Here’s a quote from Professor Randolf Neese, legendary founder of the field of evolutionary medicine: “If you could make male mortality rates the same as female rates, you would do more good than curing cancer.” Think about that. Think about all the time, money, blood, sweat and tears the world has spent fighting cancer. Entire cities donning bibs, face paints, wigs, silly glasses, and running shoes, fighting, rain or shine, to turn the tide on cancer; and millions upon millions of hours peering into Petri dishes with microscopes. I’m glad we do. And yet – For men and boys’ health, where even more good can be done, we can barely get our shoes on without being called a “bigot”. You know it too… The angry dm in your inbox. The awkward silence at work. The group chat left-on-read. The dinner party you’re suddenly uninvited to. It’s the palpable stigma of talking about “men’s health”. For me, it’s a problem we cannot go around – it’s one we must go through – with unapologetic, courageous, wholehearted advocacy of our own. No half measures, wheedling apologies, or penance-paying. No carefully rehearsed, fine-printed disclaimers; as some garbled word salad is trotted out, to placate those who cannot be placated. No trading men’s lives, for another’s comfort. Because, we cannot undertake the mammoth, cancer-level fight ahead of us alone, divided, or with an angry chimpanzee on our back, throwing wrenches into the engine of progress. We cannot climb this mountain, way-laden with shame and self-censorship, looking over our shoulder through fear. We cannot host the bake sales, nor undertake the research, with someone banging pots and pans outside in protest. We cannot turn the tide, if politicians spend nine of every ten minutes for ‘mens health’, hang wringing for ‘women and girls’ instead. We simply haven’t the column inches. In the film industry we say: “a horse designed by committee is a camel.” By that I mean, everyone has their say, in the most inoffensive, ambivalent, and rudderless way possible, and the result is… not a horse at all. Because a camel won’t win this race for men. Only a thoroughbred can. 🐎 #menshealth

2025-08-13