The Manifestation of Constructed Toxic Masculinity and Its Exemplified, Authentic Representation in the TV Show Euphoria

Almost everyone has their own preconceived notions about the definition of masculinity and what it takes to be a man. Heartless, tough, unrealistically brave and the hero of every figurative and literal story, men are raised with a prolonged set of rules of how to be. Thus, for a deeper delve into understanding the concept of constructed manhood, this paper will mainly focus on comprehending and analysing observable toxic masculinity traits of the fictional character “Nate Jacobs”— an ۱۸-year-old antagonist teenage boy from the TV series “Euphoria” who is struggling and has an off-balanced and yet resonating behavior — and that how this toxicity is illustrated in ۲۱st C. American cultural productions. Additionally, rather than mere close reading of a character, inspecting Nate’s behavior, his reactions towards different events, his surroundings and his childhood trauma will also be done through an eclectic choice of frameworks. For a better apprehension regarding the character’s reason to abide and behave according to the society’s expectations, the work of Grayson Perry “The Descent of Man” alongside other secondary sources are applied to the process of close reading the exemplified character as magnifying filters. This paper will hopefully be a simple guideline for anyone who is curious to see how toxic masculinity begins to be, function and is dealt with by the American society and men who are at odds with it themselves.