Royce Gracie recently took part in an interview where he shared his thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity. Although it might seem like a very common term in this day and age, it’s actually only crept into the mainstream consciousness relatively recently. The term toxic masculinity didn’t even exist prior to the 1980s and it was only used by a pretty small number of people in the decades that followed. It wasn’t until it started to be used more regularly in social sciences academic writing that it also started to be used by the population at large, and it’s only over the last decade that it’s become such a common phrase.
The phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ refers to the traditional elements of masculinity that are perceived as having a negative effect on society as a whole. The only reason that Royce decided to give his input on the topic is because he started talking about the benefits that Jiu-Jitsu can have for children:
“It builds confidence in the students, teaches them how to defend themselves. We’re not teaching them to become fighters but to defend themselves, how not to get bullied, and how to protect others. We’re teaching discipline. Be on time, bring your gear; your gi. And if they say: ‘Oh, my mom forgot the gi’, I tell them: ‘That’s not your mom’s problem. It’s your responsibility to pack your gi.’ It teaches accountability, respect, and discipline.”
Learning martial arts is often associated with an increase in confidence and while this can obviously help those who might be getting bullied, Royce believes it can also help the bullies themselves as well:
“Why is the bully picking on others? No one ever asks. It’s often because they don’t have confidence themselves. They’re trying to prove their toughness by picking on smaller kids. But if they learn martial arts, if they learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, they’ll know how tough they are. They won’t need to prove it by hurting others.”
That’s when the conversation turned to toxic masculinity, as Royce Gracie believes that Jiu-Jitsu gives boys and young men the ability to channel their masculinity in a positive fashion:
“It’s an amazing way to channel natural masculinity in young men. I don’t believe in that ‘toxic masculinity’ stuff. Honestly, I don’t even know how to pronounce it properly because I don’t believe in it. Men need to be men. Boys need to be boys.”
The full interview with Royce Gracie where he discusses his thoughts on toxic masculinity was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of PragerU:
