such as dominance and aggression, which can be harmful to society.
Psychologists assessed data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, which involved participants answering questions about eight indicators tied to “problematic masculinity” such as disagreeableness, narcissism, and sexual prejudice.
They also responded to questions about hostile sexism, meaning overtly negative attitudes towards women, as well as benevolent sexism, encompassing seemingly positive but stereotypical views of women.
The researchers used statistical tools to identify distinct subgroups of men based on their responses to questions about these personality indicators.
The analysis revealed five distinct profiles of masculinity. The largest group of about 35 per cent men scored low on toxic traits while two other large groups, totalling about 53 per cent of the survey respondents, received low-to-moderate scores.
These men, labelled “atoxics”, scored the lowest on the eight indicators of “problematic masculinity”, suggesting a general absence of these attitudes.
Around seven per cent of the respondents were labelled “benevolent toxic”, with moderate levels of disagreeableness, narcissism, and opposition to domestic violence prevention.
These individuals displayed toxicity characterised by seemingly positive but restrictive views of women, along with elevated sexual prejudice, according to the study.
The smallest category, comprising about three per cent of the participants, was labelled “hostile toxic”, scoring the highest on disagreeableness, hostile sexism, opposition to domestic violence prevention, narcissism, and social dominance orientation.
This profile, researchers say, aligns most closely with the commonly understood definition of “toxic masculinity”.
“We thus demonstrate the need to separate problematic masculinity from other constructive forms of masculinity,” they said in the study.
“Only a small proportion of men displayed traditional forms of toxic masculinity,” the researchers concluded, adding that “men can be ‘manly’ without being toxic”.
“Taken together, our results illustrate the diversity of masculine identities and indicate that interventions to address destructive male attitudes need to be tailored to counteract distinct forms of toxicity.”
