An article published in the Harvard Crimson Monday proclaims that masculinity kills people.
Crimson staff writer Ruben E. Reyes writes that cultural expectations about being male leads to violence and murder.
The article reads, “It starts with demeaning comments about women passed off as jokes. Initially they may seem harmless, but jokes are the basis for disrespect of others unlike them—especially women.”
He continues, “When these boys start dating, verbal arguments become physical punches and flying hands become gunshots.”
Reyes also brings up a statistic that 1 in 3 women have been victims of violence from an intimate partner. He attributes this violence to “unbridled masculinity.” The source he links to for this statistic also purports that 1 in 4 men have been victims of violence from an intimate partner.
Reyes ends the article by writing, “You’re 20-years-old when you decide to face the reality that masculinity kills. It tucks people into their grave, sometimes quietly but usually violently. You carry the bloodstains on your hands until you decide to break masculinity down―starting with yourself.”
Harvard University has already done its fair share to fight back against masculinity, banning anyone who is part of a single-gender student group from becoming a student leader.