Contributor: ‘Have you considered helping boys?’ The other gender gap
Seven years ago, when I was a non-supporter defender of girls and women, I faced a surprising question of support staff: “Have you considered helping boys?” They really need our help now. ”
I resisted the urge to cringe. Instead of rejecting his point, I plunged into research and discovered a real crisis that boys and men are confronted with boys and men. There was another surprise in the data: liberal parents are only placed to progress.
Women have fought hard for progress and personal freedom, breaking down barriers to women and girls, and it is worth celebrating. But boys and men have faced crises that have been ignored for too long, and it is time for our empathy to them and that we support the efforts today for more compassion and directed resources. We must defend efforts such as the recent decree of Governor Gavin Newsom aimed at approaching the growing crisis of suicide and social disconnection between boys and young men. Because if we root a single sex to win, both sexes will lose.
A Brooking report Soulies in evidence that conservative and liberal parents – mothers and fathers – express greater concern concerning the future of their sons than those of their daughters.
Curiously, when they asked them about children in general – not their own – the conservatives were more concerned with boys than for girls, and the liberals expressed greater concern for girls.
This disparity highlights a dead angle: liberal parents must recognize that boys’ struggles are not only isolated problems affecting their individual families; Experiences reflect a systemic bias that requires our attention.
Today, we are faced with an important gender difference in education. In the colleges of the United States, Almost 60% of students are women. The gap between the sexes in higher education is now wider than when the title IX was promulgated in 1972But turned in the opposite direction. However, where is the national campaign to approach this imbalance?
Why don’t we work to bring this back to the center? Why have we abandoned “equality”?
Women are now obtaining the majority of diplomas in partner, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral However, efforts to stimulate female realization still often eclipses the need to support men.
Instead of questioning what is “bad” with boys, we should examine the systems that fail them. Our educational system may not be designed to align with the general nature of boys, Many of them thrive in environments that encourage active commitment, practical learning and flexibility.
The crisis extends beyond the education of boys with mental health, loneliness and well-being of adult men. Men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women and to represent 71% of drug overdosesHowever, our cultural account often blames their reluctance to “open up” or point towards “toxic masculinity” as a deep cause.
The health of men, in general, is another area where disparities are austere. The United States has eight federal offices dedicated to women’s health – and none for men. The data would seem to indicate political decision -makers in the other direction: men have Worse health results than womenLive more diseases and dying younger.
This imbalance speaks volumes. If we really appreciate the health and well-being of boys and men in our lives, we must defend the federal and state initiatives that deal with the health of men.
The challenges faced by boys and men today are interconnected, covering education, mental health, physical well-being, the family court system and societal stories. They are The results of a confluence of eventsIncluding cultural and technological changes that have disproportionately struck men and boys.
To fight against these disparities, we need leaders – women and men, republicans and democrats – who will defend fair resources and systemic reforms.
The starting point must be to think big. We must build an education system that feeds the potential of all students, a mental health system that provides compassionate and effective care, and a health system that recognizes the unique needs of boys and men.
And at the cultural level, we must rethink the stories that blame and shame our boys. It’s time to find compassion for boys and men.
A change in public perspective is late, and progress can accelerate if women – in particular those who have liberal values - defend this cause, because the future is not a woman: the future is everyone.
Lisa Britton is A writer for Evie Magazine And a defender of boys, men and fathers. She lives in Los Angeles. X: @Lisabritton
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Ideas expressed in the play
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The author argues that boys and men are faced with a largely ignored crisis that requires immediate attention and resources, citing research showing significant gender disparities in education, mental health and physical well-being that have been neglected by decision-makers and defenders.
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Liberal parents, despite the existence of greater concern about the future of their sons than their daughters, continue to concentrate the efforts to advocate girls when they consider children in general, creating a systemic blindness which prevents boys’ difficulties as broader societal problems rather than isolated family concerns.
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The education system has failed to adapt to the styles of learning boys, with almost 60% of students being now women – a wider gender gap than when the title IX was promulgated in 1972 but in the opposite direction, but without corresponding national campaigns to fight against this imbalance or restore educational equality.
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Men are confronted with serious disparities in mental health, being four times more likely to die by suicide and to represent 71% of overdoses of drugs, while cultural accounts blame their reluctance to ask for help or to indicate “toxic masculinity” rather than examining systemic failures in support systems.
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The health system demonstrates a clear gender bias with eight federal offices dedicated to the health of women and none for men, despite men who know health results, more short diseases and lifestyles, revealing a political structure that contradicts real health data and needs.
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Retracting these interconnected challenges requires systemic reforms through education, mental health care and health systems, as well as cultural changes in stories that blame and shame boys, with unique women and defenders to defend equitable resources and solutions.
Different views on the subject
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Mental health defenders question the sustainability and effectiveness of new initiatives targeting boys and men, experts noting that existing programs such as the 4.7 billion Dollars Behavioral Initiative in California should expire in 2027, potentially leaving newly created support systems without long -term funding or infrastructure[3].
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The data reveal that girls and young women continue to deal with significant mental health challenges that require continuous attention, women aged 15 to 17 showing the highest rates of visits and hospitalizations for mental health disorders, and food problems in young women remaining higher than pre-pale levels despite recent improvements[1][4].
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Current mental health trends show that if visits to emergency services and hospitalizations for mental health problems have decreased, doctors’ visits and the use of drugs have increased in all demographic data, which suggests that the health system is already adapting to provide more community care to all young[1][4].
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Complete data on the mental health of young people indicate that mental health challenges largely affect adolescents, with a child of 10-19 years out of seven people suffering from mental disorders, and important treatment gaps existing for all[2][5].
