Toxic masculinity is a loaded phrase - and one Dr Phil Borell avoids.
Dr Borell is a senior lecturer at Canterbury University who has been researching sportspeople for the last five years - in particular rugby league stars - to challenge the long-accepted stereotypes of Polynesian men.
In his research, he stumbled across gentle, nurturing, caring father figures, and on Wednesday night is hosting a kōrero at the Christchurch University to move the focus away from false stereotypes towards truer, more honest representations of Polynesian men.
Speaking with Tova O'Brien, Borell said there's more to the masculine identity of these men "than just the physical we see on TV".
"We see these guys on TV and they're physical specimens… they fit those negative stereotypes that we've had for some time around physicality and strength - but as you sit down and talk to them, you get to know that they're just family men," Borell said.
"They showed a softer side of who they were and in many ways, I don't think we get to see that."
Borell said these stereotypes date back as early as when Abel Tasman and Captain Cook came to Aotearoa, with Māori and Pasifika people being labelled as "noble savages and barbaric brutes".
"We've been caught in this loop of accepted stereotypes and now it's our opportunity to push back against that and say, hey, actually we determine who we are," he said.
"One of the participants talked about how saddening it was for him to come through and people only saw him as a body.
"He's [said], we need to celebrate all of the different roles we have in the communities. He was saying not only are we fathers, but we're doctors and we're lawyers and we're lecturers. We're so much more than just physical beings.
"I want to engage in discussions if people want to come in and have a chat… where we can really push back against these long, outdated colonial tropes of who we are."
If you’re interested in Wednesday night's talk, click the link here to register. Or if you’re not in Christchurch you can watch the live stream.
Listen to the full interview between Dr Phil Borell and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.
