As much as in the present than in the past, certain individuals, mainly men, often proceed to demonstrate their power and superiority, also to show that they are the ones that are right and that are taking all the decisions. Masculinity, a concept that has been deeply established in societal constructs, has been associated with societal norms, individual perceptions, and expectations towards men. Its complexity is being discussed by many people and from various perspectives, reflecting the definition of masculinity through different context. This reality is brought by the documentaries “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” and “Inside Incel”, and by Michael Kimmel’s essay, “Masculinity as Homophobia”, highlighting the toxic masculinity by the use of violence that contribute to the ideologies of racism, sexism, and homophobia/transphobia.
Firstly, Michael Kimmel mentions in his essay that; “Violence is often the single most evident marker of manhood. Rather it is the willingness to fight, the desire to fight.” He is saying that violence is often equated with masculinity and seen as an important characteristic of manhood. Violence is important for masculinity, because for a long period of years, they have always been using it to protect themselves, to choose who are right, to show their superiority, and more. For example, in the documentary “Charlottesville: Race and Terror”, the Charlottesville’s incident that occurred in 2017, two groups of people with two different ideologies fought for the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The people identified as White Supremist who want to protect the statue, fought against their counter-protesters who tries to remove it and demolish it. White Supremist believe that their country got destroyed because of these immigrants, so they wish that the United States to go back to only white population. Christopher Cantwell, the leader of the White Supremist rally called “Unite the Right”, calls his counter-protesters “animals”, which proves their strong ideology of racism. In addition, a person from the white supremist side drove his car directly into a crowd of their counter-protesters, resulting few deaths and many injured people. Christopher Cantwell and his allies are saying that this action was completely fair because that is their way of fighting. These men are not hesitating to use violence, since they think that it is the right thing to do to show their superiority.
Secondly, the documentary “Inside Incel” exposes some incel community that showcases discriminatory attitudes and behaviors towards women, which could be associated with “hegemonic masculinity” that has been discussed by Will James. Toby, a member of the incel community mentions sexist and misogynistic claims such as “women are not fit to vote”, or calling women “dogs”, which means that he isn’t considering the two genders equally, and associating women as slaves and not as humans. Other than verbally discriminating women, some incels used physical violence to murder women. From the same documentary, on April 23rd, 2018, in north Toronto, a rented white van went on the sidewalk with the clear purpose of killing the people walking there. The fact that most of the ran over victims were women, which proves that the man was targeting women. Another case where a 22-year-old university student called Elliot Rodger caused car accidents killing 6 people and injured 14 people. Elliot Rodger who has always been hating girls and being bullied at school, decides to revenge. He thought that he would be able to show his superiority and dominance by using violence. Men getting rejected by women or getting bullied by others are holding anger issues, so they are more likely to suffer from psychological illness. Their anger issues are mostly rooted by the fear they have been experiencing. Even if these misogynist men are experiencing fear, they don’t want to show it because they are scared to be judged as “non-manly” as pointed out by Michael Kimmel; “Our fear is the fear of humiliation”. Michael Kimmel also shows how some men are putting down other men by referring them as “a girl”, which also shows sexism because it is the same thing as saying that women are weaker, and inferior compared to men.
To conclude, the two documentaries and Michael Kimmel’s text showed the toxic side of masculinity that not many people talk about. More people should be aware that it causes negative impacts such as harming themselves and others, hiding their emotions and feelings, and always forcing themselves to meet the expectations of a real man.
Fight Clubs/Night Clubs 
Your analysis of toxic masculinity in the context of the documentaries is a good start, but it can be deepened by exploring the underlying causes and consequences of these behaviors. Discuss how societal expectations and the fear of being perceived as weak perpetuate the cycle of violence and discrimination, as suggested by Kimmel. Consider the role of online communities and how they may amplify these toxic behaviors, as discussed by Will James.
You effectively reference specific examples from “Charlottesville: Race and Terror” and “Inside Incel,” such as the actions of Christopher Cantwell and the incel community’s violence. However, ensure that when you mention individuals like Cantwell, you also analyze their behavior through the lens of Kimmel’s essay and Will James’ talk to deepen the connection between the documentaries and the theoretical materials. Continue to use specific examples but also elaborate on how these examples illustrate broader societal issues.
Your introduction sets the stage for discussing the complexities of masculinity but lacks a clear and concise thesis statement.
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