How many times do I have to quote to you Gary Barker saying that "Boys need feminism and feminism needs boys on board," before you can perceive it?
Masculine culture in America is inherently bad - it's literally killing men and not doing women any favors either. But men are so overly-identified with patriarchy and the privileges of it they believe they are owed, that most won't even stop and consider how bad it is for men - and everyone else.
Passive male absorption of sexist ideology enables men to falsely interpret this disturbed behavior positively. As long as men are brainwashed to equate violent domination and abuse of women with privilege, they will have no understanding of the damage done to themselves or to others, and no motivation to change.
Patriarchy demands of men that they become and remain emotional cripples. Since it is a system that denies men full access to their freedom of will, it is difficult for any man of any class to rebel against patriarchy.
Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love (p. 27). Atria Books. Kindle Edition.
Newsflash, guys - you are NOT your socialization. This is not just how men are, it's how you've been conditioned to be in this culture at this particular time in history and it's really, really detrimental to men's physical and mental health, as well as their happiness. Embrace dismantling patriarchy for your own sakes. It's the only sane thing to do.
Men are not inherently better or worse than women are, but masculinity in this culture is fucking us all over and it needs to be called out. 96% of research done on this topic done over the past 40 years agrees. Men need to stop whining about how it's unfair to point this out and instead lead the charge toward healthier, saner masculinity in this culture.
In more gender equal countries and cultures, men live longer, have better physical and mental health and are happier. Clinging to an abusive and unequal system is not in your best interests.
"Getting that message out to men—that they’re adaptable, emotional and capable of engaging fully outside of rigid norms—is what the new guidelines are designed to do. And if psychologists can focus on supporting men in breaking free of masculinity rules that don’t help them, the effects could spread beyond just mental health for men, Ryon McDermott says. “If we can change men,” he says, “we can change the world.”
