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Do you think issues facing boys and men are put on the back burner?

I'm not advocating an Oppression Olympics between women and men and "who has it worse". I'm just saying that men's issues, from my experience, do not seem to be given the attention they are due. By "issues" I'm referring to the over-diagnosis of ADHD in young boys, the fact that boys perform worse than girls in school, absent fathers, divorce proceedings favoring women, suicide rate among men higher than that of women, etc.

Women's issues have received a lot of attention and that's fair, but I think it's important to recognize the unique societal problems that men and boys face.
BlueMetalChick26-30, F
In some cases, yes. Sexual assault against males is often mocked and considered a joke. I went to school with a boy who was raped when he was a preteen and everyone used to call him faggot and twink and poofer and say that he was a little bitch for having fallen victim to a homosexual attacker.
BlueMetalChick26-30, F
@HannahSky He got really mean over the years and people stopped making fun of him because he would immediately start a fistfight. I felt so bad for him.
HannahSkyF
@BlueMetalChick It happens. People put up whatever defense they have to. Sometimes it makes sense, but they're very unhappy.
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Agreed. And don't forget the expectations that men face. Like if you don't fit the stereotypical male role than you are not a man.
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greenmountaingal70-79, F
I am a woman in my mid 70s. This post reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a friend that is also in his mid 70s. I was complaining about my serious and painful problems with chronic UTIs and he was telling me all about his sleepless nights due to his problem with his prostate gland.
SW-User
I think it's important that both men and women's issues are addressed. When men and women get into relationships their individual issues if not addressed can well become issues for the other person. Take domestic violence for example.
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SW-User
@RamessesII In a positive way, I hope 馃
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HannahSkyF
If we don't look at what's going on with men, nothing really gets better.
This is the first time ive ever seen a post like this. Id like to hear mens response as to why they dont care abput mens issues. Im honestly curious. Women discuss, & address womens issues all the time...
SW-User
@DarlingSelah I think some men have never even thought to frame these things as "men's issues". They may think these are individual problems and not see the patterns.
@DarlingSelah Toxic masculinity for one. We are expected to be dumb brutes that don't have feelings.
When I was going through depression and would sometimes end up crying I was told by "feminists" to man up and that one of them hated blubbering men. So that is another reason. It becomes a fight between the sexes over who gets attention. Like my niece complains about how easy mean have it and I try to tell her the inverse but she doesn't take me serious. Each side ends up belittling the other.
Also there is stigma in general for many things like mental health or substance abuse or rape regardless of gender. Things don't get talked about. And if you are male you aren't allowed to. Cause that isn't manly. So back to toxic masculinity.
This is my guy response.
SW-User
I think in the modern society with heavy expectations of what men should be, real issues are getting overlooked while groups fight over inane things.
A lot of times boys and men feel too dejected to speak up.
ViciDraco36-40, M
Both men's and women's issues are human issues. It is true that some genders face certain issues at higher rates. A lot of that is due to gender roles. It's not about being a boy or a girl. It's about what people expect out of you because you are a boy or a girl.

Many of these problems start going away if we make meaningful progress toward destroying the notion of gender roles. You don't fix all issues, but you get some big ones. It'd also help minor cases of gender dysphoria - particularly those where gender expression and gender placement in society are bigger aspects of a person's disconnect than their physical sex.

school performance I'm a little less concerned over as a men's issue. That's more of a parenting issue. Heck, they had the opposite problem just a couple decades ago.
SW-User
@Quoththeraven I don't think that's what I'm getting at here. This isn't about relationships with women.
@SW-User no but they dive deep into cause and affect. Be careful though not to go too far down the rabbit hole
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