I don't see the comment you're referring to, but McBride was quoting one of the authors of the study. Technically this isn't "spin", Toxic Masculinity and Hegemonic Masculinity are both fields of study in psychology having to do with promotion of dominance and violence. I think both fields influenced this study. It looks like they developed a Parent-Child-Conflict scale that included spanking, hitting, or threatening physical harm to measure some of this, but the study is much more broader than just this.
You may restrain a child for their safety but the use of force for “parental correction” is treated as assault and can be prosecuted. The police are encouraged to apply discretion.
That's pretty absurd. There's a huge difference between smacking a kid's backside as punishment and actually causing physical harm.
Furthermore, huge swaths of the population have grown up with the occasional spanking and somehow managed to avoid PTSD or other emotional/mental problems.
Labeling it a "toxic masculine" practice is idiocy.
Generally speaking, It is not illegal in the US unless you leave visible marks (e.g. bruises). Even then, it would be reported but little action would be taken unless there are additional issues with the child’s safety.
It is still common in many places for a “whooping” to be used to keep kids in line.
I do not support criminal prosecution for parental spanking but I consider you've already failed as a parent if you need to "whoop" a child. In another world where child welfare services have a better reputation, I might even suggest that such parents should be forcefully relieved from parental duties.
I had to look up Hegemonic Masculinity, and I think I definitely know somebody with this trait (if it is valid) -- one of my employees. I hired him specifically to deal with problems with other employees as a manager. Part of his job he leaves early to coach soccer (which they are doing good, going to state). His children are great and he is completely engaged on a daily basis (they all live on a large farm, if that makes this different) so this is inconsistent with what I know. I wonder how they screened fathers and categorized them, I can't find the actual text of the study.
