Newcastle – What about the Menz?
Do phrases such as ‘What about the Menz?’, ‘mansplaining’ and ‘toxic masculinity’ deliberately silence men and their concerns? PiPs Newcastle met to discuss how to tackle the serious problems men and boys face today.
We need to talk about the Menz
– “Domestic violence is a big problem for women.”
– “Not just women. 40% of domestic violence is experienced by men.”
– “Oh noez! What about the menz!? LOL.”
The Urban Dictionary
“What about the Menz?” is a meme used by some feminists when they feel a discussion about women’s issues is being highjacked by male concerns. In some cases, the intention is simply to maintain focus on the topic at hand, for example to prevent a discussion about women’s pay being turned into one about justice for fathers. In others – such as the example above from the Urban Dictionary – it is used to dominate the narrative and prevent men from making valid comments on the issue and how it affects them.
But what about when men and boys really do have problems?
Newcastle PiPs co-founder Dr Martin Evison stressed that there are genuine concerns regarding the situation of men and boys, and that these have serious social consequences if not addressed. Martin acknowledged that both men and women face many challenges and these should not be tallied up like a cricket score, but he ran through a few statistics we should be aware of:
Men have lower life expectancy than women, and experience a higher morbidity and mortality rate from major disease. Medical research funding is lower for male-specific diseases than for female-specific diseases. Three times as many men die by suicide than women, with men aged 40-49 having the highest suicide rate in the UK. Men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health problems, and three times more likely than women to become dependent on alcohol or drugs. In the UK government’s Measures of National Well-being survey, men report lower levels of life satisfaction than women.
Boys perform worse than girls on most major educational indicators throughout their school years, and it has been true for many years that more girls than boys go on to study at university. Men have higher rates of employment, injury and fatality in dangerous jobs. Young men are more likely to be unemployed than young women. Girls receive enormous encouragement and support to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) studies and careers, but there has been no similar initiative to help boys pursue traditionally female careers. Over three quarters of schoolteachers are female, and fewer than one in ten nurses are male.
Men comprise nearly three quarters of adults who go missing and nearly 90% of rough sleepers. They are 1.5 times more likely than women to be victims of violent crime. In divorce, men are significantly more likely to lose the family home and custody of children and to experience parental alienation.
The child is father of the man
About a million children in the UK no longer live with their biological father and about a third no longer have any contact with him. Fatherlessness is linked to a rise in many social ills and it is particularly bad for boys to grow up without a male role model.
The impacts of family breakdown on boys are compounded by society increasingly teaching them that masculinity is ‘toxic’. A recent report by the Family Education Trust found that 31% of schools surveyed said they are teaching pupils about the concept of ‘toxic masculinity’ and 22% are not informing parents that this is being taught. The new Labour government plans to expand the UK’s counter-extremism strategy to include misogyny – but they haven’t mentioned anything about misandry.
It is hardly surprising under these circumstances that many boys and young men feel alienated. Some seek to separate themselves from women and society, forming ‘manosphere’ communities like Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW). Some choose role models like the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, currently under investigation for rape and people trafficking.
Martin warned us that unhealthy boys will become unhealthy men – perpetuating a vicious cycle – unless these problems are discussed and tackled.
Men and women are different – and that’s ok!
The group – which coincidentally consisted of exactly 50-50 men and women that evening – agreed that these issues need honest discussion. As with all forms of identity politics, favouring one group while neglecting or even vilifying another just causes resentment and solves nothing. We agreed that men and women are different, both physically and mentally, although of course the distribution of any trait between men and women takes the form of overlapping bell curves. These differences can and must be acknowledged in all areas of life without forcing people to adhere to stereotypes. Technological and medical advances have made some differences less important than they used to be for defining social roles, but it would be extremely unwise to pretend they don’t exist.
Several suggestions arose during the discussion:
- Seek to recruit more men into teaching, especially primary school teaching.
- Raise awareness of the fact that children of divorced couples tend to fare better under joint custody and seek to make this the default position.
- Ban the teaching of ‘toxic masculinity’ and other contested ideologies in schools. Give parents the right to see what their children are being taught, even if the materials used are from external providers.
- Protect sports and social clubs for men and boys from closure, especially in economically disadvantaged areas.
- Acknowledge and respect the fact that both men and women need safe single-sex spaces and legislate to ensure these are provided.
- Accept that some differences in outcomes are the result of free choice rather than discrimination. End ‘positive’ discrimination in recruitment.
These are just a few changes which the group felt could lead to a healthier and happier society… for the menz and the womenz!
Links
Boys and the burden of labels – an examination of masculinity teaching in schools, by the Family Education Trust:
AndysManClub – weekly free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups for men over 18 throughout the UK, including the north east:
The ManKind Initiative: a UK charity supporting male victims of domestic abuse:
MANUP? – men’s mental health awareness charity:
