7 Comments
User's avatar
SomeUserName's avatar

I'm glad you are supporting men and boys. We need all the help we can get.

Yes boys do need mentors, but men are nearly always chased out of positions where they interact with young people. Men in those positions are treated as defacto pedophiles or at least treated with utmost suspicion. It's really a wonder that there are any men in any teaching position any more

Expand full comment
Jessica Louise's avatar

As a mom to three boys this article made me feel so seen and finally like some on actual gets who little boys are… it often feels like a constant battle that people just have these expectations on boys that feels like it’s setting them up to fail. I’ve purposefully decided to homeschool my boys simply so that they wouldn’t be in an academic environment that made them feel like they are the problems when they have a lot of energy. Thank you for this article it’s so helpful

Expand full comment
Espo's avatar

Very glad I stumbled on this essay and your page. Can I voice a disagreement? I work in education and there has been a noticeable shift in the number of teenage boy who are willing to cry in class. I think it’s regional, I wouldn’t expect classrooms outside of the usually Liberal, coastal states to foster this environment but it does exist. I also have an essay on what I believe is causing the crisis among men if you’re interested, but who the hell am I anyways lol.

Expand full comment
LB's avatar

..And with more and more children raised by single parents, (typically the mother), the boys especially lose out. Most educational spaces are too "feminized" for lack of a better term so young boys grow up in today's culture not celebrated at all. While the few all-boys spaces are labeled as toxic or unruly or sexist.

Expand full comment
Crimson's avatar

Let’s keep ignoring that modern internet “porn” targets them with demoralizing emasculating rage-bait in the deepest possible way, from the onset of puberty, while we gaslight them into oblivion about it. Keep scratching your heads and examining “the data”.

Expand full comment
John B's avatar

The depiction of men in many commercials is frequently negative.

The dad screws up, breaks the window, can’t clean anything, is a total loser, etc.

One popular children’s book series, The Berenstain Bears, always portrays the dad in a negative light.

Berenstain Bears (Wikipedia)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenstain_Bears

“The early Beginner Books about the bears generally follow a basic formula, so described by the Berenstains: "Papa sets out to instruct Small Bear in some aspect of the art of living and ends up badly the worse for wear, with Small Bear expressing his appreciation for the fine lesson Papa has taught him. According to The Washington Post's Paul Farhi, "The action usually starts when the kids face a problem. They turn to Papa, who offers a "solution" that only makes the problem—or the kids' fears about it—even worse. Enter Mama, who eventually sets everyone straight.”

Expand full comment
John B's avatar

I would also point out the book by Christina Hoff Sommers:

The War Against Boys: How Misguided Policies are Harming Our Young Men

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1501125427?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Expand full comment