From lifted trucks to anti-vegan rage, toxic masculinity is wrecking the Earth.
We usually talk about toxic masculinity in terms of social issues—violence, power, emotional repression. But it’s quietly wreaking havoc on the planet, too. The same macho mindset that treats compassion as weakness also treats nature as something to dominate, exploit, or ignore. It’s not just personal—it’s political, cultural, and environmental. And it shows up in everything from who drives the biggest gas-guzzler to who’s most likely to call climate change a hoax.
When being a real man means resisting change, mocking science, and seeing environmentalism as soft or feminine, guess what doesn’t happen? Climate action. And while this isn’t about blaming all men, it’s about calling out the patterns that are literally baked into the culture. Because the planet isn’t asking us to be perfect—just to care enough to change.
1. Climate denial is often rooted in performative masculinity and fear of looking weak.
According to a 2024 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, men were more likely to deny climate change than women, and perceptions of threatened masculinity contributed to this tendency. And it’s not just about politics. It’s often about identity. For some, accepting climate science feels like admitting vulnerability or powerlessness, which clashes with traditional masculine norms that glorify control and toughness.
It’s the emotional version of doubling down. If climate change is real, it means change is needed—and that can feel threatening to people raised to see change as weakness. So rather than face that discomfort, some lean into denial harder.
It’s not always conscious, but it’s definitely cultural. And the result is a huge chunk of the population refusing to act—not because of facts, but because doing so might bruise their pride.
2. The obsession with big trucks and “manly” cars is a climate disaster.
There’s nothing subtle about it—massive pickup trucks and lifted SUVs have become status symbols tied to toughness, independence, and old-school masculinity. But here’s the catch: many of them are completely unnecessary for daily life. Per Laura Cozzi for International Energy Agency, SUVs accounted for 48% of global car sales in 2023 and were responsible for over 20% of the growth in global energy-related CO₂ emissions that year.
This isn’t just about personal preference—it’s about image. For some, driving a hybrid or electric car feels like giving something up, or worse, like looking soft. So they double down on the biggest, loudest thing they can afford. More pollution, more oil dependence, and a culture that treats sustainability like a punchline instead of a priority.
3. Mocking plant-based diets has become a weird form of macho rebellion.
Somehow, eating less meat became controversial—and not because of taste. For many, refusing a plant-based option isn’t about food at all. It’s about defending a certain image of masculinity that says real men eat burgers, not tofu. A 2024 study reported by AP News states, men eat more meat than women globally, with the gap widening in richer, more gender-equal countries—highlighting its link to masculine identity.
This mindset doesn’t just impact dinner—it fuels demand for meat-heavy diets that carry a huge environmental toll. Livestock farming is a major contributor to methane emissions, deforestation, and water use. But instead of seeing plant-based eating as a smart, future-facing choice, some see it as a threat to their identity. And when masculinity feels more important than sustainability, even our food becomes part of the problem.
4. Risk-taking culture discourages sustainable choices and long-term thinking.
Toxic masculinity often celebrates risk-taking, bravado, and the idea that “real men” don’t play it safe. That attitude might work in action movies—but it’s terrible for climate action. When short-term wins, personal freedom, or thrill-seeking are prioritized over long-term consequences, you end up with a culture that shrugs off environmental responsibility as someone else’s problem.
Driving fast cars, wasting resources, or refusing to change habits isn’t just framed as normal—it’s celebrated as bold or rebellious. But what’s really happening is a refusal to think ahead. Sustainable choices require planning, patience, and a little humility—all things macho culture tends to reject. The result is a system that rewards recklessness while the environment quietly absorbs the damage. And if caring about the future is seen as weakness, it makes progress a whole lot harder.
5. Political leaders who perform toughness often block environmental progress.
In politics, masculinity is often performed like a role—projecting strength, dominance, and an anti-regulation stance that appeals to traditional ideals of power. But that performance has real consequences, especially when it comes to the climate. Leaders who frame environmental policy as “soft,” “woke,” or “anti-business” often win points with voters who equate toughness with resisting change.
This isn’t about disagreement—it’s about posturing. Some politicians don’t just oppose climate action; they mock it. They roll back regulations, greenlight drilling, and pose with gas-guzzling trucks like they’re props in a movie.
And while they flex for the cameras, sea levels rise and disasters get worse. When leadership is built on rejecting science and glorifying dominance, the climate crisis doesn’t just stall—it accelerates.
6. Emotional suppression blocks empathy for climate victims and future generations.
One of the core traits of toxic masculinity is the belief that showing emotion—especially concern, fear, or sadness—is a sign of weakness. But those emotions are exactly what motivate people to take action, especially in the face of something as overwhelming as climate change. When you’re taught to suppress your feelings, it becomes harder to empathize with others, whether it’s flood survivors across the world or your own kids dealing with a hotter future.
Climate change isn’t just a science issue—it’s a human one. It affects real people in real time, often the most vulnerable first. But when empathy is pushed aside in favor of toughness, it becomes easier to ignore suffering or call it “someone else’s problem.” A culture that devalues emotional awareness doesn’t just hurt relationships—it dulls the sense of urgency needed to act before it’s too late.
7. Anti-science attitudes thrive in hyper-masculine environments.
Toxic masculinity tends to value instinct, dominance, and personal belief over nuance, collaboration, or expert opinion. That’s a big reason why anti-science rhetoric finds such a comfortable home in hyper-masculine spaces—where admitting you don’t know something can be seen as weak and deferring to experts feels like losing control.
When science becomes “elitist” or “political,” it’s easier to dismiss climate facts as just another opinion. And once that distrust is in place, denial spreads fast. Climate scientists become the enemy, not the people trying to help. A refusal to engage with basic facts, no matter how dire the warnings get. In these circles, rejecting science isn’t just accidental—it’s part of the identity. And that identity is holding back solutions we desperately need.
8. Consumer culture encourages men to prove status through wasteful habits.
In a lot of advertising aimed at men, success isn’t shown through sustainability—it’s shown through excess. Bigger trucks, more gadgets, constant upgrades, and flashy toys are marketed as signs of strength and dominance. The more you consume, the more powerful you’re supposed to appear. And that mindset fuels a level of resource use the planet simply can’t handle.
This kind of overconsumption isn’t framed as careless—it’s framed as aspirational. Reducing, reusing, or consuming less is seen as boring, cheap, or even emasculating. But buying your way into manhood has a cost, and it’s not just financial. It’s environmental. When we link masculinity with nonstop consumption, we build a culture where waste becomes part of the image—and sustainability is seen as something to mock or ignore.
9. Fear of vulnerability keeps men from joining climate movements.
Caring about the environment means caring about people, about animals, about the future. And that kind of care takes vulnerability. You have to admit that something matters to you, that you’re worried, or that you want change. But in cultures steeped in toxic masculinity, showing that kind of emotional openness is often seen as soft—or even shameful.
That means fewer men joining climate marches, fewer opening up in community discussions, and fewer stepping into roles where emotional leadership is needed. Not because they don’t care—but because they’ve been told it’s not their role.
Breaking that pattern doesn’t mean being less masculine. It means redefining strength to include care, compassion, and courage. The planet doesn’t need perfection. It needs people who are willing to feel—and act—on what matters.
10. Gender equality leads to stronger climate action—so fighting it holds us back.
Research shows that when women have more leadership and equality, climate policy improves. Countries with higher gender equality tend to have stronger environmental protections and are more likely to sign climate agreements. But toxic masculinity resists that shift, treating feminism and inclusion as threats instead of solutions. That resistance doesn’t just hurt people—it slows progress for the entire planet.
The fight against gender equity and the fight against climate action often go hand in hand, driven by the same outdated ideas about who should hold power and who gets to be heard. But the truth is, the climate crisis needs everyone at the table. The longer we cling to old hierarchies, the harder it becomes to build a future that works for anyone. Dismantling toxic masculinity isn’t just social progress—it’s a climate solution.