Imagine a Tampax ad lecturing women about “toxic femininity.”

Can you define what you mean by “toxic femininity”?

I mean, I could definitely imagine a Tampax commercial where women are encouraged to be less bitchy to one another. I’m picturing the scene from Carrie where they make fun of her for getting her period in the middle of gym class. Tampax could definitely take that scene and pair it with a message of positive social change.

But would that be a “toxic femininity” message? Or would it just be an anti-bullying message?

Women engage in bullying too, but we don’t usually think of bullying as being a feminine trait.

We do think of it as being a masculine trait — or, at the very least, it’s a behavior that the most masculine men seem to commonly indulge in.

That’s why the phrase “toxic masculinity” doesn’t seem outrageous to me.

It’s also why I’m not even sure what you mean by “toxic femininity.”

Could you elaborate?