"It is worth noting, I think, that the gender disparity in suicide, while clearly noted in this story, does not receive a great deal of attention in the public discussion of suicide. I'm confident that if teenage girls were committing suicide at four times the rates of teenage boys (instead of the reverse), there would be much public discussion about the gender gap in suicide. If divorced mothers were committing suicide at 10 times the rate of divorced fathers (instead of the reverse), there would be loud calls to action. Maybe, in that case, we would rethink how our legal system treats divorced mothers and fathers.

Why doesn't the fact that, in America now (depending on how you cut up the age groups, marital status, and so forth) males commit suicide at between 3 and 10 time the rate of females provoke more discussion of gender roles and expectations. If we care about the lives of our sons as much as those of our daughters, shouldn't we be asking why boys and men seem especially prone to suicide and what we can do to reduce suicide in general--something that could involve rethinking what we expect of boys and men and how we structure social institutions and practices to promote their flourishing."

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/health/suicide-rate-rises-sharply-in-us.html?_r=1&