Toxic masculinity refers to a constellation of attitudes and behaviors that devalue and oppress people traditionally classified as ‘masculine’, including men, as well as many people outside the gender binary. It is a combination of performance-oriented and restrictive masculine roles, which emphasizes rigid gender roles, extreme self-reliance, and social dominance for men over women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. Toxic masculinity is upheld by, and complicit in, structural oppression under patriarchy, including racism, homophobia, and classism. It reinforces a power-dynamic between men and women which feeds into a cycle of inequality and oppression, promoting a mindset that denies the full humanity of people outside of the gender binary.

See also: sacred masculine, mythic masculine, men's work, iron john, eco-feminist