Patriarchy hurts men by cutting them off from their feelings and making them think that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Men are always under pressure to live up to narrow expectations of what it means to be a man, to compete with one another, and to demonstrate their manliness by rejecting their humanity and giving up their individuality. There is also pressure to take risks that aren’t necessary, to not care about your health, and to use drugs or alcohol to cope.
One of the biggest risks to the physical and emotional health of men is patriarchy
Because masculinity promotes risk-taking behaviour and inhibits aid-seeking or health-improving behaviour, men are more likely to get harmed or ill and less likely to seek help when they do.
As a result, patriarchal ideas about masculinity can be extremely dangerous to men’s health. Men are less likely to seek medical attention or counselling for mental health problems. Men are also more likely than women to cease taking their prescription medications for chronic or life-threatening conditions. Additionally, they are less likely to take time off work when they are unwell or hurt, and they are also less likely to notice the warning signs of diseases that disproportionately affect them, including heart disease.
Unsurprisingly, men’s life expectancy is about three to four years lower than women’s around the world.
In order to prevent men from developing close male friendships, homophobia fuels barriers that hinder men’s chances for meaningful and healthy relationships with others.
This harm is compounded by the constant fear of violence among men. Guys who identify as gender nonconforming, men who don’t “fit” the rigorous norms, queer people, and trans people are at risk of being hated on for daring to challenge the status quo.
Most violent hate crimes in Canada happen when men attack other men because they think they are gay.
Around 90% of those detained for offences involving gay hatred nationwide are young men. The dehumanisation of women is justified and encouraged by patriarchy, which fosters male entitlement and aggression.
Violence against women is still a serious problem all around the world. There are numerous instances of patriarchal violence against women and girls today, including child brides, forced marriages, sexual assault, human trafficking, domestic abuse, and femicide.
Men who don’t fit the rigid stereotypes of what a “man should be” frequently face bullying, mockery, and worse.
It discredits their accounts of assault and domestic abuse.
Domestic, familial, and sexual violence primarily affects women, but it can also affect men, usually at the hands of other men. For a variety of reasons, the information on how many males actually experience domestic violence isn’t very good. For starters, men may be less willing to report abuse out of fear of being discredited or mocked for being assaulted by a woman or in an intimate relationship. Because we rarely hear men’s stories as victim survivors, they may fail to recognise harmful patterns of behaviour as abuse.
Everyone benefits from gender equality; studies have shown that in nations with higher levels of gender equality, the gap in life expectancy between men and women is lower, and male well-being is higher in terms of welfare, mental health, fertility, and suicide.
Patriarchy backfiring
As an inherently oppressive system, patriarchy manifests in different ways for different individuals. The same system that privileges you as the person at the top of the hierarchy and oppresses women also destroys your masculinity and fosters an environment where you are only permitted to be a version of yourself that the patriarchy approves of.
When patriarchy is criticised, the notion that males are superior is also questioned, which puts many of them on the defensive. Therefore, they continue to support the same system that tries to keep them unaware of its flaws since, after all, it can’t be that horrible, can it? Men feel secure in their little worlds of reality, dismissing worries as hassles.