“Toxic masculinity takes those traits that our culture considers to be masculine to their extreme. Eventually, that harms men themselves or drives them to harm others. Superheroes are often wrapped up in toxic masculinity.” -Esther

“Brian genuinely feels like a man in crisis. And it’s the crisis of toxic masculinity. We live in a culture where men are pushed to prove that they’re manly enough, and there’s a constant moral panic about how men aren’t manly enough. Brian’s story has echoes of that.” -Esther

“Superheroes have insane bodies, with insane musculature, that’s just not possible in most people’s lived realities. And when comics gets transferred to the screen, you see superstar actors who take a year off just to bulk up for a single movie. That creates a new idea of what a masculine body looks like.” -Esther

“Meggan knocks out Bash and then pretends that Brian did it. So we find Meggan being very much aware of the fact that Brian is in a crisis of masculinity. She knows he’s feeling self-conscious, and is trying to mitigate the feelings of shame and anger associated with his crisis. His crisis puts pressure on her to make him feel like a man.” -Esther

“I still don’t love Brian and Meggan’s relationship. But this issue helps us understand it. if you’re going to write a story about a woman in an emotionally abusive relationship, there’s always a ‘he’s so nice when we’re alone.’ This is Brian being nice when they’re alone.” -Mav

“Meggan switches into Brian’s twin brother without any anxiety about what that might mean for her gender identity. Brian has a moment of surprise, then thinks it’s amazing. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the possibility of a private scenario they might have already tried.” -Estherg for.” -Mav

“Elements of this issue hint at Brian being a closeted non-straight person. There’s almost a closeted atmosphere to the whole night, starting with the trench coats they put on to go undercover as ‘regular people.’” -Esther

“I think Meggan’s transformations are very effective in juxtaposition. She’s forced into this hyperfeminine siren role, and then rejects it, becoming a werewolf, a figure that resonates with hypermasculinity, to chase everyone away.” -Andrew

“Whenever Kurt shows up, interesting stuff is going to happen. And they draw him sexy. That’s what they do – that’s how they get you!” -Esther

Image is from Uncanny X-Men #502 (2008), which is discussed by Richard Reynolds in his chapter “Emma Frost, the White Queen: Superpowers as the Performance of Gender,” from Esther’s edited collection Toxic Masculinity: Mapping the Monstrous in Our Heroes (linked below!). 

“Even though she’s forced into the recognition, this is Meggan directly acknowledging, for the first time, that she’s into Kurt. She’s thinking about him when he’s not around. Meggan acknowledging this is important, just like Brian acknowledging his drinking problem is important.” -Mav