Sleeping beaus: How toxic masculinity is poisoning America's men
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Abstract
Catcalls, rapists, dick jokes, and risky business are only a handful of symptoms of the current worldwide viral epidemic dubbed “toxic masculinity.” Focusing on hegemonic masculinity’s proposed birthplace, America, this project recounts the hierarchical masculine system’s development and the culmination of its most harmful performative behaviors and widespread dogmas into what we now call “toxic masculinity.” What follows is an exposé of the societal perpetuators which groom young boys throughout their lifetime, and an evaluation of toxic masculinity’s irreparable mental and physical damages. The project’s research portion concludes by addressing the small steps taken thus far to promote healthy masculinity; it proposes further necessary changes on both the individual and societal planes, and presents the ideal alternative to toxic masculinity—mindful masculinity. The project then transitions to a creative retelling of Stephen and Owen Kings’ novel, Sleeping Beauties, wherein the world’s women contract a sleeping sickness and struggle to rebuild society in an alternate realm void of any men, who are left in chaos on Earth’s surface. The included rewrite, Sleeping Beaus, tells the struggle of the world’s men, who, after falling asleep, fail to rebuild civilization until they shed toxic masculinity’s vices.