Ethics is blurrier than fiction: Toxic Masculinity

Toxic masculinity in schools and workplaces reinforces rigid gender norms that normalise dominance, emotional suppression, and aggression; creating environments where harm and exclusion can flourish. These norms shape harassment, unequal power dynamics, and resistance to accountability. In South Africa, such patterns are closely linked to the country’s high rates of gender‑based violence (GBV), which remains a profound social and public‑health crisis. GBV is sustained not only by individual behaviour, but by institutional cultures that silence vulnerability and excuse abuse. Psychology professionals play a critical role in changing these cycles through prevention, assessment, and intervention. They bring evidence‑based insight into how beliefs about masculinity are formed, reinforced, and can be transformed.

Includes 10 quiz questions.

This programme is valid for 1 month and you will need to complete the full programme within a month of receiving the access link.

Have a look at our other Ethics is blurrier than fiction episodes:

• Informed Consent

• How values impact the morality of decisions

• Do the means justify the ends?

• Diversity in the workplace

• The use and abuse of power

• Generational Differences

• Social Media

• Does “scope of practice” have a gray area? – coming soon

• The ethical considerations of work-life balance– coming soon