[DanaC]

Maybe if we stop teaching young boys that their primary value lies in their role as bread winner for the family, they will be less bereft of a role when the economy puts them out of work.

If we stop teaching them that they should be the ones to support the family (instead of women) and stop teaching them that they must be more emotionally resilient than women. And stop teaching them that their place is in work and not in the home.

Lads are getting mixed messages. On the one hand they're supposed to understand that men and women are equal. On the other hand they're also taught through a variety of means, that they are supposed to be more powerful than women. No wonder they get confused. They're taught that women should be respected, whilst at the same time subjected to a culture in which women are supposed to be sexually available and subordinate to them.

I dunno. But it does seem that economic and employment problems hit men harder than women in this regard. Even though women are more likely to lose their jobs during an economic downturn.