--- description: A psychologist explains why and how Donald Trump's overly masculine comments are extremely damaging. title: How Trump’s ’Toxic Masculinity' Is Bad for Other Men image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c51b3c91386624b/69888cc3196cf43d1903af0e/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity-boys-men.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Trump’s 'Toxic Masculinity' Is Bad for Other Men by [William Ming Liu](/author/william-ming-liu/) ## William Ming Liu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2016 9:50 PM CUT  TOPSHOT - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses a press conference following his victory in the Florida state primary on March 15, 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The win in Florida for Trump sent rival Marco Rubio, the US senator from the Sunshine State, crashing out of the campaign. The 69-year-old billionaire also won in Illinois and North Carolina. / AFP / RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses a press conference following his victory in the Florida state primary on March 15, 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The win in Florida for Trump sent rival Marco Rubio, the US senator from the Sunshine State, crashing out of the campaign. The 69-year-old billionaire also won in Illinois and North Carolina. / AFP / RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images)Rhona Wise—AFP/Getty Images by [William Ming Liu](/author/william-ming-liu/) ## William Ming Liu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2016 9:50 PM CUT I’m not the first person to point out that Donald Trump embodies extreme masculinity. Although [Ivanka Trump said Tuesday that her father “believes in inspiring women and empowering women,”](http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/04/12/donald-trump-daughters-town-hall-ivanka-tiffany-empowers-women-sexist/ "undefined") he’s repeatedly made misogynistic comments about women, including [Megyn Kelly](http://motto.time.com/4203136/megyn-kelly-deal-with-haters/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4158303/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-disgusting-schlonged/ "undefined") and [Arianna Huffington](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/585281558816370690 "undefined"). He’s also commented about his “hand size” during a debate, and [he’s downplayed the seriousness of the the violence happening at his rallies](http://time.com/4257804/donald-trump-rally-violence-denial/ "undefined"). But as editor of the journal _Psychology of Men and Masculinity_, I can offer unique insight on the impact Trump’s actions have on others—boys and men in particular. The troubling thing to me about his actions—and the fact that they’re happening on a national stage—is that they effectively normalize a form of masculinity that is unhealthy. It gives voice to not only misogyny and sexism but also racism. Furthermore, Trump is championing traditional gender roles, and that means we’re likely to see a resurgence of them. The [research is pretty clear](http://jimoneil.uconn.edu/research/grc/book/ "undefined"): This particular form of masculinity—we call it toxic masculinity—is psychologically unhealthy. Toxic masculinity is marked by this idea that men have to be the alpha male in all situations and that they’re not supposed to be emotional or affectionate—even with intimate partners in their lives. Some men express anger and rage because those are the only normalized forms of emotions for them. Any expression of compassion, therefore, may feel scary because that kind of emotion is deemed not “masculine.” **_Read more:_** [_This Campaign Encourages Women to Withhold Sex From Trump-Supporting Partners_](http://motto.time.com/4269278/vote-trump-get-dumped/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") A woman’s role in this gender expectation is to be submissive or subservient so that a man can play his dominant role. Women who deviate from this are often demeaned and labeled as lesbians, as sexually unattractive or as _frigid_—those kinds of terms. Not because that’s actually true, of course, but because they’re straying from the roles prescribed for them. Women obviously suffer from these expectations, but men and boys suffer, too. Boys who are surrounded by toxic masculinity are socialized to avoid feelings and weaknesses—in themselves and in their peers. So in some ways, boys are constantly fighting within themselves about how they want to be internally versus what’s expected of them—and that increases their overall psychological stress. **_Read more:_** [_What You Can Do About Donald Trump’s Bullying_](http://motto.time.com/4266650/yale-psychologists-trump-bully/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined") To compound the issue, the best way to relieve stress is through connecting with other people and having healthy relationships—yet toxic masculinity leaves a very narrow way people are supposed to relate to each other, which perpetuates the problem. Trump will not be the last prominent figure to embody toxic masculinity. However, we need to remember that there are positive ways to be a man and to be masculine. We need to help boys and men understand that being caring and compassionate is healthy. Importantly, we need to give them language to name their feelings and emotions. For many men, it is important to find mental health support that allows them to explore their own history of traumatic socialization and how to better connect with people in their lives. And I worry that under a Trump presidency, finding and getting this kind of support will only become more difficult. _William Liu is a professor of counseling psychology at the University of Iowa._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4273865/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4273865/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity/"},"headline":"How Trump’s 'Toxic Masculinity' Is Bad for Other Men","datePublished":"2016-04-14T21:50:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:02:07.498Z","description":"'Trump is championing traditional gender roles, and that means we’re likely to see a resurgence of them'","url":"https://time.com/4273865/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity/","keywords":["motto","2016 Election topic","sexism","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c51b3c91386624b/69888cc3196cf43d1903af0e/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity-boys-men.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"William Ming Liu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/william-ming-liu/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c51b3c91386624b/69888cc3196cf43d1903af0e/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity-boys-men.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP","creditText":"Rhona Wise—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4273865/donald-trump-toxic-masculinity/","name":"How Trump’s 'Toxic Masculinity' Is Bad for Other Men"}}]}] ```