The New South Wales Government has quietly stopped using the term "toxic masculinity" in official discourse, with officials warning the phrase risks alienating young men and undermining efforts to promote positive behaviour. The change was revealed at a Budget Estimates hearing on 27 August, where NSW Women's Safety Commissioner Dr Hannah Tonkin said the term wrongly implies that masculinity itself is the problem, adding that boys who feel shamed are likely to "shut down" rather than engage with messaging around healthy conduct.

Officials linked the shift to growing concern about the "manosphere", online communities often pushing anti-feminist content, which some argue exploits young men's sense of disconnection from traditional social structures. Hansard records show no NSW government MP has used the phrase since Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson did so in May 2024, with independent MP Mark Latham the only parliamentarian still using it. The issue has gained political traction ahead of next year's state election, with Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane calling in May for an end to rhetoric branding men as "toxic" and pledging a ten-year men's and boys' health strategy targeting male suicide prevention if the Coalition wins power.