The author is accurate in his statement in that toxic masculinity is harmful to society and the

individual. Toxic masculinity is very much harmful to society and to individuals, which could
cause physical and emotional violence towards women or anyone. The author is credible in their
statement in which toxic masculinity is not good for society and is harmful to all individuals.
Source letter B stands against toxic masculinity and is motivated to change the behavior of men.
Source letter F pushes the fact that it is okay for men to show and express their emotions, and
lastly source letter A sheds light on both sides of toxic masculinity and its issues.

To enforce my thesis, source F appears to be a Gillete advertisement that highlights the issue of
toxic masculinity to sell their products.This commercial puts emphasis on the fact that toxic
masculinity has affected our society in a very negative manner. Later on, the commercial
expresses the fact that a change must occur in the behavior of men. The advertisement shows
us a number of different scenarios in which it employs different phrases such as “Boys will be
boys” to that the issue of toxic masculinity has been written off and ignored. Contradicting this
scenario, later on in the commercial, we see another situation where it employs another phrase,
“Men need to hold other men accountable.” which shows how society can stop toxic masculinity.

To further strengthen my thesis, source letter F takes a stance against toxic masculinity by
establishing the fact that boys and men can show emotions and be normal human beings. The
cartoon expresses, “Boys can be sensitive.”. Society as a whole has labeled being sensitive and
caring as feminine and un-manly. This obviously does a significant amount of damage to the
mentality of young boys. This teaches them that showing emotion and affection for others is not
something that a man would do. The cartoon further adds on to its point by asserting “Don’t let
anyone tell you otherwise.” This quote further strengthens my claim seeing as it encourages
young boys to show emotion and affection towards others. Often, society shames boys for
showing emotion and constantly pushes the message of manning up which is unacceptable
behavior. Although there are times were men need to be strong and firm for many situations,
society often takes this to the extreme and it does more harm than good.

Contrary to my main thesis, some may argue that masculinity is unfairly being slandered. These
commercials are portraying men as emotionless jerks who disregard other people’s emotions
and viewpoints. According to Cathy Young, “This suggests decent men are a minority while
brutes are the norm.” The fact of the matter is yes, these commercials are fixating on the wrong
behavior of men and portraying them as non human and emotionless.I guarantee that 95
percent of men are just normal people with emotion, just like everyone else. It’s just that 5% that
ruins it for everyone. The author also suggests that “The well-intentioned Gillette ad lapses into
male-shaming that undercuts its positive point.” This quote greatly appeals to the opposite
argument as it shows that these commercials do indeed have a positive message, but at times
can cross the line and borderline shame men. While I concur that Cathy Young makes a firm
argument, we still can not ignore the fact that toxic masculinity is very real and is causing grave
problems to our society, even though it is only a fraction of men who are engaging in this bad
behavior. The article also enforces “They acknowledge problems that disproportionately affect
men and boys, from poor school performance to suicide, substance abuse and violence.”
Although Cathy Young makes a variety of strong points in her article, society cannot ignore the
reality that toxic masculinity is a very real problem and in it harmful to society and individuals on
a significant level. Even though the majority of men are normal people with emotions and
respect, there is still a minority that is participating in this behavior that can’t be ignored. Above
all, toxic masculinity must be addressed in a non condescending way to men in order to mend
the problem.