When you hear the name John Legend, singer, songwriter, and activist are just a few titles that come to mind and now he's landed one of America's most coveted titles. People magazine has named John Legend as 2019's sexiest man alive and surprisingly the people aren't too pleased. No sooner than the news was announced many social media users voiced their disappointment; some comments were funny, some were cruel but collectively they pointed out the all too familiar trend in the black community of equating a black man's sexiness to his level of toxic masculinity.
Toxic masculinity is defined as the adherence to specific gender roles placed on males, such as a restriction and suppression of pleasant emotions, with the exception of expressing anger, and the expectation that men always seek to be the dominant male. Social media posts, and memes aside, the sentiments were only echoed by Wendy Williams, who gave the perfect illustration of how toxic masculinity still plagues African Americans to this day. While discussing the singer's newest milestone the talk show host spewed her toxic view to her audience stating, "when I think about a sexy man I’m not thinking John Legend...I need a man who’s gonna punch someone in the face."
Yes, this Black woman told her largely white audience that she didn't find a black man sexy because of his lack of aggressive behavior. Toxic masculinity at its finest. Interestingly enough, Legend was raised in the Black church, an environment with a stark contract to settings where toxic masculinity is prevalent and nurtured.
Yes, this Black woman told her largely white audience that she didn't find a black man sexy because of his lack of aggressive behavior. Toxic masculinity at its finest. Interestingly enough, Legend was raised in the Black church, an environment with a stark contract to settings where toxic masculinity is prevalent and nurtured.
