ABSTRACT This article discusses the emergence of ‘toxic’ and ‘healthy masculinity’ in public discourse in addressing gender inequalities. ‘Toxic’ has emerged through greater awareness of men’s violence against women, and men’s high rates of health distress and lack of help-seeking. ‘Healthy’ is thus a response to ‘toxic masculinity’, attempting to encourage men to engage in expressions of masculinity that are not harmful to others, or themselves as a way to address gender inequalities. This article argues that in using a term such as ‘toxic masculinity’, we continue to position men as victims of a broader vague entity rather than highlighting their agency in the reproduction of masculinity. Equally, in using a term such as ‘healthy masculinity’, we continue to set masculinity up as the only expression of gender that men can legitimately engage in, thus reinforcing the notion that femininity (and by extension, androgyny) remains a less valued, and less legitimate, expression of gender. In doing so, ‘toxic’ and ‘healthy masculinity’ continue to reproduce, rather than address gender inequalities, and do not support the breaking down of gender binaries.

中文翻译：

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解决性别不平等的“有毒”和“健康”男性气质问题

摘要 本文讨论了在解决性别不平等的公共话语中出现的“有毒”和“健康男性气质”。“有毒”的出现是因为人们对男性对女性的暴力行为有了更高的认识，而且男性的健康问题发生率很高，而且缺乏寻求帮助。因此，“健康”是对“有毒阳刚之气”的回应，试图鼓励男性表达对他人或自己无害的阳刚之气，以此作为解决性别不平等的一种方式。本文认为，在使用诸如“有毒的男性气质”之类的术语时，我们继续将男性定位为一个更广泛的模糊实体的受害者，而不是突出他们在男性气质再生产中的能动性。同样，在使用“健康阳刚之气”等术语时，我们继续将阳刚之气设定为男性可以合法参与的唯一性别表达，从而强化了这样一种观念，即女性气质（以及广义上的雌雄同体）仍然是一种不那么受重视和不那么合法的性别表达。在这样做时，“有毒”和“健康的男子气概”继续繁殖，而不是解决性别不平等问题，也不支持打破性别二元论。