The current model of NPCs have a limited dialogue tree. Saving CPU cycles by sticking to the script helps maximize their ESG score.

If it was about masculinity itself being irredeemable, the adjective wouldn't be there. Surely a website of programming enthusiasts can figure out parsing?

When it is prevalent (including in the irony of subsequent commentary), it shouldn't be surprising to see it called out, hyperbole notwithstanding.

Oh the irony

Indeed.

If the parent poster thought males were irredeemably evil, they wouldn't have used the adjective "toxic".

When is this straw man argument going to die?

When people stop feeling attacked when they hear the term “toxic masculinity”.

So, probably never. It’s a bit of a loaded term for lots of folks. I can understand why, even if that’s not how it’s often meant.

I don't really blame them, and I think any group would feel the same to hear one of their personal attributes referred to as intrinsically 'toxic'. If we simply described the personality traits that we meant, we might actually get somewhere (but, from everything I've seen, getting somewhere is not the objective).