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Do You Think “Aggrieved Entitlement” Is Real?

It seems to have obvious existence, yet few acknowledge it

Christyl Rivers, Phd.
4 min readDec 8, 2022
Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn on Unsplash

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Available now to all: aggrieved entitlement!

Aggrieved entitlement is a concept described in 2013 by sociologist Michael Kimmel. It is also explained in many thorough documentaries and other works that deal with the concept of a confining Man Box, or the Male Mask.

Essentially, it deals with the obvious reality that males and females are socialized very differently. In a rape culture, and in a patriarchy (that many people dispute are real) aggrieved entitlement leads men to feel their role is threatened, and that maleness and magnificent masculinity are not upheld.

The very idea of toxic versus magnificent masculinity is rather binary, and most of us, feeling as though we must choose a “side” either come away thinking that an adjective like “toxic” , “red,” or “friendly” must apply to ALL men, pills, or people.

You cannot say the term “toxic masculinity” without raising hackles among those who think toxic masculinity means that the speaker is accusing all masculinity.

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Christyl Rivers, Phd.
Christyl Rivers, Phd.

Written by Christyl Rivers, Phd.

Ecopsychologist, Writer, Farmer, Defender of reality, and Cat Castle Custodian.

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