In his latest book “Notes on Being a Man,” business analyst and NYU professor Scott Galloway makes a provocative declaration that challenges prevailing cultural narratives: there’s no such thing as “toxic masculinity.”
Instead, Galloway argues that what society labels as toxic masculinity is simply bad behavior—cruelty, criminality, bullying, and abuse of power—that has nothing to do with authentic masculinity.
“Note: there’s no such thing as ‘toxic masculinity’—that’s the emperor of all oxymorons,” Galloway writes. “There’s cruelty, criminality, bullying, predation, and abuse of power. If you’re guilty of any of these things, or conflate being male with coarseness and savagery, you’re not masculine; you’re anti-masculine.”
The book emerges from Galloway’s growing concern about the alarming state of American boys and young men. As a father of two sons and a professor who regularly receives emails from worried mothers about sons living in basements and playing video games, Galloway has become increasingly focused on what he sees as a crisis affecting young males across all backgrounds.
The data Galloway presents is sobering. Boys face an educational system biased against them, with brains that mature later than girls’. Many grow up without male role models—fewer men teach K-12 than there are women working in STEM fields.
Post-high school, young men face a broken social contract: seventy-year-old Americans today are 72 percent wealthier than they were forty years ago, while people under forty are 24 percent less wealthy.
Galloway identifies what he calls a “three-legged stool” of masculinity: Men Protect, Provide, and Procreate. “Real men don’t start bar fights; they break them up,” he explains. “They don’t s**t-post other people or their country; they defend both.” The role of provider doesn’t diminish even as women become breadwinners—economic responsibility remains crucial for men’s sense of purpose and self-respect.
Rather than viewing masculinity as inherently problematic, Galloway champions what he calls “masculine excellence”—the ability to protect communities, provide stability, and ensure species survival. He points to historical examples like the construction of the Empire State Building and Hoover Dam, and the soldiers who fought in World War II, arguing that young men have been instrumental in creating the world we live in today.
The book represents Galloway’s attempt to defend and champion men at a time when he believes the conversation has become “radioactive.” His message is clear: instead of pathologizing masculinity, society should celebrate what’s good about men while holding individuals accountable for genuinely harmful behavior, not for being male.
