The feeling of your identity being threatened is a vicious one. Whether someone makes a flawed assumption about your religion, questions your sexual orientation, or just insults your favorite sports team, being attacked on a personal level really gets our blood pumping. And that's natural. But there are better and worse reactions to it.

People online come together and share pictures of men trying to protect their masculinity in the most toxic and unnecessary ways. The screenshots and pics provide an interesting glimpse into what triggers these insecurities and add a bit of satire to point out some of the most irrational examples.

#1 Thought Of This Sub When I Saw This

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#2 Wendy’s With The Truth

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Many of these, let's call them, statements seem to stem from men's frustration with communicating with women, especially romantically. A majority of the fellas we see in the pictures view it as some sort of power struggle where they must have the upper hand. While this dynamic might be suitable to some couples, by thinking that everyone must acknowledge it they're setting themselves up for conflict as often people are looking for the complete opposite.

"Vulnerability is the key to intimacy," Robert Taibbi, who is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly five decades of experience, told Bored Panda.

"It is about stepping outside your comfort zone and saying what is difficult to say. It is not about the content—what you actually say, but stepping up and saying what is difficult. Often the other person doesn't realize the risk you are taking, so you need to talk about this as well."

#3 Welp

Image credits: Advanced_Male

#4 My Post On Unpopular Opinions Got A Lot Of People Pretty Angry

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#5 Welcome To Reddit, Where Not Hating Women Is A Crime

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According to Taibbi, "too many men feel hurt but hold it in—it eventually builds up causing some explosion that they feel bad about and then try to sweep under the rug."

"The key is to talk about problems as they arise, to talk about you and your emotions, avoid the blame and getting into the weeds of whose reality is right," the author of Doing Family Therapy, said. "Help the other person know what you are most sensitive to and what you need most from the beginning, and not sweep problems under the rug — solve them."

#6 Talking About Marie Curie

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#7 The “Egalitarians” Are Mad That A Woman Doesn’t Feel Comfortable Filming Sex Scenes For Male Directors

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#8 He Sure Showed Her

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#9 The Rock Is Apparently Not A Real Man Anymore

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Taibbi thinks that some of the most common insecurities men experience in romantic relationships revolve around not feeling accepted, feeling rejected, or doing something wrong that will cause the other person to pull away or end the relationship: "If I am honest and vulnerable will you listen and hear what I am saying?" "Can you appreciate what I'm doing for you?"

Nowadays, however, 63% of young men (ages 18-29) report being single, compared with 34% of women in the same age group.

#10 F**k Women Who Don’t Change Their Name!!!

Image credits: Kore624

#11 Adultery And Psychopathy Were Minor Details, I'm Sure

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#12 (Facebook. Not My Screenshot)

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#13 Haha Woman Bad Man Funny Gamer

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Psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer, and social critic Susie Orbach, agress that vulnerabilities unaddressed, often unknown or unnamed by the individual, can end up being expressed in brittleness and toughness.

"Being able to acknowledge uncertainties to oneself and to others is ... an aspect of strength," she wrote in The Guardian. "Cleaving to something unnamed that was missed can produce anger or despair. Boys didn't anticipate that there would be a rupture in nurture as they became adults; in other words, ... they wouldn't be able to simply rely on women's solicitations and [comfort] without showing more of themselves. Girls knew that they were 'supposed' to give support but were growing up to think of economic and emotional equality, not protection."

#14 Man Gets Offended Over A Image Of A Tampon

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#15 Rule Number 4 Says No Sexism, What Did He Expect??

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#16 The Only Thing Redditors Hate More Than Women Is Women That Want Equal Rights

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#17 Fellas, Is It Gay To Lean In For A Photo?

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Furthermore, Orbach believes that machismo doesn't achieve the desired effect of putting women in their place.

"That ship has sailed," she said. "It has offered a fundamentalist pull which endangers all of us; men, women, children, non-binary and trans people. It's time for a new conversation that opens the door to speaking of vulnerability and nurture as essential for all of us, and as an aspect of strength – as an antidote to toxicity."

#18 Muh Fragile Masculinity!!!!!

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#19 Until She’s On Her Best Behaviour, She Deserves Nothing

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#20 Not From Reddit But I Think It Fits

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#21 Wow... Just Wow

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When it comes to how men view themselves, 31% say they are very manly or masculine, 54% describe themselves as somewhat masculine and 15% say they are not too or not at all masculine.

At the same time, relatively few men (9%) say it’s very important to them, personally, to be seen by others as manly or masculine, while 37% say this is somewhat important to them.

#22 I Decided To Look Through The Sub Cause I Heard How Toxic It Is. Holy Shit

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#23 Imagine Being This Fragile About A Girl Buying A Home

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#24 I Got Downvoted For Saying That This Isn’t Funny

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#25 Gets Downvoted For Correctly Quoting Movie

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#26 A Feminine Man? The Horror

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#27 Got A Lot Of Angry Replies For This One Like "Do You Even Have A Dick" And People Saying I Had No Balls Lol

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#28 This Made My Brain Hurt

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#29 Both Sides Amirite

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#30 “I Forgive Ellen Page’s Deception For Promoting Herself As A Heterosexual Woman”

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#31 A Statue Representing The Myth Of A Woman Who Was R**ed Is Going To Be Installed In Honor Of Metoo

But rather that showing her beheaded by Perseus for his own gain, she will instead be shown holding her attacker’s head. Definitely a men’s rights issue!!!