Hegemonic & Toxic Masculinites in Probation

After having read the Kuper's reading about toxic masculinity I began to think about it in terms of probation. While many of the end results of displaying toxic masculinity (and being caught for it) will put you in prison the probation side often sees a less drastic measure of toxic masculinity. When I say less drastic version I am referring to violence. If a person commits a violent crime they often go to prison and probation officers don't work with prison population. With having said that toxic masculinity comes to the surface in terms of respect, insensitivity to others and being dependent on others.

Respect is often the biggest cause of exhibiting toxic masculinity. Most men, not all are often driven by being respected. It comes from the masculinity trait of power. Being respected brings a sense of power or entitlement to people. When that is sense of respect is challenged it leads to acting out with toxic masculinities. In probation I would be dealing with offenders who feel that they have been disrespected which landed them in jail, but more importantly if I wanted to successfully help these people I would have to give them respect to truly connect with them.
Another way toxic masculinity is seen in probation is insensitivity to others. To make a long story short, the people I work with have committed a crime against someone, something or a large group and that is the ultimate way to display being insensitive to others.
Lastly, toxic masculinity is portrayed when a man has negative feelings towards being dependent on someone. Along with respect I feel this is the most difficult part of conquering toxic masculinity in probation. Once a man is placed on probation he is either out of jail or has committed a crime leaving him with not a lot of resources so he becomes dependent on people to help him accomplish daily tasks. This sense of dependency becomes very intimidating to men and they often react negatively towards it which leads to the display of toxic masculinity.

After having read the Kuper's reading I started to think of how to recognize toxic masculinity and how to work through it. I don't think this type of masculinity will ever go away, so it becomes every individuals persons job to recognize it and help men try to overcome it.