Hollywood icon Meryl Streep, who has previously rejected the label of ‘feminist’ to describe herself, has taken issue with the term ‘toxic masculinity’, saying she believes the label is unhelpful, and that it can be harmful to men and boys.
The actress was taking part in a panel discussion to promote the second season of the HBO series Big Little Lies when her co-star Nicole Kidman told an anecdote about a male fan, who had approached her to say how much he enjoyed the female-led show.
Meryl Streep interjected at this point, to say she was glad that the fan found BLL enjoyable, and went on to say that she disapproves of the concept of ‘toxic masculinity’, the phrase referring to certain cultural and social norms associated with masculine behaviour.
She said:
“Sometimes, I think we’re hurt. We hurt our boys by calling something toxic masculinity. I do. And I don’t find [that] putting those two words together … because women can be pretty fucking toxic. It’s toxic people. We have our good angles and we have our bad ones. I think the labels are less helpful than what we’re trying to get to, which is a communication, direct, between human beings. We’re all on the boat together. We’ve got to make it work.”
The comments have drawn sharp criticism on social media, with some accusing her of misunderstanding the term and how it’s used, and it remains to be seen how she’ll respond.
Several years ago, in an interview promoting the film Suffragette, Meryl Streep explained her aversion to the categorisation of herself as a feminist, saying:
“There is a phrase in the film – ‘Deeds not words’ – and that is where I stand on that. I let the actions of my life stand for what I am, as a human being. Contend with that, not the words.”
