Over the years, I have read many stories and articles. I feel as though I am familiar with plenty of storylines and plots. I guess because I am a male, I am used to stories about what is sometimes called "toxic masculinity", applying a code of masculine behavior that is unsafe and wasterful of life, limb. I don't think I have seen the words "toxic femininity" in print but I find that a phrase, a word, a concept or a question can be usefully expanded with a modern search engine, such as Google. I looked up the phrase in Google and got only 230,000 hits. That is a relatively small number, quite a bit smaller than many hits reported in other searches.
One of the hits on the first page of results refers to the movie "Barbie". The item says that the movie has gotten some people using the words "toxic femininity" again.
I started reading the book "Defiant Dreams", a report of the experiences of an Afghan girl who wanted an education despite Taliban efforts to prevent girls from getting a secondary or higher education. Lynn commented today that it seems very short-sighted to have such an aim, one that deprives a group or society of half of its labor force. I realize that sex and gender are powerful and far-reaching topics, both for a person getting into adulthood and parents. I was impressed years ago when I read of an American physician who took a job overseas with an American oil firm. Soon after getting to his work site, an Arabic man sought advice and treatment for impotence. He complained to the doctor that he could only perform sexually 3 or 4 times a day. For older people, the movie "Poms" might be of interest.
Like all things human, ideas of what a man or a woman "should" be and how either "should" behave are constantly undergoing change and pressure to change, including pressures to avoid change. Older people often feel that their training and convictions are very good guides while younger people, with impulses and challenges and hormones, often have their own convictions and questions.
