Is There A Widespread Growing Mental Health Crisis For Both Adult Men And Teenage Boys? (27/30) (1 Viewer)

[rockaction]

There was a long, long op-ed in the Washington Post written by a presumably progressively political woman about the problem of men being so far behind women these days. She talked about the Reeves book we've been talking about in here. It gave her a backdrop upon which to write.

A lot of her op-ed (again, a really long one) space was spent on the right-wing courtship of disaffected males and opining that the left needs to do something to acknowledge the problem -- and perhaps assist in the socialization efforts instead of denying the problem exists while continuing to cheerlead female gains. It was interesting to see somebody make that kind of admission, and I think Reeves's sincerity in the belief in the problem and addressing it with a mind towards policy helped people otherwise reluctant to speak up to do so.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Just stumbling on this...and as a teacher, I do find the current generation of young males pathetic. But then again, I would have surely viewed myself as such if we could manage the time bending physics required for that.

I am skeptical but interested in the topic. I just look at school now as a teacher and look at school 20+ years ago when I was a student and don't see much difference. Of course I am locked into my small regional and SES world. Despite being a millennial, I am on the border with Gen X, so I also have the general feeling of saying "man up don't be a p----y" or "just have a drink and get over it" to issues men face so I am not exactly a great role model here either. I guess I need some education.

This is a pretty good model for men though. I mean, not the drown-your-sorrows-in-alcohol part, but it's good to teach men to react to setbacks with a certain degree of stoicism. I think two generations is enough data to say definitively that treating boys the same way that we treat girls doesn't work.

 

[Ilov80s]

Just stumbling on this...and as a teacher, I do find the current generation of young males pathetic. But then again, I would have surely viewed myself as such if we could manage the time bending physics required for that.

I am skeptical but interested in the topic. I just look at school now as a teacher and look at school 20+ years ago when I was a student and don't see much difference. Of course I am locked into my small regional and SES world. Despite being a millennial, I am on the border with Gen X, so I also have the general feeling of saying "man up don't be a p----y" or "just have a drink and get over it" to issues men face so I am not exactly a great role model here either. I guess I need some education.

This is a pretty good model for men though. I mean, not the drown-your-sorrows-in-alcohol part, but it's good to teach men to react to setbacks with a certain degree of stoicism. I think two generations is enough data to say definitively that treating boys the same way that we treat girls doesn't work.

As a HS teacher, I am obviously in a position to help a lot of people but I don’t really know how. I help many female students. They are much more open to talking about problems, being open to help, etc. Male students just act like a-holes when something is wrong. I obviously try to relate and connect (I certainly can, I was a monster ages 12-15) but they usually have no interest (which again I can totally relate to). I guess just being a positive example is probably the right kind of help but it’s hard for me, despite my own experiences (or maybe because of them) to generate any sympathy for them.