Those contexts basically meant that, in the face of violence, one must respond with violence. Of course, I cannot generalize, because not all contexts are the same; socioeconomic status, the academic background of family members, and the values and principles instilled all play a role, and that makes the difference.

Let us clarify a first aspect. Generally, society places greater emphasis on school bullying and two questions arise for me: don’t adults face bullying?; have you, as an adult human being, not faced bullying? I believe you have, and while I questioned why adults do not talk about bullying, I wondered whether it will ever come to an end.

The concept of bullying is described as a form of violence that occurs repeatedly and can be physical, verbal, psychological, social, or sexual, and nowadays it can have a strong impact through social media, with profiles that may be false, where certain individuals create power imbalances to intimidate or cause harm.

With this in mind, it seems that harassment or bullying does not end, and not because there is no will, but because, as adults, we live in contexts that are aggressive, shaped by gender roles, ages, worldviews, personal interests, organizational structures, and work, social, and educational ecosystems. Of course, some of these groups may experience a particular type of bullying. No matter our age, we simply remain silent because, as adults, these things are not talked about, they are overlooked, and ultimately minimized. We do not acknowledge that as adults we can also feel harassed. Here I can mention that within organizations, behaviors have been identified that lead many people to face the spiral of mobbing or burnout syndrome.

Now, let us clarify a second aspect. In social environments, women experience aggressive contexts, as do people with diverse sexual orientations who face harassment. In other words, bullying does not end; it simply transforms. Every human being faces harassment, and each person will have their own interpretation.

Today I want to speak precisely about bullying with a masculine tone. Harassment toward men has been constant and begins at an early age, despite the idea that men have many privileges, but what are those privileges? From the moment boys are born, they are confronted with the concept of being men and must prove it. From childhood, they are expected to be strong, decisive, and brave, and in certain situations, they must demonstrate that they are “very manly.” Often, parents begin asking from a very young age whether they already have a girlfriend in kindergarten or suggest that their female classmates are their girlfriends… in short, if we analyze this carefully, such adult behavior can be identified as harassment, because they are expected to prove their masculinity throughout their lives. Silence also persists, because harassment in adult men exists and is hardly ever mentioned: it seems as though men do not experience violence. This responds to a socially constructed stereotype.

Men face forms of harassment linked to shame when they act in ways considered NOT masculine; even women themselves point out that men must “act like men.” In my research process on masculinity, I identified that men are told “you don’t seem like a man, behave like one,” “be macho like your father,” among many recurring phrases that constitute examples of this type of situation and are associated with specific human contexts.

On the other hand, I have observed that men do not recognize themselves as victims in cases of domestic violence. Why? There is denial and normalization of abuse, and some men whose sexual orientation is homosexual face the fear of being exposed because of it. And yes, in homosexual environments, discussions also occur from a masculine perspective. But well, let us examine our surroundings and analyze whether harassment can truly end, or whether, as adults, we also face it, because this determines how we live and coexist in society. There will always be someone who lacks empathy toward others; there will always be someone who feels suffocated and does not know what to do or how to confront situations that, as adults, we must face as adults.

This is a reflection that invites us to understand that bullying with a masculine tone does not end and that we let it go unnoticed because, whether we like it or not, men—in more hostile environments—also coexist with a form of symbolic violence that must be constantly resisted.