A short interview-style discussion about the challenges facing young men in Western culture. The speaker reports hearing boys express regret about being born male and describes cultural messages (patriarchy, 'toxic masculinity', and DEI rhetoric) that leave some young men feeling excluded and stigmatized.
What's happening to young men in today's culture, and what are some of the forces that you think are pressing on the male psyche in Western society?
I hear more boys today saying some version of, I wish I hadn't been born male. And saying that because they hear in school that if you're born male, you're part of the patriarchy, which means that you're part of a system in which the rules were made to benefit men at the expense of women. You're an oppressor, and the women are oppressed. They're hearing that the future is female. They're hearing masculinity being described as toxic, not sometimes toxic, and that women and men can both have toxic masculinity and femininity, that would be fine. But when they hear it's only males described as being toxic, it's just sort of like they're in college, which they're hearing dei, of course, diversity, equity and inclusion. But they are feeling, wait a minute, this is diversity equity. But it doesn't include me. And inclusion definitely doesn't include me. And the evidence is all around.
How to Raise Strong, Unshakable Boys in Today's Culture, with Dr. Shefali Tsabary
