We all know men don’t talk enough about their mental health. The real question is why?
And it is here that we see two distinct schools of thought open up.
The first thinks these men are ‘toxic’, that the issue is self inflicted and they need only overcome their own masculine norms to speak more freely.
It’s here that we experience the term ‘toxic masculinity’, which seems intent on placing the problem within men, they are the problem and they must fix it.
The second school of thought, which I am part of, sees men’s apprehension around speaking as a result of society, and its sexist attitudes toward men.
That men’s issues are more than internal, but societal and systemic - and therefore not entirely solvable through more tears.
It’s the way we see and socialise them, the legal, political, financial and societal issues they experience in life - they are the problem - and like a sponge soaking water, these *toxic expectations* can be internalised by men.
Because masculinity is not toxic, but our attitudes toward it can be.
So let’s look again, instead of asking why are men not talking, perhaps we should be asking – who’s listening?
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Full article on Psychology today https://tinyurl.com/2p8sd67c
Book, Mens Issues and Mental Health https://tinyurl.com/yxy78fmn
Images by vruyr-martirosyan, mohammad-alizade, spencer-goggin and ben-tofan from Unsplash.