Masculinity
While my last three posts have been focusing on the relationship between feminine problems and the environment, that does not mean I’ve forgotten our masculine friends! 🙂
I believe that while masculinity can promote positive traits, it can also be easily twisted into toxic masculinity which occurs mostly in males. Toxic masculinity focuses more on traits like power, dominance, and strength to define “manhood” which can lead to aggression not only towards others but also to males themselves when they are forced to believe and behave in ways they don’t necessarily want to based on gender expectations. This mentality has then been propagated by popular culture, influencing the relationship between most males and the environment with the idea that one’s masculinity was not proven by testing oneself against nature, but by destroying it.
What a predicament!
You may still be questioning how masculinity could possibly affect the environment so let me show you in terms of the food we eat, and the denial of environmental issues to list a few.
Food
I’m sure that most of us are familiar with the ongoing discussion about how meat-eating diets are more detrimental to the environment than vegetarian or vegan ones. Interestingly enough, a study in 2013 showed how the idea of being a “real man” might be related to eating meat. When the idea of the unsustainability of meat was brought up, most of the male participants justified eating meat with reasons shockingly including the belief that it is obvious for humans to eat animals because of our “higher positions of power” which is an extreme version of power and dominance in masculinity.
Denial
Another way in which our environment is impacted by toxic masculinity is through climate change denial. A group of old male climate skeptics in Sweden claimed they were
“forced to speak against a faith-based belief in climate science”.
However, climate skepticism in Sweden can be linked to the masculine nature of industrial society being defended against eco modern hegemony.
Another example that may provide another point of view is the climate skepticism from the 2013 Southern Alberta flood. Rather than an outright denial of climate change, the men in Alberta placed blame for the flood onto the Global South in addition to proclaiming how warmer temperatures would be beneficial for Alberta.
While circumstances differ for each region, and some forms of climate change may seem more beneficial to some areas over others, but an accumulation of these kinds of thoughts form a collection of “not our business” and “us versus them” mentalities. These ideas can be extremely harmful to combating the climate crisis!
The way I see it, problems arising from masculinity and femininity are divided due to the genderizing of traits and the disparity of power between the two. Thus, I believe that the best way forward to protect the Earth and its people is through the declassification of expectations and roles of the various genders in society so that we are able to view environmental and world issues through more similar lenses.
chloeyong • October 3, 2020
Si Ying October 5, 2020 - 2:39 pm
Hi Chloe!
This was really interesting to read! Maybe this is why there are fewer males that I know of who are vegetarian/vegan compared to females… I wonder if the relation between eating meat and human/male dominance could be linked back to hunter-gatherer societies?
Another question, do you think toxic masculinity also contributes to the trophy-hunting issue?
-Si Ying
chloeyong October 6, 2020 - 7:05 am
Hi Si Ying,
I personally think that the link between eating meat and human/male dominance can be linked more to agrarian societies and the idea of wealth. With hunter-gatherer societies, I think eating meat was more of a natural process to survive than to establish dominance. (Of course, this is just my own personal opinion) And to answer your other question, yes I think that toxic masculinity does contribute to trophy-hunting in terms of wanting to have power over another’s life as a sign of dominance and strength. I hope this answered your question:)
– Chloe
Joanna Coleman October 8, 2020 - 9:26 am
Hi Si Ying & Chloe,
By the way, another fabulous post – you’re knocking my socks off every week !
Growing up in Canada, a country where hunting is “a thing”, I know several males who have gone hunting (not trophy hunting though) and a grand total of zero females who have. I just asked my husband – he gave the same answer.
Interestingly, while I’d never pick up a gun, I have gone fishing (and kept & eaten my fish) before and I know several other females who’ve have. I just asked my husband, and he too knows several women who’ve gone fishing. When I went fishing, although I felt bad for the fish, I also felt like I was “providing” for my own needs in a “pure” way.
What’s the difference between shooting a mammal or a bird and going fishing ? I’m not sure there is any (objectively speaking), but the two activities certainly feel very different to me.
I just asked my husband, and he says he’d never go hunting because it’s too much work, it’s too gross and it seems mean.
Obviously, this is a very small sample size, but just thought I’d add this.
jc
chloeyong October 9, 2020 - 12:49 am
Hi Dr. Coleman,
The way I see it, there is a distinction between the two activities you mentioned. While fishing here seems more like it is for sustenance and supports the fisher in a meaningful way, trophy hunting has no real benefit to the hunter other than providing them another “trophy”, or conquest. But there can also be sport fishing, competitive or recreational, where fishes are caught for a photo then released after just to see who can catch a bigger fish. While the fish are not necessarily killed, they might have decreased chances of survival after! Thus while sport fishing is less cruel than trophy hunting, their similarities lie in the visual they provide of one’s supposed prowess at the cost of an animal’s wellbeing.
– Chloe
Joanna Coleman October 15, 2020 - 5:08 am
Hi Chloe, thanks for your reply.
I’m hesitant to admit it, but I’ve also gone fishing & returned the fish to the water. And though I haven’t done it yet (mainly because of the $$ barrier), I’ve wanted to go deep-sea fishing for marlin for a long time.
If I’m honest with myself, I do see something morally wrong with this behaviour. And my motivation is the appeal of standing / sitting around fishing with someone else (it’s a very relaxing activity) and then the sudden excitement & adrenaline rush of catching something and reeling it in, and then the ability to get a very close look at it.
Even during fieldwork with wild animals, there’s an undeniable aspect of fun & curiosity to being able to capture and see an animal up close. So, whenever I capture a bat or whatever animal, half of me feels pity for the animal and so I try to collect my data as fast as possible to minimise the stress, while the other half is like : OMG this is so cool !
Please don’t judge. But I suspect many of my fellow wildlife biologists experience similar feelings – it would be very interesting to find out and to assess differences based on gender.
jc
clivetan October 9, 2020 - 5:54 pm
Hi Chloe,
Perhaps the 1 reason why males are less inclined to give up eating meat could be that they want to build/maintain muscle and mistakenly think that vegan/vegetarian diets are nutritionally inadequate for that purpose even though there are many sources that prove otherwise. Education could be key here!
In any case, I was shocked reading that the male participants justified eating meat due to their “higher positions of power”. Thanks for the good read!
It would be interesting if you could share with me your thoughts about my blog post (https://blog.nus.edu.sg/iceandus/2020/09/26/perceptions-a-continuation/) where I discuss briefly the differing environmental perceptions amongst males and females!
Clive
chloeyong October 10, 2020 - 10:44 am
Hi Clive,
I’m glad you found this post interesting! I am also very intrigued by the point you bring up about the nutritional values of meat and vegan/vegetarian diets as I am actually writing that topic for my AP:p On my way to check out your blog now!
– Chloe
clivetan October 12, 2020 - 4:15 pm
Hi Chloe,
Glad we share the same thoughts. Thanks for dropping by my blog 🙂
Clive
itfigures52 October 11, 2020 - 2:37 am
Hey Chloe!
That was a really insightful post! Your points about toxic masculinity really struck a chord with me, and it reminded me of a few unpleasant encounters I’ve had during my NS. In these encounters, the people involved were (in my view) often too busy trying to assert their authority rather than actually fixing the problem at hand. It’s a good example of how this behaviour frequently leads to an “us vs them” mentality which in turn, just leads to more animosity and problems left unresolved!
Joseph.
chloeyong October 11, 2020 - 8:09 am
Hey Joseph,
Thanks for the read! Your point about people trying to use authority to deal with a problem instead of fixing it really got me thinking about how toxic masculinity can affect leadership. Especially when these types of people are placed in important positions of power and deal not only with their own individual problems but also the problems of others.
– Chloe