Oh FFS, no it's not contested by anyone other than the likes of Jordan Peterson who makes a shit ton of money telling guys this stuff isn't killing them - and everyone else when it very clearly is. Forty years of research, much of it done by men, reaches the same conclusions as what I've excerpted here. Peterson's work (which is niche and not mainstream — and is not his trained area of expertise) resonates with some men because it gives them someone to blame rather than having to do the actual hard work of self-introspection and social responsibility. It gives men a scapegoat, and it's fucking irresponsible. Most of the things Peterson opines about he has no training or expertise in. He’s just a loud mouth getting rich off of telling men shit they want to hear.
We live in one of the most violent cultures on earth. The leading cause of death for children is a gun. Every single woman you know (with rare exception) has been subject to some form of sexual violence - including your mother and your grandmother. Most of them have had tons of experience with it - since they were young children. If you don't care about that, I can't make you care, but you really ought to be deeply ashamed of yourself.
Edit:
“Though men benefit from patriarchy, they are also impinged upon by patriarchy,” says Ronald F. Levant, EdD, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Akron and co-editor of the APA volume “The Psychology of Men and Masculinities.” Levant was APA president in 2005 when the guideline-drafting process began and was instrumental in securing funding and support to get the process started.
The main thrust of the subsequent research is that traditional masculinity — marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression — is, on the whole, harmful. Men socialized in this way are less likely to engage in healthy behaviors. For example, a 2011 study led by Kristen Springer, PhD, of Rutgers University, found that men with the strongest beliefs about masculinity were only half as likely as men with more moderate masculine beliefs to get preventive health care ( Journal of Health and Social Behavior , Vol. 52, №2 ). And in 2007, researchers led by James Mahalik, PhD, of Boston College, found that the more men conformed to masculine norms, the more likely they were to consider as normal risky health behaviors such as heavy drinking, using tobacco and avoiding vegetables, and to engage in these risky behaviors themselves ( Social Science and Medicine , Vol. 64, №11 ).
“Because of the way many men have been brought up — to be self-sufficient and able to take care of themselves — any sense that things aren’t OK needs to be kept secret,” Rabinowitz says. “Part of what happens is men who keep things to themselves look outward and see that no one else is sharing any of the conflicts that they feel inside. That makes them feel isolated. They think they’re alone. They think they’re weak. They think they’re not OK. They don’t realize that other men are also harboring private thoughts and private emotions and private conflicts.”
So instead of dealing with that, by say, talking to a therapist or even a friend, guys like you find comfort in charlatans like Peterson who drive you towards more anti-social, anti-healthy for you behaviors and beliefs — where at least you can feel a sense of community with other misguided men doing the same thing.
Guys like that are on the short list for a Darwin Award.
