Is masculinity fragile?
On Wednesday morning, the hashtag #MasculinitySoFragile was trending. It wasn’t the first time this hashtag was seen, but it had one of its periodic reappearances thanks to a series of tweets from a male user calling himself SocialJusticeFlower.
He posted things such as “#MasculinitySoFragile that few man can deal with rejection without lashing out and hurting or abusing the woman who rejected them”, and “#MasculinitySoFragile that if a man cheats he sees it as his right, but if a woman cheats he may beat, rape, or kill her”.
This sparked other tweets in the trend like: “#MasculinitySoFragile that they can’t compliment each other so the other wont (sic) think that they’re gay”
Men and women responded with scepticism at the hashtag.
One user said: “#feminismSofragile it has to start new HTs like #masculinitySofragile every 5 seconds to vent the movement’s deluded, cartoonish hysteria.”
Other’s thought that creating a hashtag to point out the insecurities of others also came from a place of fragility.
Users thought that this proved the point of the hashtag. One said: “#MasculinitySoFragile….it’s wounded by a hashtag.”
Tell us what you think below. Does this hashtag point out something society needs to deal with regarding its ideas of manhood? Or is it an undue extension of feminism? Does it cause thought about the construct of masculinity? Is it a hypocritical attempt to shame men by using stereotypically egotistical responses?