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The term "toxic individualism" doesn't mean that individualism is inherently toxic, like "toxic masculinity" doesn't mean that about masculinity in the general case. These terms mean the over-expression of their worst aspects.


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This comment seems to be both reductive and in bad faith.

Of course there is an idea of non-toxic masculinity that doesn't just equate to !masculinity. People love to bring up examples of non-toxic masculinity in media. Someone on reddit has even compiled a megalist of examples of non-toxic masculinity in film: https://www.reddit.com/r/MensLib/comments/eb0ir1/a_megalist_...


That subreddit is about men crying and promoting feminism and being more feminine


That's simply untrue; you're deliberately misinterpreting terms to grind a tired axe.

It is perfectly possible to be both masculine and non-toxic without being feminine. Refusing to allow that is toxic in itself.


> you're deliberately misinterpreting terms

Using the term "toxic" to describe things is an issue because people have an immediate negative reaction to it and go on the defence. Wording matters a lot and I'm unsure why there's such an insistence on calling things "toxic" when other words would both better describe issues and cause a less visceral reaction.


People deliberately and cynically choose to have that reaction (or pretend to). It's an adjective like any other, not even an inflammatory one.


Most people don't make a conscious decision in how they react to something emotionally, it just happens. If you want people to take what you say seriously you have to consider the PR side of things.

> not even an inflammatory one

I don't know how you can seriously claim this.




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