The Enigmatic Nature of Toxic Masculinity: Utilizing Quasi-Photovoice Methodology to Make Distinctions between Hegemonic and Toxic Masculinity

Abstract

Studies of masculinity are fraught by inconsistent and unclear definitions. A comparison of literature which uses either hegemonic or toxic masculinity as a framework reveals that toxic masculinity can be virtually indistinguishable from hegemonic masculinity. I posit that toxic masculinity is and should be distinct from hegemonic masculinity. Failure to distinguish toxic masculinity from hegemonic masculinity makes toxicity difficult, if not impossible, to operationalize. I designed a vignette survey to clarify the conceptualization and operationalization of toxic masculinity. My vignette survey, which asks participants to respond to prompts regarding both toxic masculinity and masculinity, uses quasi-photovoice methodology to allow participants to select, contextualize, and codify data. This research can contribute to the quantitative operationalization of toxic masculinity through the development of a scale.