People are sharing their surefire signs of toxic masculinity, and the responses will make you say, "YUP."
It all started when a viral Reddit thread asked users, "What is a telltale sign that a man is insecure about his masculinity?"
Here are some of the top-voted responses from users:
1. "Constant attempts to 'one-up' anything and anyone at any time."
2. "People online who post cringey graphics of a lion or The Joker with an equally cringey quote next to it saying something like, 'Followers work for others, the alpha works for himself' with some dollar signs next to it."
3. "He’s middle-aged but constantly shares photos of himself in his 'prime,' like from his old football team, or his military uniform, etc."
4. "I’m about to be 27. I still see an ex–football player posting his highlight videos and stat sheets from high school. He’ll post himself working out and caption it with, 'I still run shit here.' Just can’t let the glory days go."
5. "Constantly looking to brag about your wealth and physical prowess, especially on social media. I know a few dudes who define themselves by the amount of money they've made or how they're better than everyone because they practice a certain martial art."
6. "When he's not supportive of the other men in his life. A truly masculine man loves and supports his brothers and celebrates their achievements. An insecure man brings others down to prove he's on 'top.'"
7. "A more subtle one I see is not allowing themselves to enjoy things that are traditionally childish or 'girly.' Not watching TV shows or listening to certain music because they don't like it is fine. But if the reason is because it's 'sissy,' 'girly,' or 'not manly,' they might as well admit that they think enjoying those things will make them look weak or less masculine."
8. "Making gay jokes."
9. "Refusing to moisturize. Dudes will be red and raw like that’s how skin's supposed to be."
10. "If their Nissan Micra sounds like it will rip a hole in the fabric of the universe whenever they accelerate because of the mods that do nothing other than increase volume."
11. "Trying to dominate a conversation or activity for no reason. Being needlessly competitive."
12. "Always fighting to be right, no matter what, even if someone obviously knows what they are talking about."
13. "If his view on what makes a man a man is narrow. In his mind, there are only two or three types of men, and other types are wrong."
14. "Guys who talk shit about women who speak up or needlessly call them names."
15. "Guys who are uncomfortable being CLOSE emotionally or physically to other men, in fear of being gay or emasculated."
16. "I disagreed with a guy on a political issue, and he immediately called me a beta. So...yeah. Pretty clear cut there."
17. "Refusing to drink any non-'manly' drink, mentioning how big his dick is (it isn't), thinking sports knowledge is a personality trait."
18. "Putting nuts on their trucks, probably."
19. "The worst are guys who use hashtags on Instagram like #realman, #realmen, #realmenhavebeards, #manly, #man, #men, #alphamale, #intelligent, #smart, etc. I'm like dude, I've never seen a confident, masculine man ever once use shit like that. If you have to tell the world you're a 'real man,' or how 'intelligent' or 'alpha' you are...you aren't."
20. "Worrying about 'honor' and fighting over it. I've never been in a fight. 99% of my friends have never been in a fight. None of my colleagues have ever been in a fight. Yet...you come across these fuckwits who seem to think that it's normal. Quite often, they complain about it. 'Aw, I can barely leave my house without someone starting shit.' In every single scenario, it is them who is the problem."
21. "Aggression and violence. Many insecure men use tactics of intimidation or just plain-old violence because they feel attacked by everything, can't discuss things like a normal grown-up, and feel like it proves they are a 'real man.'"
22. "Thinking he's cool for hating cats."
23. "Just being LOUD in general. Saying he doesn't care what anyone says or thinks about him, but in reality seeks validation and attention from other people all the time."
24. "Compulsive cheating. You gotta have really low self-esteem and self-respect to seek validation from others in that manner."
And finally...
25. "If they think a beard equals a personality."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.