Tia Cutting

Molly Fenn

English 4

16 October 2020

Toxic Masculinity in Male Characters

Their Eyes Were Watching God ​by Zora Neale Hurston is the story of Janie and her

growth as a person. One of the main themes of the book is relationships. Janie has three

husbands throughout the book and she learns from these sometimes abusive relationships. While

the issues with how she is treated could be recognized even then, nowadays we would classify

these traits further, as toxic masculinity. All three of Janie's husbands throughout the book

exhibit signs of toxic masculinity in different ways. One through his view of Janie as simply an

asset, one through his need to be in control of others, and one by the way he expresses his

emotions through violence.

Toxic masculinity is a term that's thrown around a lot in the modern age, but what does it

really mean? Toxic masculinity, also known as harmful masculinity, are the behaviors and ideas

that come from traditional masculine ideals but end up being damaging. Some examples of this

are repressing emotions, trying to maintain an image of toughness, exerting control over others,

and violence (Salam). These end up hurting both men and women. For example, men are pushed

to be tough and are not allowed to express emotions, whereas women have to endure harassment.

Toxic masculinity also shows itself through crime statistics. According to the US Department of

Justice, in 2012, 88.7% of those arrested for murder were male (Crime). Not only are men more

likely to commit violent crimes, but they are also more likely to be victims of violent crime
(Bureau). This does not mean that men or masculinity is inherently toxic, it only refers to the

negative behaviors that can result from societal pressures to be "manly".

Janie's first husband, Logan Killicks, displays this in a more subtle way that might fly

under the radar. He doesn't beat Janie or get in fights with other men. Instead, he views himself

as the most important and views his wife only in relation to himself. ¨You ain't got no particular

place. It´s wherever Ah need yuh" (Hurston 31). He doesn't respect Janie as her own person with

her own duties, he thinks of her as a tool for him to use however it benefits him the most. At first

glance, or first read, it may not be obvious how this ties into toxic masculinity. However,

because Mr. Killicks views his wife as lesser than him, he creates an uneven power dynamic in

their marriage. Feeling the need to maintain control over others is an example of toxic

masculinity. We see this control play out in how he demands her to do tasks, even if she has no

experience with it, ¨Muh fust wife never bothered me bout choppin´ no wood nohow. She´d grab

dat ax and sling chips lak uh man. You done been spoilt rotten" (Hurston 26). He expects her to

do anything he demands of her. Mr. Killicks controlling behavior towards Janie is a sign of toxic

masculinity because he sees himself as having the right to be in charge of her actions.

Some may argue that he does it out of love; his control is just to protect her. Janie was put

into this marriage by her grandmother with the intention of protecting her. Nevertheless,

intentions often don't matter as much as the impact that they have. Even if his intentions were

good, his actions were harmful. People base their opinions of others on the effects their actions

have because no one can ever really know what others are thinking. Because this is the case, his

controlling behavior was wrong.

Janie was unhappy with Mr. Killicks, he did not fit the vision of love she had for herself.

When she met Joe Starks, she saw him as an escape into a new life. Unfortunately, their initial
rapport was overshadowed by similar issues to Mr. Killicks. Soon after arriving in the town, it

became clear that Joe's drive came from the need for power. The dominant demeanor he displays

in the town comes at the cost of Janie's freedom. The others in the town notice this, one man

even asks, "¨What makes her keep her head tied up lak some ole ´oman round de store? Nobody

couldn't git me tuh tie no rag on mah head if Ah had hair lak dat¨ (49). Joe makes Janie tie up her

hair while she's in the store because he is possessive of her. He knows that other men will look at

her, so he limits her freedom of dress in order to sooth his own insecurity. His idea is that other

men will try to get with her no matter what so they can't be held accountable, instead she is. In

many ways this is similar to how dress codes work today. Dress codes unfairly target women's

clothing in an attempt to protect them from inappropriate advances. This shifts the blame from

the men who are acting inappropriately to the women just trying to get through the day. Both of

these examples demonstrate a culture of toxic masculinity, one in which it is acceptable for men

to behave improperly but women's responsibility to prevent them.

In another instance, someone suggests that she make a small speech on behalf of the new

store but Joe speaks up before her and does not let her speak. Janie refers back to a metaphor

used throughout the novel, by saying that Joe's action "took the bloom off of things" (43). The

bloom is mentioned at the beginning of the book and represents Janie's view of an ideal

relationship. This moment when Joe takes away a piece of her personal freedom, taints the

relationship for her. This gives us not only an idea of how Joe perpetuates toxic masculinity, but

also how others are affected by it.

Janie's third husband, Tea Cake, while being the only one she truly loved, is also the most

obvious example of toxic masculinity out of the three. Tea Cake uses violence to prove his

dominance over others. When a new man, Mrs. Turner's brother, came to visit and met Janie, Tea
Cake was filled with jealousy. To assert his claim over her, he beat Janie. He described the

experience to the men in the fields the next day, "Ah didn´t whup Janie cause she done nothin´.

Ah beat her tuh show dem Turners who is boss. Ah set in de kitchen one day and heard dat

woman tell mah wife Ah´m too blak fuh her. She don´t see how Janie can stand me" (148). Tea

Cake felt that Mrs. Turner was undermining him in his relationship by telling Janie that she

shouldn't be with him, and then she brought along her brother as someone who could be a match

for Janie. Tea Cake could have expressed his worry and frustration by talking to Janie, but

instead he acts out in violence. This behavior matches behavior described by the American

Psychological Associations article on harmful masculinity, ​"Aggression can result when a man

experiences stress deriving from self-perceived failure to live up to masculine expectations"

(Harmful Masculinity). His personal insecurities are not something that he knows how to deal

with in a healthy way so he turns to violence and aggression.

One could argue that the mistakes Janie's husbands made were issues with them

specifically and not a bigger issue with the culture. However, this mentality of toxic masculinity

arises in other male characters as well. After Tea Cake beats Janie in chapter 17, others admire

him. They don't condemn his actions, they admit that they would do the same thing if their wives

didn't fight back. This makes it clear that these ideas are part of a culture of toxic masculinity,

where men are taught implicitly that this is how they need to act.

The male characters in Zora Neale Hurston's novel​ u​ ndoubtedly reflect the real-world

topic of toxic masculinity. The three relationships Janie experiences through the book highlight

this. Her first husband sees her as lesser, the second controls her instead of holding other men

accountable, and the third resorts to reassuring himself through violence. It is important to be

able to identify these types of behaviors so we know how to solve them. By teaching boys to
express their emotions in healthy ways we can build a more peaceful society where masculinity

is utilized in a positive way.

Works Cited

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS),​ ​www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp​.

“Crime in the United States.” ​FBI: UCR,​ 2012,

ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/42tabledatadecoverviewpdf

/table_42_arrests_by_sex_2012.xls.

“Harmful Masculinity and Violence.” ​American Psychological Association​, American

Psychological Association, Sept. 2018,

www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2018/09/harmful-masculinity​.

​ arper Perennial, 2006.

Salam, Maya. “What Is Toxic Masculinity?” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times,

22 Jan. 2019, ​www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html​.