06-23-2009, 11:53 AM | #1 (permalink) | |
warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
|
The decline of the American male
This op-ed appeared recently on USAToday.com:
Quote:
This doesn't just apply to American men. I think much of this affects men in Canada and men in several other nations as well. There are some things here I already knew...for example, I already know that men tend to have more issues with suicide, and add in divorce and you'll find that men suffer disproportionately from depression. While I applaud the effort and progress of recent decades regarding women's issues (including health, safety, and rights), I am a bit alarmed at the observations I've made over time contrasting men's issues. This op-ed highlights in a general sense the disparity. One example I like to point out is the differences in public profile of breast cancer vs. prostate cancer. I wouldn't be surprised to find that many men know more about detecting and treating breast cancer than they do prostate cancer. The other difference is that prostate cancer is more difficult to detect, and the testing is far from perfect...some would say it's rather inadequate. So why so much more effort raising awareness of one over the other? Comparative research dollars is another issue. This is just one example of many indicating that men aren't as well off as some of us would assume. I could go into social and psychological issues, but I'd rather see how this topic unfolds here. I would argue that there is a silent crisis of manhood. There are many social stigmas that act as a barrier to discussing—or even acknowledging—these issues. I think a big part of that is the tiptoeing around the debates of equality on many fronts, in addition to problems of political correctness and, in a few cases, double standards. And I think the issue pointed out above about "payback" is nothing but contentious. Men are not okay. What do you think?
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 06-23-2009 at 11:56 AM.. |
|
06-23-2009, 12:27 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Kick Ass Kunoichi
Location: Oregon
|
I think we're going through a transition period with the social construction of the male gender in American society. It's difficult to put into words precisely what I mean, but I will try. In the past, men were raised to believe that they needed to be the breadwinner, and that they could expect to have a wife that would take care of the home and the children. As women have entered the labor force, expectations of men have changed dramatically. Men are not only expected to still bring home some of the bacon, but they are expected to step up when it comes to household chores and parenting, so that their wives don't have to work the second shift. Similarly, this idea extends into mental health issues; men are receiving conflicting messages about what it means to be a man. Do you share your feelings or don't you? Popular media says one thing, self-help books another.
This is a huge paradigm shift in what it means to be an American male, in what that identity is. I see a clear difference between men of my father's generation and men of my generation. One positive thing I see is more willingness on the part of men to be active parents. I wonder if others have seen the same phenomenon. One thing Zincenko's piece didn't mention was the fact that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act almost exclusively puts money towards projects with occupations dominated by men, and that men are the ones who stand to benefit most from the stimulus money being spent.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
06-23-2009, 12:35 PM | #3 (permalink) | |
warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
|
I don't have a lot of time to comment right now, snowy, but I like where you're going.
Quote:
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 06-23-2009 at 12:37 PM.. |
|
06-23-2009, 12:36 PM | #4 (permalink) |
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
|
I see this as a transition period into a better way of existing, not a "decline". We're correcting for thousands of years of gender inequality and unhealthy societal problems. I'm pissed that it hasn't been that way since the dawn of civilization. I can understand established gender rolls when we were hunter gathers, but once we had the agricultural revolution we didn't change what needed to be changed.
I for one welcome a coequal place in society regardless of gender, and I am hopeful about the destination that finally seems to be in sight. Men are finally going to be okay. |
06-23-2009, 12:38 PM | #5 (permalink) | |
I Confess a Shiver
|
I read somewhere that the anthropological / biological reason why women live longer is linked to the usefulness of grandmothers over grandfathers.
... I'm most interested in the mental health aspect. After serving in the military and returning to the pool, I'm constantly prompted with the imperatives of two cultures. Genitals aren't just reproductive equipment, they're linked to an entire way of thinking and acting. It's all that hot-hot C19H28O2 in action. ... Men are getting their asses kicked legally. Child custody, abortion rights, etc. ... I'm going to go stew on this and see if I can bump some braincells together. Quote:
And why should we be equal? We're not. To treat men and women the same in every aspect is a great way to blanket society in discontent and mediocrity. Equality, huh? Riddle me this: Where is the straight line in the Tao symbol? Last edited by Plan9; 06-23-2009 at 12:41 PM.. |
|
06-23-2009, 12:46 PM | #6 (permalink) |
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
|
I didn't say biologically equal. Men aren't going to start to give birth as a sign of their support for gender equality. But we can accept that women can have careers, win bread, and all that jazz, just as men can cook, clean, and raise the kids.
|
06-23-2009, 01:23 PM | #8 (permalink) |
I have eaten the slaw
|
Advocating for the correction of these imbalances is all to often painted as a form of misogyny. To some extent, this is tied up in men's self-perception (not wanting to look weak), and self-interest (not wanting to look like a sexist). But it's also a result of the radical feminist hatred for all things masculine. While this attitude is fairly rare, its disproportionate prominence in our culutral psyche ensures that gender imbalances that harm men will remain for quite a while longer.
__________________
And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you. |
06-23-2009, 01:49 PM | #10 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: My head.
|
I don't see where the equalituy argument helps when it goes like this ... to treat women or men differently would be to offer either one more rights than the other. This cannot end well. Men and women are not equal biologically but there are some people who can excel better than some other people in the same field regardless of gender. The fact that there are more women/men in said field is useless, demographics are useless for determining who it is will be allocating resources. We look at the individual that is actually capable of handling such tasks. Equality falls here. i.e. If more men are chosen for a specific task it simply means that more able men than women showed up for the interview. This is the 21st century.
That said, snowy has it straight up ... Sorry B_G got nothing to add to the OP ... |
06-23-2009, 03:39 PM | #12 (permalink) |
pigglet pigglet
Location: Locash
|
As an old friend of mine once said many moons ago, "Equality does not imply identicality..." if that's even a word. Point being, you can have an overarching sense of equality without requiring the sexes to be identical in form and function, seeing as how in many ways we simply are not.
That said, I can't say I've though much about about men suffering disproportionately in response to the economic issues we are facing. I will say that I think it's ridiculous to expect to have a major cultural shift, largely brought upon my technological advances, in social gender roles for women without expecting a necessary shift in gender roles for men. Nothing happens in a vacuum. I think a large part of this is related to the avarice of corporate America. Just as technology was supposed to free us up to work less hours...after all, the machines would be carrying the heavy load...right?...it has turned out that we are now tethered to our workforce productivity roles more tightly than ever. Instead of freeing up our time, we reduce the economic bottom line. Similarly, instead of increasing the workforce responsibilities of women and reducing the responsibilities of men...we now simply have homes where both the man and woman, or husband and wife, or husband and husband or wife and wife...both work 40+ hour jobs and strive for professional excellence. At least in the Western world. I can only imagine that we will have to negotiate a trade-off between the necessary roles of maintaining a stable home, which used to the sole responsibility of the female, into a shared responsibility...or we will continue along the path of reduction of lifestyle for people in general. As a side note, I think it's interesting to juxtapose these questions of the social roles of men and women living in a Western-type culture versus the shit that people in developing areas have to live through. Do these things translate to countries with substantially lower standards of living in a meaningful way? I'm not so sure. I can't wrap my head around it. I should probably just delete this post and think about it some more, but I'm not going to. C'est la vie.
__________________
You don't love me, you just love my piggy style |
06-23-2009, 07:27 PM | #13 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: My head.
|
Quote:
My biggest trick was to convince you hip-hop is to blame for all evils of the earth ... muahahahahhaha Ooops, said too much |
|
06-23-2009, 07:55 PM | #14 (permalink) |
change is hard.
Location: the green room.
|
I learned a very important lesson which was inspired by an episode of 30 Rock.
The different sub-catagories we use for humans (race, sex, capability) aren't looking for equality, they are looking for equivalency.
__________________
EX: Whats new? ME: I officially love coffee more then you now. EX: uh... ME: So, not much. |
06-23-2009, 08:05 PM | #15 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: I'm up they see me I'm down.
|
I tend not to get involved in issues as complex as this becaue it's too time consuming to put my thoughts into writing (I graduated school already; I'm done with that shit!) and respond to other people's counter-points, but I have noticed this to some degree.
I'm a subcontractor (General Contracting). My boss and coworkers are all male. I have NEVER met a female construction worker (although I did hear of ONE). We had a ton of business in early '08. Then the shit hit the fan. People lost money. No one wanted to pay us to fix their houses. I worked less than fifteen days in february and march. We were one of the busiest companies in that time span, so that should give you an idea of how bad off things were in trades. Then the Jeep factory starting laying off "workers". Suddenly there's an influx of know-nothing slackass union communists trying to become tradesmen. They thought they could buy a ladder, a five dollar brush, and badabing, they're a painter. So people hire those douchebags because they're so cheap, meaning us REAL tradesmen don't get work. They're bad at their "job", which makes us all look bad, further damaging the industry. Well, that's enough ranting for one night.
__________________
Free will lies not in the ability to craft your own fate, but in not knowing what your fate is. --Me "I have just returned from visting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world." --Douglas MacArthur |
06-24-2009, 09:41 AM | #16 (permalink) |
sufferable
|
At work with only a few minutes, but I will tell you that I believe the gender transition is not over. I got a lot of flack from Jeremy regarding "being a girl", although I am quite self-sufficient, work, and so forth. If he and I had adopted a child, he would have been the house husband and social direction. Me, I would have brought home the vegetarian bacon.
With Tango, it was just the opposite. I could not be girly enough. My daughter, she marrying a tran in August. He is the best of both really.
__________________
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons...be cheerful; strive for happiness - Desiderata |
06-24-2009, 08:27 PM | #17 (permalink) |
Young Crumudgeon
Location: Canada
|
An interesting article popped up in my newsfeed just now, which ties into the whole theme of misandry. I thought it appropriate here:
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Male workers win equal pay claims BBC News click to show ... So I says to Crompsin the other night, I says, "misandry gets a pass, because nobody buys the white anglo male as a credible victim." The problem is one of labels.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame |
06-24-2009, 08:53 PM | #18 (permalink) | |
Confused Adult
Location: Spokane, WA
|
Men are also 9 times more likely to be the victim of homicide.
Male testosterone levels have dropped almost 40% in the past 50 years, and many species right now have 0 males. I read somewhere about an English fish species that has like 1 male for every 100 females, and in fact has more hermaphrodites. Worldwide, testosterone levels are falling in all species. The disappearing male Quote:
|
|
06-25-2009, 12:07 AM | #19 (permalink) |
Upright
|
I think the reactionary men's movement is not helpful. It creates a stereotypical 'woman' and 'man' who do not exists, and describes that 'woman' in a very unflattering way. That 'woman' has nothing to do with any real woman. Men's liberation is pretty much just the worst excesses of feminism overwritten with 'Man' and 'Woman' switched around. Men have the main job to do in overthrowing the "American Male", they need to get busy, not cry about it.
|
06-25-2009, 07:35 AM | #20 (permalink) |
warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
|
I agree that there is no true equality between the genders, and that we have inherent differences. This is not to say we don't have a lot of overlap, however. This is why we see gender-based treatment in psychological and physiological capacities.
This is a key part of the issue. Men are falling behind when it comes to these things. Look at the difference in how we approach depression when it comes to men and women. Look at the issues men have with their own health. Many of them don't go to the doctor until something happens, yet there is a whole culture of a holistic health community among women. We have had such a huge push to bring women up to speed regarding their health that there now exists an imbalance. There is so much focus on women, so many programs and institutions. Most of them are justified. It wasn't too long ago that women were treated by doctors as though they were men who could have babies. But look at what's happening. Men are living in the shadow of women's issues, and they are beginning to pay the price. Shauk brings up yet another issue. I've read elsewhere about the declining reproductive health in men. There are a number of cases of dropping sperm counts, and there seems to be much confusion. Why is this not a bigger issue that it is? Vana, I agree that a reactionary men's movement wouldn't be helpful, even though it was for women, but that was a different situation entirely. At the same time, as Martian has brought up, misandry itself is an odd thing. There are many who have a problem with even acknowledging that misandry even exists. I could give you a list of examples quite easily. I think the crux of the problem lies in the fact that men—especially white anglo men—are viewed as the "norm" or the benchmark for all else. This happens in issues of race as well, where "Whiteness" exists only as a benchmark to which all other races are compared. But this is a reason why Whiteness is in crisis in terms of identity. In some ways, manhood has the same problem. Many think men are doing fine...they have higher pay than women, they don't have the same reproductive issues, they have certain privileges based on their gender. So everything must be fine, right? Well, no. It's just how not all white people are fine. Men suffer more than many may let on. Depression, anxiety, victimhood, behavioral problems, education problems—all of these things can afflict men just as they do women. Men are not machines; they are not as strong as you may think. This "legend" or "myth" of manhood should soon give way to what is more tied to reality: manhood is in crisis, and we must start doing something about it.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot |
06-25-2009, 09:59 PM | #21 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: San Francisco
|
Quote:
__________________
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln |
|
06-26-2009, 10:20 AM | #22 (permalink) | |
Upright
|
Quote:
There are still Nazi today who think Hitler was a hero, the Men's Power movement will have a long play yet. Someone should write a book about the men's movement: "All reactionaries are paper tigers". - Mao Last edited by Vana; 06-26-2009 at 10:33 AM.. |
|
05-20-2011, 07:29 AM | #24 (permalink) |
Tilted
Location: Hometown at Great Barrier Island, NZ
|
My uncle is a professor of some sort and he actually did big research topic semi recently on men ( In new Zealand ) it's called "Why are a group of mid-life men on the margins of work and family?" and can be read here!
A literature review http://ips.ac.nz/publications/files/a29ff853d65.pdf @shauk yeah though i see it as 'why can/do girls faint scream and cry over male stars, though males don't feel the same way towards great female stars? One answer is that in that teenage girl age, the ideal male is the knight -the rescuer who's coming for them, who's going to save them and bring them from their dungeons into the male palace ready for them ( couldn't be bothered filling in the metaphors ) though male teens only see females as things they have got to work for, got to strain over to 'catch.' it's our job to create the palace for the girl and woo her with how amazing our world is...and there is a limit on how excited and filled with joy we can be over doing that. |
05-24-2011, 12:49 AM | #26 (permalink) | |
Confused Adult
Location: Spokane, WA
|
Quote:
|
|
Tags |
american, decline, male |
|
|