Too Trendy to Hate Men
Among the several panels featured during this year’s He for She Summit, the segment on men’s mental health crisis was particularly uncomfortable to watch.
For those unaware, the figures on men's mental health are just terrible. Men are up to four times more likely to commit suicide than women with white men accounting for 69% of suicide deaths in 2021. I am no psychiatrist but maybe the new trend to hate men might have something to do with it.
Is it not reasonable to wonder whether repeating and reinforcing statements like “Oh, men are just useless”, “Oh, another guy mansplaining”, or “This white guy thinking he has a right to talk” might negatively affect the perception men have of themselves and their place in the world? Yes, there are some men out there who do terrible things and treat others, including women, badly and those acts should rightfully be condemned but do we really mean to say all men are terrible? When has being a man become a problem by default? And if we don’t mean that then why are we so comfortable with saying or hearing it? The cancel culture really loves to push against “inaccurate” and “hateful” generalizations but somehow progressive compassion ends with men.
From college professors apologizing for featuring too many “old men” in their ancient philosophy syllabus, your girlfriends joking over how “all men are trash”, to the current feminist movement where women feel so empowered to fight against “gender norms” and “stereotypes'' while confusing masculinity with toxicity, progressive circles are just full of anti-men hatred. The social acceptance of this really unfortunate phenomenon is appalling. But again, if you happen to share this concern you just don’t get it and are thought of as anti-women’s rights.
At the He for She Summit, several panelists addressed what could have possibly contributed to the sense of directionlessness and lack of fulfillment among men. You won’t believe it- they say it is a natural adjustment to women claiming their rights! It is not that the new wave of feminism went a little too far in their negative depiction of men. What really happened is that men believed all the wrong things about their roles and identities and they are now confronted with a world that no longer represents their traditionalist, misogynist vision of the world. They are now confronted with how things should be.
Their solution? Integrate men into the feminist movement and make them proud allies, enjoying being disrespected and told their very existence is a hindrance to women’s joy and well-being.
Or perhaps the current feminist wave might need to take a step back and reflect on how productive this negativity has been thus far. Leave men aside - think about women, too. Does this worldview benefit women? Maybe not.
