This Father’s Day, we’re celebrating masculinity at XX-XY Athletics.
We’re reclaiming masculinity as noble and essential. We’re celebrating the men who lead, protect, mentor, and love—the ones who fix the sink, lift the heavy boxes, and coach their daughter’s soccer team. Men who build things. Men who raise daughters and sons with courage and character. Men who protect our streets and our country.
For too long, masculinity has been unfairly labeled as “toxic”—to the detriment of men and boys.
And now, we face a crisis.
American girls are 14 percentage points more likely to be ready for school than boys. Boys are much more likely to be disciplined in class.
By high school, two-thirds of the students in the top 10% of the class are girls, while two-thirds of the students in the lowest 10% are boys.
In 2020, at the 16 top American law schools, every one of the law reviews was led by a woman as editor-in-chief.
Young women are more likely to graduate from high school, and women are earning more college degrees than men.
Men die by suicide at higher rates than women and are more likely to rely on illicit drugs and alcohol.
And while women are increasingly participating in the workforce, men have steadily dropped out of the labor market.
For the last 20 years, men and boys have been told that they are toxic.
We’ve been telling men and boys that who they are is the problem. Is it any wonder that 75% of deaths of despair are men?
Is it any wonder young men are turning to truly toxic influences like Andrew Tate—someone who tells them they aren’t the problem?
Tate is the worst kind of human: a violent, grotesque woman-hater. But if young men are desperate for affirmation and we aren’t providing it in the mainstream, they’ll find it elsewhere—in destructive, dangerous places.
We need to stop telling boys that they are toxic.
We need to stop tearing men down to lift women up.
We can lift both.
XX and XY must feel supported—not at the expense of one another.
There’s a void in our culture—and a real opportunity for brands to speak to men in a positive, affirming way.
At XX-XY Athletics, we believe women are real and men are essential.
Our latest ad—You’re Not Toxic—is for hardworking men who are essential to healthy societies.
It’s for men who raise chivalrous sons and fearless daughters.
And it’s for the women who know that strong men don’t diminish them—they strengthen our culture.
And it’s just in time for Father’s Day.
Here’s to men.
Here’s to XY.
Here’s our latest ad:
