9
Maybe I'm missing something, but I see no problem with schools and school boards looking for ways to tackle the problem of toxic masculinity. I get that the guy who introduced the resolution wanted to get rid of the phrase toxic masculinity, which I kind of understand, because it's experienced concept creep to the point where people are assuming it means all masculinity is toxic. And no one can dispute that a lot of boys are going down a bad path these days. So unless we want to put all baby boys out to die as soon as they are born, it is worth society's while to think about the problem and come up with some solutions.
people are assuming it means all masculinity is toxic.
I mean...it is? The idea that particular strengths are only virtues if men have them, or because men have them, is toxic. Anything that could be held up as "positive masculinity" is actually positive for everyone, and it is toxic to imply it is inherently linked to men or maleness.
Mandy202March 13, 2025
I don't think I expressed myself very well. I meant that in some quarters or by some people, "toxic masculinity" = "any expression of masculinity is toxic".
I don't think that guy is entirely wrong that the needs of boys ought to be addressed instead of further alienating them by demonizing "toxic masculinity". But it won't work unless they have the guts to address what's really fucking up young men. Lack of direction. Too much porn. Not enough grass touching. Not enough positive IRL social interactions. An overall misogynistic society. Deadbeat fathers. Parents who are too burnt out and over-worked to properly parent them. Etc....
Granted, most of this is outside the school's pay grade. But, then again, so is genderwoo and political activism. But they teach that shit anyway
You might be on to something with the grass touching part. I know that you go on less and less field trips as you get into middle and high school, but I feel like my youngest two siblings never went on as many field trips in elementary school as I did.
When I did part of my elementary school in Wisconsin, we went on a couple of field trips to a local nature preserve. We hiked around and they let us into this watchtower on the preserve so we had a good view, we learned about animals, and I think a couple of kids even got to touch a (harmless) snake. (I sprained my ankle on one of those trips and the poor teacher had to carry me back into the school building, but it was fun lol.) I distinctly remember that we also saw the local orchestra play once.
I did the second half of my elementary schooling in California, and I feel as though we easily did at least two or three field trips a year. The big ones were to a couple of interactive museums, and a trip to the swimming pool where I had my swim practices. At the end of 5th grade, the school rented a small outdoor venue with inflatable slides and obstacle courses, and a pool. That's not even mentioning a couple of field trips where we walked to local parks, or walked to the local high school to watch them put on theatrical performances.
I know my siblings went on a couple of field trips to parks and possibly a museum, but that's about it. Well, aside from the nature education overnight camp, which one of them couldn't even go to because it would have happened in fall 2020. I think the other sibling went to it, but there were some restrictions due to COVID still being prevalent. I went to the camp while I was in middle school and I can say with certainty that she didn't have the experience that I did.
I don't doubt that a lot of this lack of field trip experience has been down to COVID, but both of them left elementary school after lockdown restrictions had been lifted, and they didn't really do much field tripping in that time before leaving. Part of me wonders if it's a socioeconomic thing, since the school they attended is in a much less affluent area than the one I attended was. But I also have to wonder if kids are just... less interested in interactive museums and nature hikes. I wonder if they're just less curious about their environment and how the world works due to having their faces in a screen all the time, and I wonder if anybody thinks that a field trip to an easy hiking trail would be worth organizing.