Living in a Rape Culture

Abstract

Abbie Spallen’s Pumpgirl (2006) is a contemporary Irish play set just on the north side of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It focuses on the performance of gender norms, toxic masculinity, and sexual violence. The phrase “toxic masculinity” has become a buzzword in contemporary Irish and global feminist discourse and can be incorrectly used to berate men for their very existence. Such an application of the phrase is wholly damaging to people of all genders as it ultimately supports and maintains the hetero-normative patriarchal gender binary. The aim of this chapter is to redefine toxic masculinity as an undeniable force in contemporary society that ultimately serves to sustain a crisis of masculinity. This chapter uses the playas a lens to examine and forensically deconstruct toxic masculinities in contemporary Irish society.