[kirklancaster]

MEN have been steadily but increasingly 'emasculated' for nearly 60 years. There are many, many, reasons, but briefly:

HISTORICAL ROLE REVERSAL

'Hunter Gatherer'

Given what we know, from Man's earliest days, it is the male of the species who was the 'Hunter Gatherer' and went out to hunt and kill and gather food to sustain the family. The female of the species remained in their primitive dwelling with their offspring and awaited the return of the patriarch with their food.

Now, generally, it is the Female of the species who has gradually taken over as the 'Hunter Gatherer', as it is she who goes out to the shops and supermarkets and returns home with the food and provisions.

'Chief Income Earner'

Traditionally, it was for a long time, the male who went out to work and provided the money needed to keep the family with a roof over their heads and the 'wolf from the door'. If the female worked, it was generally in a supplementary role in low-paid menial jobs.

Now, generally, the female has gradually taken over as the chief 'bread winner' or even sole breadwinner in a lot of households.

In addition, where once employment was relatively easy to find, it is now much harder to find a job.

'Respect'

Traditionally, children were raised to honour and respect their parents (and others) and in general relied on the father as head of the household for guidance and advice. Even the boyfriends of daughters had to formally 'seek' the father's permission, both to start 'courting' her and in the case of engagement or marriage.

Now, children have 'outgrown' the father in diverse ways; they are generally better educated and more knowledgeable and sophisticated, understand ever evolving technology far better, and gradually over decades have lost their respect for their parents (and others) in line with the rest of society as it has continued to degenerate.

'Media Conditioning'

This very real issue does not only affect the male, but also the female and children - though it is usually on a subconscious, or even subliminal level - but every waking hour of our lives we are being increasingly subjected to a bombardment by media of 'archetypal' images of not only the ideal people we should be or aspire to being, but also of the correct effects and accoutrements necessary to be that ideal person.

Whether we accept the above or not, it is nonetheless real, and actually effects us; we can sit on the cheapest of sofas in relative comfort, we can drive many low cost reliable cars in comfort and safety, we can clothe our naked bodies in attractive and functional clothes which can be cheaply bought - why then do masses of people struggle with repaying the the finance of very expensive flashy cars, pay £1,000’s out for expensive furniture and worry so much about fashion labels and the way we look?

But for males who inevitably ‘come up short’ in subconscious, or even conscious self-comparisons with these B.S. ‘ideals’, psychological damage is a very real – if undiagnosed – consequence.

(This ‘Media Conditioning’ is also one of the causes of much of the irrational violence on our city streets at weekends when fuelled by alcohol or drugs, young males attack others for no tangible reasons, only a hidden psychological one, that they are trying to assert their masculinity because of feelings of inadequacy and inferiority after living with a subconscious awareness that they do not ‘measure up’ to the fake ideal projected by the media.)

‘Mortality’

Men age more quickly than women. More men develop fatal illnesses than do woman, and men die younger than women. So it is no surprise that men are aware – again perhaps not consciously so – of their fallibility at an earlier age than are women. This alone can lead to depression and anxiety.

Summary

I think that a lot of ‘modern’ men have, for a long time now, felt anxious and uncertain about their roles in society, and especially within the family unit.

They look back at their fathers and grandfathers and see a huge difference in their ‘masculinity’ in comparison, and in their positions as ‘heads’ of the family where their word was heeded, their advice sought and valued, and their status respected. They see the same differences in their father’s and grandfather’s roles as chief ‘breadwinners’, and – again - it is not a comparison they are comfortable with, especially if they are out of work or forced to claim benefits.

Add to this, the very real unfair factors in today’s society which are prejudiced against men, which ‘The Truth’ highlights in his post, and it should not surprise that some modern men can feel increasingly, both marginalised, and like worthless failures, and end up as drug addicts, alcoholics or even suicidal.

I think that any incredulity or surprise in reaction to the original post therefore, should be not so much caused by the fact that there is an increase in male suicides, but more the fact that it is occurring in Wales.

I have my own views on this, but that's another post.