Queer Immersion, by Caitlyn Caniglia

My Queer Excursion that I did was the Toxic Masculinity: Locker Room talk that was hosted in the chapel. The speaker Byron Hurt’s is a documentary and film maker who goes around the country giving these speeches to educate people on the issue. When Byron first started with this job he was not very knowledgable on the subject except for his past experiences.  The talk with Byron started off with him asking the crowd “What are the typical things that boys are told while growing up?” The answers usually come from men in the audience but he opened the dialogue up to women as well. The responses ranged from things that their dads told them while growing up to things they learned from society. The responses from the men in the crowd really were quite astonishing things I never truly thought about. I knew that a lot of young men were taught to be strong, independent and providing, but the toxicity from this was what impacted them the most. 

The next question Byron asked is what is the effect to a boy if he does not abide by the standards of him growing up. The men would answer that they were called derogatory terms such as a pussy, weak and a baby. They were also called derogatory names that were homophobic which was where I think the topic got to the interest of Queerness. The men were describing names they had been called and started listing off gay, faggot, and queer. The words were used to offend these men when they were boys. However it was evident when they grew up they still used these words as a way to offend one another. One of the men were asked to describe how the words made them feel and he said that it made him feel small and belittled. There was some point when Byron was describing the words and one of the kids in front of me  said homo’s. Byron heard this kid and voiced what he had said. It was upsetting to hear since we were at a talk that was supposed to inform these young men on how their use of words and toxic masculinity can be hurtful. It was evident that it did not have an effect on him at that time. 

The next thing Byron discussed was the effects of the toxic masculinity and how they make for a life of toxic masculinity. The effects of toxic masculinity ranged from low self esteem to suicide rates. The effect that this has on men is long term and hurts them greatly. It also effects their outlook on women and the LGBTQ+ community. The toxic masculinity makes them look down upon the communities due to the fact that they are used as derogatory terms. Toxic masculinity is affecting society as a whole because it is not only the men it’s affecting. 

Overall, I found the talk to be a basic overview of toxic masculinity but was very appealing to the audience. Most of the sports teams were required to be at this Locker Room talk so I think the fact that Byron focused on the basics was important. Overall, this immersion had the ability to show me the true effects of toxic masculinity and what it does to society as a whole.