Personally I have spent the first half of this year battling the BBC on its, in my opinion, biased coverage of Men and Boys issues and by biased I mean invisible unless it can be linked to VAWG/Misogyny.

Next week they are airing the following documentary https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002xk5y :

'Former England men’s football manager Gareth Southgate gets to grips with the crisis he feels boys and young men are facing. After a decade working with the country’s brightest footballing talent, he is now turning his attention to a whole generation of boys struggling with school, work, identity and hope.

Travelling across the UK, he has honest conversations with young men about how they are feeling and what is really going on in their lives, exploring in detail what is shaping the attitudes and outlook of this generation.

Since the pandemic, the number of men aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training has risen by 40 per cent, compared with just 7 per cent among girls. Boys’ GCSE results are suffering. They are twice as likely as girls to be excluded from school and more than three times as likely to die by suicide. At a moment when they most need guidance, young men are now more likely to have a smartphone than a father at home.

Gareth wants to move beyond the recent focus on the 'manosphere' and instead concentrate on the everyday struggles many boys and young men face – struggles that are often overlooked in education, employment and family life.

Gareth’s journey takes him to Middlesbrough, where he first made his name in management, to meet young men struggling with unemployment; to a secondary school in Essex, to discover how boys are coping with the demands of the current education system; and to a prison, where he speaks with young inmates to explore what really led them into crime.

Gareth also explores a range of potential solutions for school, work and beyond: to create meaningful opportunities for young men to learn, experience and build their lives, whatever their background.'

I have no idea how this will play out, if this is just an attempt at some sort of balance to what has thus far been anything but and/or a precursor to a new bout of attack. Until I am proved otherwise I will remain optimistic that maybe this is a move away from the toxic rhetoric.

I am made more optimistic by: Gian Quaglieni, BBC Commissioning Editor, says: “Gareth Southgate is in a unique position to explore why so many boys feel like they’re falling behind and to think differently about what might help. This film steps away from polarised arguments and instead listens to how young people really feel and what they’re dealing with. These are important conversations - and not always easy - but they need to be heard.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2026/gareth-southgate-changing-game-for-young-men

This quote is taken from the feminist media https://www.stylist.co.uk/news/gareth-southgate-bbc-documentary-young-boys-manosphere/1087126 : 'I understand why some might balk at the idea of giving boys more airtime right now, given the current news, but I think this can only be a good thing. When we talk about women's safety we have to talk to boys, too. Not about them, to them. When you exclude a certain group of people from a conversation, they will simply have it elsewhere – and that’s where the manosphere steps in. It takes any frustrations felt and exploits them to devastating effect.'

I hope this isn't the angle the program is taking and it is a fair representation of male difficulties taken as their own issues and not as a further opportunity to blame men. There are far more men suffering than there are criminals.

If you are able I would encourage people to watch. Program airs on Monday 8th June 21:00 BBC One.