Toxic Masculinity

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According to scholar, Daniel Gross, the term that was used to define men involved in rape culture is known as ‘toxic masculinity’. This is a gender stereotype which is a burden to men in society which describes men as sexually driven and violent beings (Gross, 1990). The consequences of toxic masculinity are that most male rape victims would not come forward the authorities due to the feeling of shame. This suggests that men are supposed to be the strong, yet tough enough to prevent and avoid being raped. Men are less likely to report their rape, because they felt that it would diminish their masculinity. Thus, relating to the characteristics of submissiveness and the weaknesses that are attributed towards rape victims, as opposed of the gender stereotypes concerning to men, which focuses on the aggressiveness and dominance (Pino and Meier, 1999: p. 979; Davies and McCartney, 2003: p. 391). Similarly, to female rape victims, male victims fear the stigmatisation surrounded by rape. When male rape victims do report their rape, often they receive disbelief, and being blamed from the police, as well as, other services (Struckman-Johnson, 1992). Additionally, men are less likely than female rape victims to come forward of their sexual assault or failing to mention any genital contacts. Also, men would deny what had happened to them and how it has affected emotionally.
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