MH
SA
Toxic Masculinity
A look into how this concept may influence how men speak about mental health
Denis Margalik hopes his story will encourage young male student athletes to come forward and share their stories. He believes that many men are held back by toxic masculinity, which is when men feel pressure to have unemotional, violent or sexually aggressive traits in order to be a man, according to the New York Times.
Before arriving at Western University, the figure skater was unwilling to talk about his mental health.
"I felt weak and I didn’t want to open up about that [mental health], especially with male skating and the stereotype of it being too feminine on guys,” Margalik says.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Denis Margalik performing during the 2014 Skate Canada
National Championships in Ottawa. Margalik hopes to
inspire other male athletes to open up about their
mental health. (Photo credit: Denis Margalik)
​
There is research that supports the notion that men are less likely to talk about their mental health. For example, men are less likely to use wellness services than women and are more likely to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol, according to a 2017 study by the National College Health Assessment.
​
SAMHI co-lead Angelica Galluzzo says the topic of toxic masculinity has come up before during SAMHI team discussions at Western.
“Some of the males have stepped up and said that they don’t feel comfortable necessarily talking about it in their change rooms whereas the females are more comfortable,” she says.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
WATCH: SAMHI at Western co-leads Angelica Galluzzo and
Nakisha Slavin talk about the importance of their team being an open and inclusive environment for all members. (Video credit: Shannon Coulter and Michael Marti)
​
Margalik is studying sports medicine at Western with the goal to teach young athletes how to care for their mental health. He says that he has yet to hear any high-profile male figure skaters speak out and hopes that he is trailblazer for others.
“I like to think that I in a way was one of the pioneers that helped by opening up about it,” Margalik says. “I hope that guys that are higher ranked in the skating world can be more of an advocate for mental health and influence younger men and boys to open up about it.”
Margalik also fears that toxic masculinity will affect the future of male figure skating. He recalls how many students would assume that he was gay because of his sport and, while this never bothered him, he knows other athletes who were hurt by these types of assumptions.
“It puts a fear onto the parents and onto the men to get involved [in figure skating] because they don’t want to show that they are weak,” Margalik says. “I really hope the mental health initiatives can allow that to change.”
​
​
