TOXIC MASCULINITY AND THE MEDIA'S ROLE IN CHANGING PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVES ABOUT IT.

Toxic masculinity is a term that describes the cruel types of ideas about the male gender role. The term is defined as exaggerated masculine traits like being violent, unemotional, sexually aggressive and so forth. It also suggests that men who act too emotional or maybe are not violent enough or do not do all of the things that "real men" do, cannot be regarded as men. A lot of people confuse the difference between masculinity and toxic masculinity. However, one can be masculine without having toxic masculinity.

Some beliefs about toxic masculinity are that:
- interactions between men and women always have to be about competition rather than cooperation,
- men can never truly understand women,
- men and women can never truly be just friends,
- the idea that "real men" need to be strong and not show emotions because that is considered as a sign of weakness, and that
- "real men" can never be victims of abuse and that if they ever become victims, talking about it is considered as shameful.

The media can change people's perspectives on toxic masculinity by:
- not portraying men as always strong and powerful than women but also allowing them to show their weaknesses and downfalls,
- not giving men positions that are way above women's,
- showing men that doing "female stuff" is not considered as being gay, and by
- allowing men to show their feminine side without being ashamed.

Toxic masculinity can only be prevented if we teach boys from a young age that it is okay to not be too strong, it is okay to not be violent, it is okay to like the color pink instead of blue or green and that it is okay to be soft.

COMMERCIALIZATION OF RELIGION IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNDERLYING ISSUE(S)

I would like to think that people lack a sense of belonging. They are desperate to find something to believe in to the point that they end up believing every little thing that comes their way without gathering all the facts and the necessary information related to it. Many people are desperate for miracles and blessings. Poverty and unemployment are at the center of people's reliance on these fake pastors and prophets. They are desperate and they will do just about every and anything they are told to do if they are promised that it will change their lives. Some of these people rely too much on religion that they believe every little thing that is related to religion. A lot of African people do not question the existence of God like the people in the Western World do, instead they see these fake prophets as messengers from God. These pastors; or rather fake prophets; on the other hand are desperate for fame, followers and money. These so-called prophets are business people that are taking advantage of the poor and troubled souls and are making a living for themselves through their misery. These prophets also gain power from having politicians that are faithful members of their churches. They believe that if they can win over the people that are running a country then there is nothing stopping them from doing just about anything even toying with desperate people's feelings. The actual reality is that these fake prophets are fake and they are just scammers looking to make a quick cash from desperate people.