Meryl Streep voiced her concerns with the term “toxic masculinity” during a Q&A Wednesday night, saying the term itself is not inclusive enough to address that all people can be toxic.
The topic came up during a Vanity Fair Q&A with Ms. Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, and Nicole Kidman ahead of the season 2 premiere of “Big Little Lies,” after a male attendee mentioned that he enjoyed the show, InStyle magazine reported.
Ms. Streep said she was glad the attendee found something to like, even though he wasn’t a woman, adding that she had concerns with the term “toxic masculinity.”
The concept of toxic masculinity refers to the traditional stereotypes of men in Western culture, including what it means to be masculine or manly, and how that negatively affects men themselves and the way they are viewed by society.
Ms. Streep said the term itself could be damaging to boys.
“Sometimes, I think we’re hurt. We hurt our boys by calling something toxic masculinity. I do. And I don’t find [that] putting those two words together … because women can be pretty f–ing toxic,” the Oscar-winning actress stated, InStyle reported.
“It’s toxic people. We have our good angles, and we have our bad ones,” she added. “I think the labels are less helpful than what we’re trying to get to, which is a communication, direct, between human beings. We’re all on the boat together. We’ve got to make it work.”
The Washington Times Comment Policy
The Washington Times welcomes your comments on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
