"I argue that public health campaigns promoting ‘talk’ in response to male suicide neglect the interpersonal and structural contexts"

Frosty-Gate-8094 · 2021-04-14T15:10:35+00:00

People are dying in millions and their solution is to 'talk'...

That sums up how much feminists and society values 'mens' lives.

Oncefa2 · 2021-04-14T20:55:56+00:00

Interesting.

Here's the abstract:

An increasingly common way that high rates of male suicide are understood is via men’s ostensibly poorer abilities to talk about – and more generally seek help for – problems in general, and emotional problems specifically. This has led to the development of public mental health campaigns which urge men to ‘speak up’ more often about the problems they face. I argue that both the initial claim, and the enactment of this claim in public mental health campaigns, is problematic, resting on simplistic assumptions about men and gender difference, and serving to detract attention from structural drivers of suicide. Drawing on a narrative analysis of in-depth interviews with ten men who had self-harmed, thought about, or attempted suicide, this paper focuses attention on the content and contexts of ‘talk’. I argue that public health campaigns promoting ‘talk’ in response to male suicide neglect the interpersonal and structural contexts in which talk occurs, including considerations of power and structural inequalities.

My first thought is that it does seem like men have problems talking about their emotions, but I also think we go overboard in society talking about this, to the point of literal victim blaming.

Male suicide is caused by a number is different problems in society, including systemic and institutionalized sexism and discrimination. Some of the biggest causes are destitution, financial problems, problems with employment, domestic violence, separation from their children (and for children, separation from their fathers), and other issues with our family court system. Not to mention things like male invisibility, male disposability, and the gender empathy gap. For example, if you look for help, and nobody cares, then you might stop looking. "Not seeking help" and "not talking about their emotions" are probably at the very bottom of this list and serve as a good scapegoat for people who want to ignore the more pressing issues that men deal with in society.

Title	"I argue that public health campaigns promoting ‘talk’ in response to male suicide neglect the interpersonal and structural contexts"
Author	iainmf
Upvotes	33
Comments	7
Date	April 14, 2021 12:01 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/mqp2n1/i_argue_that_public_health_campaigns_promoting/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/i-argue-that-public-health-campaigns-promoting.830924 https://theredarchive.com/post/830924

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