The man largely responsible for one of the great rock anthems of the 1980s, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” told an interviewer recently that he’s writing a novel about toxic masculinity. It’s called Frats, and as Dee Snider (who’s 67!) explained on the show Full Metal Jackie: “The novel is a 70s period piece and coming-of-age story; it’s all about toxic masculinity and growing up in a very toxic environment and how it affects people.”

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For anyone who ever listened to Twisted Sister (hello 12-year-old me), it’s not all that surprising that Snider would take on a topic like toxic masculinity. Just look at the beginning for the classic video for “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” in which a horrible father berates and demeans his son for having the temerity to play an electric guitar: it’s textbook toxic masculinity and Dee Snider was fighting it before it had a name.

But don’t just stop at that scene, watch the whole video. It’s rock and roll history.

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Jonny Diamond

Jonny Diamond

Jonny Diamond is the Editor in Chief of Literary Hub. He lives in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains with his wife and two sons, and is currently writing a cultural history of the axe for W.W. Norton. @JonnyDiamondJonnyDiamond.me