#ITBC system term

[coining-system-terms]

Claudo-revelare: an alter whose role is to tell or reveal information to keep them safe when other alters are not willing or unable too due to conditioning(this also includes ITBC). An example of this would be an alter being able to discuss the trauma in detail to report it to safe people or to legal authorities.

Flag meaning: The half open lock is meant to represent information that was once locked away now being spoken. A similar motif is going on with the two gray lines holding in the beige one, with the blue lines representing the open waters of conversation. The gray lines are representing barriers in communication(thus barring the water) while the beige line is meant to represent the peace of finally telling people information.

Term translation: Latin

claudo: to shut up, close, lock

revelare: reveal

[rez-urrection]

are you a system ?

are you a survivor of RAMCOA, ITBC, TBMC, OEA, or anything else of the likes (whether it created your system or not) ?

consider joining the conservatory !

the conservatory is a 16+ discord community for systems who have survived complex intentional trauma, which for the sake of my thumbs typing this, ill be using "CIT" for (as far as I know, this isn't an "official" term, but it covers all bases without leaving anyone, out in my books).

other spaces for CIT survivors can be uncomfortable, unsafe, and focus too much on the trauma that created these systems or alters, while regular system spaces can be downright hostile towards survivors of CIT.

this inspired me, a childhood cult and sex trafficking survivor, to create my own space. a space for survivors like myself to be comfortable, safe, and not have to be censored for concern of being "too much."

disclaimer under cut !

this does not apply to "pro-para" stances. this server is strictly anti-para, so it is not a safe space for pro/com/dark shipping. this server is not an NSFW server, nor is it a shipping server. it's simply a social server. not that I should have to explain, but as a victim of the types of abuse fetishized and romanticized in these types of communities, its extremely triggering and I'm not going to set asside my triggers and safety to accommodate people I don't even agree with nor want to associate with in a space I created specifically because I wanted a space that did not include proshippers, because I couldn't find one. if you want to join a server that allows pro-para stances and proshippers, looking up "RAMCOA discord" on Tumblr will show them to you ! I know this, because I've had to leave 3 of them for allowing proshippers because it personally makes me uncomfortable. there are other spaces to accomodate you, please utilize those spaces, and stop forcing your beliefs onto me. no is no, respect that. my triggers will not change, just like how my triggers will not change your coping mechanisms.

respect my decisions, just as I respect yours. I dont want to share my safe space with triggering content, and you dont want to share your safe space with people who dont agree with your coping mechanisms ! so let's all be adults and move on ! why are you harassing me in my comments ?

[turnitsysclusive]

Being punk is:

supporting all of the LGBTQ+ community (this includes those with contributory labels, mspec people, intersex people, being pro-mogai, and pro-xenogenders)

supporting autistic people (this includes being supportive of stimming in public, being pro nonhuman identities, using tone tags when asked)

supporting dissociative trauma survivors (this includes calling out fakeclaiming**, believing itbc* abuse is real, believing persecutors are NOT "evil", systems with mixed origins)

supporting kink pride (this includes no contact paraphilias, "weird" kinks, being pro sex workers)

supporting all cluster-b disorders (this includes not viewing people with these disorders as "evil", not using terms like narc or yandere if you can't reclaim it, not viewing "narc abuse"/cluster b abuse as a real thing, not using "delusional" as an insult.)

* Intentional torture based conditioning

** this one original said "being anti Endo" and I just wanted to say that fakeclaimers calling out fakeclaimers will be more effective since fakeclaiming is a principal that affects everyone across the neurodiverse scale.

[evanescenceofrememberingc8]

The original post was written by an endo "system", so I'm rewriting it in my own words as well as with more detailed information.

So, what is HC-DID?

HC-DID is not an official or medically accurate term. The descriptor was made by the "system community" as a label for systems that have gone through RAMCOA/OEA abuse, which has influenced the infrastructure of the Dissociative Disorder.

"Trans-RAMCOA" "systems" or people that identify with said label are invalid and appropriating/romanticising RAMCOA/OEA survivor's trauma. If you identify as "Trans-RAMCOA" please leave this blog, this blog is not for you.

RAMCOA covers multiple trauma types. Not every RAMCOA survivor has a Dissociative Disorder. And from known studies, there is no reliable proof that a singular RAMCOA experience can cause DID/OSDD/UDD. Any type of severe prolonged abuse (including RAMCOA/OEA) can cause DID/OSDD/UDD to form.

Some experiences may include:

RA: Ritual Abuse. Some may interpret this as religious abuse revolving around cults; although, the more accurate interpretation is derived from ritualized abuse. This encompasses any abuse that has set time intervals or sequence of times done.

MC: Mind Control. This includes anything from TBMC, DBMC, HBMC, ITBC to BMC. This is the bending of one's psyche without their consent.

OA: Organized Abuse. This is abuse done by more than one perpetrator; including abuse methods used by an unethical facilities, organizations, companies, schools, prisons, and similar.

OEA: Organized Extreme Abuse. This is also abuse done by a group, however, the entire group is aware of the harm being done. This would include trafficking rings, gangs, mafias, cartels, cults, criminal groups or organizations and kidnapping schemes.

RAMCOA does not always mean programming! Programming falls under the MC part of RAMCOA.

Resources:

Organisedabuse.com (https://www.organisedabuse.com/)

ISSTD RAMCOA (https://news.isst-d.org/ritual-abuse-mind-control-and-organized-abuse-examining-our-history-and-looking-forward/)

FPP Ritual Abuse (https://www.firstpersonplural.org.uk/ritual-abuse/definition-of-ritual-abuse/)

KinHost Ritual Abuse (https://kinhost.org/Main/RitualAbuse)

Wordpress RAMCOA (https://ramcoa.wordpress.com/)

Organized Abuse Support (https://organizedabuse.support/)

Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453

Childwellfare Support (https://www.childwelfare.gov/how-report-child-abuse-and-neglect/)

Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888

Please comment any other resources you may know.

[canisferrous]

Really beginning the journey of research on RAMCOA/ITBC. Specifically in an effort to help my system understand that what we experienced was real. To help us remember. To help us believe ourselves.

Really beginning to gather addiction recovery literature and prepare to sift through it all to see what will help me stay clean long term.

Really beginning to try and get my chronic pain addressed by doctors.

Really beginning to get my space clean and livable again.

For us, this is healing and recovering.

[divinefleshandwires]

tw: itbc related ramblings, mentions of child abuse and torture

I figured I'd talk about the process of uncovering all of the horrific abuse we've been through. Sorry about the length.

We were "stable" once. We thought we had 20 alters at most. It was that way for many years. There were incidents where we said strange things or suddenly carried strange beliefs, but it was fine so long as we ignored it. The trauma we could remember was newer than our system. None of us knew why we actually developed the condition, much less so early. None of us could remember anything between 4-8, other than small glimpses of us acting like a dog and struggling to build up the courage to actually speak. We ignored these signs too. Then we were practically rescued by our friends. They got us out of our egg donor's house. We were finally safe after 2 decades. New alters began fronting, introducing themselves. We couldn't find them in the inner world. We began coming to and finding "new" alters logged in our sp. Every single time for a while it would be 3-5 more. These new faces were recording alters they knew of that we didn't. They were describing a headspace completely opposite to ours. And more of these others were describing a different space than theirs. We came to the conclusion these were layers. We began remembering things. Crying out for our mother. Being taken into a small room in a church. Being taken there at night. They always put veggietales on this really old tv they had in one of the rooms. "Demons" in masks entering our various bedrooms. Too many bedrooms. Bedrooms for houses we never lived in. Then the nightmares began. Every single night. Nightmares of the "demons" we saw waking us up in the middle of the night to rape us while we couldn't move a muscle. IV's pumping something extremely painful into us. Electricity making our limbs spasm and cramp. Drowning in ice cold water. Strings cutting into our wrists and ankles. Pins being pushed into our hands. Acting like a happy dog while giving bjs to men in black robes. Hide and seek games but the seekers have knives. We hold a knife in one of them. We stand over another child begging us not to hurt them. We start sobbing. "Please, I don't want to do this!" We scream. The kid disappears. The knife is now covered in blood. We recall having this dream before, when we were extremely young. A lot of these nightmares were like that. Nightmares we remembered having in our youth after we began having them again. We reverted to the sleeping patterns we used to have. Sleep a little in the morning, a little in the evening. We would be up all night, feeling a horrible sense of dread. Awaiting people that never come. We became riddled with fear and paranoia. We thought we were going crazy or having delusions. But the scars we didn't know the cause of lined up with the nightmares and memories we were being flooded with. We found the term ramcoa, but didn't think we could possibly be a victim of such a horrible thing. Of course, we came across the misinformation first. We thought that because it wasn't some massive government ordeal or a cult living away from society in the woods it didn't fit us. Then we found the term itbc. It fit us perfectly. Growing up I had this thing I'd "regress" into. I'd feel extremely powerful urges to offer myself to strangers and be their "puppy". I coped by sexting with pedos online. We would roleplay forced petplay and other very abusive things I won't get into. The host of the time eventually put his foot down on my activities when one of the strangers asked for our address. I got very suicidal. I felt worthless if I wasn't helping someone get off. I began doing it with friends at the time instead, behind the host's back. I think I might've switched, this is very off topic from what we were talking about. Oh well. I'm just gonna leave it here.

[ghost-jester-sys]

would you be uncomfortable if I maybe bugged you with a few questions about your personal experience with ramcoa?

I don't mean like "GRRRR TELL ME UR TRAUMA😡" promise!!! I just thought maybe I could attempt to reach out and understand my system better if you're ok with it

👁️🐕‍🦺anonymous

ur welcome to ask but b aware we wont share anything that cld put us at risk! also we prefer the terms ITBC/ITBMC and OEA as ramcoa has some prtty bad origins as a term

[granulesofsand]

tw: questions about programming, OA, and torture. examples, but it’s not very detailed.

additionally, can I ask.. what exactly counts as organized abuse? does it have to be sa? does it have to be sadistic and intentional? how many people minimum? lets say.. a family as a whole is abusive. Generationally and within one household. to each other and also at times together to harm one individual. is that organized abuse or are their more requirements than for their to be multiple perpetrators?

and as for programming.. does psychological manipulation and control over finances and relationships count? example.. if someone harasses you thru text with a goal of “if I threaten to leave or kms then they will do what I want.” or irl trying to get the victim to never leave them and cut off their relationships. or is programming more specific? do u think programming is more common than thought?

unrelated question. how does one know the difference between psychological abuse and psychological torture? how do you know it is intentional.. can it be driven by emotional outbursts? what if they have outbursts, but their actions/words are obviously manipulative and meant to guilt you or sway you one way?

🗝️🏷️ extreme abuse.

I’m not as soft as the others, but I tried not to be mean.

Organized abuse is intentionally covering a spectrum of situations, and the usual basic definition is multiple perpetrators with multiple victims (often the victims are children). A generational group absolutely counts, even if it falls short of the basic definition at a given time, but would probably have to be engaging in extreme abuse rather than any emotional/physical/sexual abuse alone. Think trafficking, torture, coercive control, structured means of committing and getting away with violence.

Organized abuse doesn’t require a sexual component, nor does it strictly have to be sadistic, but both are common and I can’t think of a situation that wouldn’t fit at least one of them. I don’t think you can accidentally get organized abuse, but those involved might not consider what they’re doing wrong.

Programming is a more nuanced conversation. If you’re talking about domestic violence or group dynamics, that term might come up and be correctly applied. Its definition in that context is not wholly synonymous with programming in CDD systems or the level and methods of control in high control groups. Both cases of programming are more common than people think, largely because people really don’t think.

My definition of programming requires intentional torture-based control (ITBC), and is a severe form of conditioning that is always coercive and hands-on. I would not correct someone using it to mean long-term coercion of any kind, but I would assume we were talking about different things.

I tend towards assuming that torture includes the more apparent Big Bads in addition to the intent of using them for a further goal. Psychological abuse brings to mind gaslighting and double binds, while psychological torture adds threats and actual abuse against others and forced perpetration, going further with confusing the victim’s reality to alter their identity or induce delusions.

The intent of it is more how far ahead they were planning. If they’re using manipulation tactics, but only in short periods with no long-term goal, it might accomplish a similar result on accident. Still not torture. If they’re having outbursts, but the outbursts are in line with a plan already set, that’d fall into torture.

More and more, people use the word torture to describe breaking someone’s will, their desire to make their own choices. I wouldn’t call that extreme abuse in every case, but I also wouldn’t tell people to pick a different word.

The watering down of language only really matters to me when people define themselves into the group also try to define me out of it. It’s like how people who don’t experience psychosis will call out-of-reach desires delusional, but call clinical delusions crazy. The looser definitions tend to be more widely applicable, and the pushing out of those using the stricter definition is the natural progression. It’s not a process I like, but neither is it one I know how to stop.

Use the words that will find you community, but don’t forget the multiple definitions. If that’s confusing, take the words that only applies to your experience. You are important, and so is everyone else. Mind both.

[cannibalcreature777]

🧠About Us🧠

This a blog with poems, writings, vents, and daily life things we go through. Our main topics will be about our life with HC-DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). We are a Polyfragmented system and an OEA/ITBC survivor.

We are professionally diagnosed with Autism, HC-DID, Tourettes Syndrome, Sciatica, EDs, and other disorders.

If you wish to join a community for OEA/ITBC survivors and systems, join our community we made on tumblr. Link below⤵️

https://www.tumblr.com/join/VAM6pqci

We use over It/It's pronouns

We are disabled, physically and mentally

To talk to us, join our discord server :

https://discord.gg/saA6qAQbkw

CW for more talk about what RAMCOA/OEA/ITBC is and our personal DNI and Fine to interact

RAMCOA is an old term that means Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse

🧠Ritual Abuse (RA) - Ritual Abuse takes place through any kind of religious following and activity, whether orthodox or otherwise, wherein individuals are forced to participate against their will. This abuse can be perpetrated by religious figures and their following. If your parents forced you to participate in their following of Christianity, this qualifies as a type of Ritual Abuse. You may be a victim of Ritual Abuse if you are a victim of any of the following: Forced Religion, Sexual Assault at the hands of a Trusted Religious Figure, Branding, Exposure to Inappropriate Topics or Visuals regarding Religion

��Trauma Based Mind Control (TBMC) - The full abbreviation of Trauma Based Mind Control refers to the intentional creation of a system through deliberate and repeated acts of trauma and abuse. Mind Control by itself as it relates to this topic refers to this being done unintentionally but by no means is one better or worse than the other. TBMC is accomplished through things like: Electro-convulsive Shock Therapy, Conversion Therapy, and Repeated acts of Ritual and/or Organized Abuse.These things can be done without intending to create a system but such severe acts of trauma on a young child can result in the same effect either way. MC by itself can be accomplished via: Ritual/Organized Abuse, Gaslighting, Manipulating a victim, or beating them.

🫁Organized Abuse (OA) - Organized Abuse is any consistent act of abuse that comes from a group. This can be: Sex Trafficking, Cults, Sexual Assault on a repeated basis, or in a single event in which a group perpetrates the act. Usually, RA and OA go hand in hand in some capacity. With those terms and definitions out of the way, let's talk about programming. There are many different types of programming that arise from different types of abuse.

The term RAMCOA, however, has been retired due to its problematic root origin, so the newer terms to use are OEA and ITBC.

OEA means Organized Extreme Abuse, and ITBC means Intitional Torture Based Control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🍖About Us

Traumagenic HC-DID System

OEA/ITBC Survivor

Just became an adult

AroAceFlux PanFlux Polyamerous (Taken ×1)

Agender/Nonbinary

Uses XenoGender

It/It's/GoreThemed Pronouns

Bodily Trans Masc Transitioning

Luciferian Witch

Traditional Artist

Book Writer, Poet, Song Writer

Fennec Fox Therian

OtherHearted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🥩We Support

Traumagenic Orgin System (We're okay with other Plural Orgin people as well as long as you are well informed and don't misinform people.

Pro Recovery

Pro-Para (Anti-Contact)

Kink Positive

Pro/Com/Dark Ship Positive

Anti Harassment Spec

Unharmful TransIDs (TransSpecies, random joke ones)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🦷Interact if....

DID/OSDD Systems

OEA/ITBC Survivors

Cult Survivors

Neurdivergent People

LGBTQIA+ community

Xenogender/Neo Pronouns users

Furries

Therians

Otherkin/Otherhearted

Autistic

ProPara (Anti Contact Only)

Anti Harassment spec.

🫁DNI Interact if....

Homophobic/Transphobic

Anti-Neo Pronouns/XenoGenders

TransHarmful Radqueer (such as TransAbuser, TransRAMCOA, TransProgrammer, Trans Disabled, trans age, trans race, etc.)

Thinking not wanting to fully fuse is "Anti-Recovery"

Forcing Religious practices

IRL/Kins that use system terms

People who believe introjects are same as sourse

Uses disabilities as an excuse to do bad things (basically blames bad things they do on their disability)

Pro Paras that are Neu/Pro Contac

Racists

Fatphobic

Xeno Satanism

Trans Race

[coining-system-terms]

Secret Keeper - a programmed alter who refuses to tell anyone certain information, whether it be about abusers, details of abuse or similar

Flag Meaning : The blue represents hidden information, or secrets. The gradient of colours represents how the secret keeper may be hiding different information from different people (ex: what can be "public knowledge," vs what can be known by abuser A vs what abuser B can know). The icon in the center represents holding secrets and the flag entirely mirrors the Tattletale flag as these roles are similar yet opposite.

[granulesofsand]

🗝️🏷️ mentions of intentional torture-based control (ITBC)

You won’t find many terms on Pluralpedia elsewhere; as much as the plural community is online, most conversations within occur less publicly, and not all terms are discussed at all. If you want a written record of the experience defined here, you should write one.

Aside from the term itself, you probably can find information that supports the existence of mind middleware and can be used to build it. Other function terms on Pluralpedia could fit into the concept as it applies to systems, and singlet-oriented analysis of conversation scripting and pattern recognition are fairly common in regards to autism and autistic masking.

We don’t call it mind middleware, but we do have mechanisms in our fronting area that achieve similar results. We call this area the Dome, and it appears as a sphere with ground at the center (there is a below, but it’s inaccessible to most). Contained there are self-aware basic and situational mannerisms for the collective, access to languages we might be expected to know, and memory storage. Connected are surveillance access, means of punishment, and cloaking to disguise co-presence of others and memory.

We have many mechanisms across the collective that are functional to that extent, some from having been programmed and others our own. The further we progress in healing, the blurrier the line gets. They’re all our own, all a result of our creativity, if twisted. You won’t need the twisting, only the creativity.

If you do write about your experience or what you’ve put together from other sources, I ask that you use another phrase apart from self-programming. As it pertains to people, programming at its broadest is synonymous with coercive control, the abusive version of just control. As a form of extreme abuse, it’s a step further into coercion than torture alone.

Whether programming can be done to a system by that system, it isn’t required to get structures, headmates, or patterns of thought and behavior. It can be a stretch to call it conditioning in the manipulative sense. Take care when examining mind middleware that you aren’t crossing into abusive control and internal perpetration.

But please do write. Write a paragraph, a page, a book. Leave a trail, find others who relate and become the evidence for the ones who come later. You were here, you knew about this. Oral history is important. Write it.

Does anyone have info about this? I'd love to read more about stuff written about this, but this seems to be the only thing I can find on it.

[itssheridanstudent-blog]

Our Carbon Footprint

Figure 1: Tread lightly dear friends (Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty, n.d)

People would buy more green products if they were only taught how to do so (Harvey, 2016). This blog is about showing you how you can care for the world you live in by a the few simple things you can do.

Our Carbon Foot print. We hear so much about how we are going through global warming, but we do not realize the role we play in it. I believe global warming is because we are mistreating the planet we live in. What is your carbon foot print look like and how it effects  our eco system. 

Watch Figure 2 video below by Simpleshow who explains what a carbon footprint is. This Video in simple terms really opens your eyes.

Figure 2: simpleshow explains the Carbon Footprint, (simpleshow, 2012).

We can help reduce carbon foot print in many small ways. You ask how do we reduce our carbon footprint to live in a more eco-friendly environment? You are probably thinking, it is easy said than done. Guess what, it is not that hard to reduce your carbon foot print. Reducing your carbon foot print is as simple as just turning off a few lights in your house. Using more organic local products to cook for your family. Even taking a walk to the Corner store instead of driving. It is hard to find local grown products in the winter. In the summer, my husband I try our best not only to support our local farmers, but also eat natural local gown produce. Cotap.org give us 25 ways to reduce our carbon foot print (Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty, n.d.).

What is your carbon Footprint like? Comment below what you do to reduce your carbon footprint?

By: Rebecca Paul

                                                   References

Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty. (n.d.). 25+ Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint. Retrieved from: https://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/

Harvey, C. (August 16, 2016). “People would buy green products – if only e-commerce showed them how.” Washington Post, Business Collection. Retrieved from: http://go.galegroup.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/ps/i.do?p=ITBC&u=ko_acd_shc&id=GALE|A460858661&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon

Simpleshow. (December 18, 2012). simpleshow explains the Carbon Footprint. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q7_aV8eLUE

Tread lightly dead friends. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://wwf.panda.org/_/footprint/

[engl2030021]

Toxic Masculinity 101 Understood Through Varying Literature

By Lydia Buttrick

Toxic Masculinity is a term that describes the “dominant male” sexist ideals held within society. The standard belief instilled within men beginning at birth is to remain stoic, unemotional, to sexualize and objectify women, and celebrate violence. While not explicitly “taught” to boys as children, socialization in school, the media, and other daily exposures push these behaviors onto men in exchange for social acceptance. Recognizing the presence of toxic masculinity within our patriarchal culture has helped explain why there is such a disparity between men and women’s behaviors - as once thought to be simply a result of biological differences. With the feminist movement gaining more press, there seems to be a more open narrative on the socialization of gender that perpetuates toxic male behavior. Below is a collection of both popular and academic resources aimed to help better understand the overall implications of toxic masculinity.  The list of articles and journals below give a general overview on toxic masculinity’s presence within society as writers and scholars share their personal experience and research on the topic.

1.)

Smithstein, Samantha. "Toxic Masculinity: What Is It and How Do We Change It?" Psychology Today. October 02, 2018. Accessed March 01, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201810/toxic-masculinity-what-is-it-and-how-do-we-change-it.

John Leimer tells his story of his experience with toxic masculinity in this popular source, as he, like most members of our society, subconsciously subscribe to the notions behind it. John describes that males place the value of success on powerful jobs, wealth, and status. Women are not given the same standards of success as they are held to a standard of beauty and how her “personality” aligns with her attractiveness. Women are subconsciously subscribing to toxic masculinity as the more beauty she holds, the more draw she has to the male in power. Leimer describes his journey toward realization of this sexist societal system and how he, and most other males, rely on their power to seduce and sexualize women. He describes the process in which he worked to end this power dynamic within his life and focus on meaningful connections with the people around him, as opposed to an individualistic way of life with the notion of “what can I gain from this person?”. Leimer offers a first hand perspective of the common toxic masculine “trap” men fall into, and may relate to the reader as his experience is one many face as males within our culture. He explains that the solution in which he calls “healthy masculinity”; “Healthy masculinity means I must stand against my own actions that cause harm to others and myself.”

2.)

Clemens, Colleen. "What We Mean When We Say, "Toxic Masculinity"." Teaching Tolerance. December 11, 2017. Accessed March 01, 2019. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-we-mean-when-we-say-toxic-masculinity.

Colleen Clemens, a classroom teacher, discusses the narrative of toxic masculinity she finds necessary to talk about within the classroom. In this popular source, Clemens highlights the common stigma behind the term “toxic masculinity”, and how its negative reactions bring teachers to avoid the topic all together. In wake of recent gun violence, Clemens urges educators to talk to students about the unhealthy promotion of violence within masculinity, and the little differences men and women have biologically. We typically associate certain characteristics with being “man” and “women” - like guns, rage, and power with men, and sex, beauty, and emotions with women. However, as research shows, there are minimal differences between sexes and most of them are artificially engineered in our culture to separate the two and create a power dynamic. This article is the first of a three-part series on the discussion of toxic masculinity, and offers a teacher’s perspective ways of discussing the topic with students and children.

3.)

Bruell, Alexandra. "P&G Challenges Men to Shave Their 'Toxic Masculinity' in Gillette Ad." The Wall Street Journal. January 15, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/p-g-challenges-men-to-shave-their-toxic-masculinity-in-gillette-ad-11547467200.

The Wall Street Journal journalist Alexandra Bruell reacts to the infamous 2018 Gillette advertisement seeking to showcase toxic masculinity and the need for men to stop playing into it, as a response to the #MeTooMovement. Bruell discusses in this popular source the backlash from men to the advertisement, with many feeling like it was putting all men in a bad light. Other men said they felt attacked, criticized, and accused. The result of this advertisement brought much dialogue which, negative or positive, sparked good conversation about the topic of toxic masculinity. While Bruell did not share her personal opinion on the message of the advertisement, she highlighted the power brands have to start good discussion about these kinds controversial topics, and how many advertisers are using this ability for social change. This article showcases how the topic of toxic masculinity is becoming more mainstream, and the opposing reactions it can bring.

4.)

Kastler, Laura. "The Boy Code and Toxic Masculinity." ParentMap. March 07, 2018. Accessed March 02, 2019. https://www.parentmap.com/article/how-boys-suffer-the-boy-code-and-toxic-masculinity.

Laura Kastner, psychologist and writer for Parent Map, a blog for parents, talks about the negative effects and suffering toxic masculinity brings to young boys. Kastner describes in this popular source her professional experience trying to educate young boys and parents alike on the dangers of toxic masculinity, resulting many times in negative reactions. She describes “boy code” in which all men are “gendered” to fear anything feminine, including strong emotions and compassion, and to maintain a disposition of stoicness and power. Kastner offers a solution to this unhealthy expectation; “to validate boys’ feelings when they are experiencing negative emotions, trust and show compassion for boys’ tender issues, and enhance self acceptance”. This article not only explains the negative effects of toxic masculinity, but presents ways to combat it.

5.)

Hesse, Monica. "How Should Conversations about Toxic Masculinity Deal with the Toxic Women Who Also Perpetuate It?" The Washington Post. January 18, 2019. Accessed March 02, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-should-conversations-about-toxic-masculinity-deal-with-the-toxic-women-who-also-perpetuate-it/2019/01/18/ef4fa976-1a69-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5b99c5c08a53.

Monica Hesse, an author for The Washington Post talks about toxic masculinity in this popular source and how it is perpetuated by the women who subscribe to it. Hesse’s article was sparked by the Gillette advertisement highlighting the effects toxic masculinity has on men, urging men to “do better”. Hesse describes her reaction in watching the ads, and interprets it as an uneven dig on men without highlighting the push from women that feeds into the unhealthy power dynamic. Hesse shares her experience on writing about the topic of toxic masculinity, and describes how much of the toxic masculine behaviors from men stem from feeling a push toward it by the women in their life - mothers urging their sons not to cry, wives telling their husbands to cut the emotions. While the Gillette ad sent the message that “men need to monitor men”, the truth is that it is both men and women furthering the negative ideals of masculinity. This article explains the role women play in the toxic masculine narrative engrained in men, and this, Hesse claims, is what our culture needs to focus on in order to change the gender impact on society.

6.)

Douglas, Susan J. "Why Toxic Masculinity Hurts Men as Well as Women." In These Times, July 18, 2017. Quoted in "Why Toxic Masculinity Hurts Men as Well as Women." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (accessed March 5, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/QFXBLF796592516/OVIC?u=auraria_main&sid=OVIC&xid=9c84a8db.

Susan Douglas, a professor at The University of Michigan, studies and writes on the dynamics of sexism. This academic source provides a common misconception of toxic masculinity as the “hatred of men”, and points out that this stigma and misbelief perpetuates the toxicity within the topic toxic masculinity. Douglas describes the negative effects of societal expectations of men are, including the promotion of violence, sexualization of women, and lack of emotions. This, Douglas describes, is true toxic masculinity and it is hurting men and women alike. She discusses studies that have shown a positive correlation between men who accept and subscribe to toxic masculinity, and those who commit suicide, suffer from alcoholism and addiction, and other criminal behavior. While toxic masculinity aims to steer men away from seeking psychological help like counseling, men in turn internalize their emotions and act irrationally as a result. Lastly, Hesse explains that feminists and progressives often times blame men for this behavior, failing to understand that it is also women and the media that feed into the toxicity. This article highlights the ways in which some feminists fail to understand the faults in misconceptions they hold on gender equality, and how even “progressives” in gender issues miss the mark with toxic masculinity.

7.)

Posadas, Jeremy. "Teaching the cause of rape culture: toxic masculinity." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 33, no. 1 (2017): 177+. Business Collection (accessed March 5, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A491250360/ITBC?u=auraria_main&sid=ITBC&xid=5c5613b9.

Jeremy Posadas is a writer for the Journal of Feminist Studies and Religion and a professor in religious, gender, and sexuality studies. This academic source discusses the curriculum in his course dubbed “Sex, Self, and Society”. In this class, he examines with his students the role of religion and how it emphasizes sex differently, the ethics of sex, pornography, marriage, gender, and topics alike. Posadas structures a unit in the semester around rape culture and the victims of sexual violence, and highlights how the result of this dialogue points to the students always coming back to toxic masculinity being the root of sexual abuse. This article gives a unique sociological perspective on the unknowing understanding students have on the culture that feeds into sexual issues as a product of toxic masculinity.

8.)

Monaghan, Peter. "The Fight Against 'Toxic Masculinity." The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 15, 2017, A8+. General Reference Center GOLD (accessed March 5, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A521459033/GRGM?u=auraria_main&sid=GRGM&xid=8abf79b4.

Peter Monaghan is a writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education, an academic journal that holds advice columns, career building tools, current news, and other current event discussions. In the academic journal The Fight Against Toxic Masculinity, Monaghan examines the behaviors that feed into toxic masculinity. He writes about a study at Stony Brook University that sought to understand the graduation rate different between men and women, which was 17% less among the male student body. Charles Robbins, a professor at SBU, met with 100 male students because he felt there was a social stigma around “asking for help”. In his meetings, he found that initially, the men were closed off and uncomfortable, especially when Robbins attempted to get them to “open up” - talking about issues like sexuality, pornography, and stress. In his discussions, he was able to understand that much of the issues around men staying in school had to do with their perceived inability within themselves to conform to “masculine standards”; having adequate sex, drinking, and so on. As a result of his findings, he came up with the program he called the “male success team” that sought out red flags within struggling male students and worked to create a healthy dialogue within men as to the issues of toxic masculinity and their effects in college settings. The success of the program brought Monaghan to share its beneficial results and urges institutions to hold programs like these, and have more open dialogues on the effects of toxic masculinity. This article explains the specific consequences of toxic masculinity in college settings, and illustrates ways in which it can be combated by open conversations.  

9.)

Parent, M. C., Gobble, T. D., & Rochlen, A. (2018). Social media behavior, toxic masculinity, and depression. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, doi:http://dx.doi.org.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/men0000156

Mike C. Parent, Teresa D. Gobble, and Austin Rochlen study the correlations between social media use and toxic masculinity within men. The study took 402 men and assessed toxic masculinity on 3 subscales; sexism, heterosexism, and competitiveness.This academic source examines research conducted via online surveys and results showed a positive effect of social media use and toxic masculinity resulting in depression. The more time spent on social media within the male subjects directly produced higher levels of depression and the internalization of it within males. The more a male subject endorsed masculine norms, the more they internalized and avoided seeking help for mental health issues. Social media was also shown to directly promote toxic masculine standards, including maintaining low emotion, support violence, and the sexualization and objectification of women. This study ties together the perpetuation of depression and toxic masculinity from social media ues, and directly links all three together.  

10.)

Creighton, Genevieve, and John L. Oliffe. "Theorising masculinities and men's health: a brief history with a view to practice." Health Sociology Review 19, no. 4 (2010): 409+. Academic OneFile (accessed March 5, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A250886433/AONE?u=auraria_main&sid=AONE&xid=3f2725f9.

Genevieve Creighton and John L. Oliffe study the physical implications of toxic masculinity in this academic source, as history suggests that men are more likely to die earlier than women because of physical debilitation. A common belief was that this was because of biological reasons, but modern research shows that it may be a more artificial correlation because of social engineered toxic masculinity. A link between masculine social norms, death, and illness has been discovered and Creighton and Oliffe conclude that this link must be addressed to intervene and stop the perpetuation of these dangers. This article highlights the physical effects of toxic masculinity, directly linking it to early death within males.

[coining-system-terms]

Tattletale - An alter who tells handlers when another alter goes against their programming.

Flag Meaning : The green stripes represent insecurity and fear of failure or punishment if the alter doesn't report to the handler(s). The high number of stripes represents this being a repeating pattern of behaviour. The stripes getting thinner as they get further from the center represents the lack of trust the system may feel toward this alter.

[coining-system-terms]

Defeciopus : an alter who is programmed but the program doesn't act as intended, wasn't reinforced enough or other reason.

Flag Meaning : The black in the center represents the programmer / handler / abuser. The white on the outside represents the rest of the system. The gradient represents how failed the program could be. The weak link icon in the alternate flag represents the alter being a weak link in the programming or being called one.

[coining-system-terms]

Childhood ITBC survivor

Flag Meaning : The cracks show the trauma responses due to the ITBC, this especially refers to alters and dissociative barriers. The shades of yellow and gold show the losses that result from the torture, and the conditioning itself. The light pale yellow represents the memory loss and amnesia that the brain uses to cope, a lack of knowledge and a lack of self. The gold colour scheme represents childhood.