Toxic masculinity is one of the ways in which the Patriarchy is harmful to men. It refers to the socially-constructed attitudes that describe the masculine gender role as violent, emotionally repressed, sexually aggressive etc (google definition). Additionally, Toxic masculinity directly leads to homophobic attitudes as it creates a harmful stereotype of gay men and demeans same sex attraction.

Heterosexuality is an important aspect of toxic masculine culture as it allows men to compete sexually with other men and essentially assert dominance through proof of their sexual prowess. A key concept of masculine norms is to be sexually aggressive with women. Toxic masculinity would dictate that the man who has been with more women is the alpha. They have proven their dominance and appeal and thus are deemed better than someone who has been with less women. A gay male is obviously not attracted to females and thus cannot participate in this competition which would make them appear inferior and less sexually competent. I’m sure you can now see where the idea that a man turns gay only because they cannot get any women originated from. Also, this incapability to conform to masculine norms is seen as threatening to an alpha male. They see gay men that do not fit their standards and feel that their concept of masculinity is being threatened. This can only lead to homophobia from those alpha males. This can also easily lead to violent action against LBGTQ+ men.

Tied to the idea of males being sexually aggressive is the over sexualisation of lesbian couples. Toxic masculinity would pursue the idea that women are made for male pleasure and thus would view two females in a sexual situation as appealing. Viewing lesbian couples as a way to get off is harmful as it reduces their sexuality to nothing more than sex and pleasure. Also, by reducing their sexuality as meaningless sex it doesn’t allow females to pursue a meaningful relationship with another female. In the eyes of society, they aren’t truly romantically attracted to each other but only pursuing satisfaction of physical needs.

In addition, toxic masculinity is equating feminine qualities as lesser than masculine qualities. A gay male is seen as less masculine than a straight male and thus would automatically be pushed into the box of being feminine. The stereotypical view of how a gay man acts perpetuates the idea that being gay equates being feminine. Stereotypes are always harmful to any demographic as it pushes an ideal that they supposedly act like. A gay male that follows these stereotypes would be viewed as lesser and treated as such. However, if they weren’t to follow these stereotypes than their sexuality would be questioned and not accepted. An alpha male does not want to see a gay male acting the same as him because then it leads him to question all of his views. Undoubtedly, this would lead to that alpha male reacting violently as dictated by toxic masculine culture. Also, these stereotypes of a gay male being feminine are used as a way to demean homosexuality. The question so often asked to a same sex couple; “who’s the man in the relationship?”, is not only heteronormative but also incredibly demeaning. Being in a same sex couple does not mean one automatically takes the title of a man whilst the other takes the title of a female. Also, the underlying idea that the ‘female’ would be lesser than the ‘male’ pushed by toxic masculinity is harmful to a same sex couple. The stereotype of feminine gay males also creates the concept of ‘other’. This concept pushes the idea that a gay male isn’t masculine and thus does not fit into social norms. They are no longer normal but an alien concept and thus should not be accepted.

Overall, Toxic masculinity undoubtedly causes homophobic attitudes as it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and allows society to demean same sex relationships. This toxic ideal of men can only be detrimental to society as it doesn’t allow men to grow as humans. It means LGBTQ+ people have to live in fear of not being accepted. It can even lead to internalised homophobia where a male may reject their own sexuality because it doesn’t fit into masculine norms. Toxic masculinity will always contribute towards the causes of homophobia because it doesn’t accept any sexuality but straight as valid and acceptable.