Jane Fonda Talks Tough on Masculinity

Actress, fitness guru, and marriage equality advocate Jane Fonda posed some provocative questions about American masculinity in a speech to a women's organization in New York City on Tuesday.

Fonda, who recently starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-nominated 33 Variations, was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the New York Women's Agenda. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem introduced her.

In her acceptance remarks, Fonda suggested that violence could be reduced by examining the hypermasculinity at the core of acts such as the school shooting at Columbine and other massacres committed by young men.

"What is it about our culture's view of masculinity that makes men and boys so vulnerable to shaming?" asked Fonda. "This is a toxic masculinity."

The 9 to 5 star and Women's Media Center cofounder proposed that a more sensitive and sophisticated understanding of gender could alleviate some of the pain.

"One of the things we have to do if we want to reduce violence in this country, anywhere in the world, is to create a democratic masculinity that's not so vulnerable to shaming," she said. "But we're so far from that because we don't view the problem in the proper gendered context."