The Mask of Masculinity

Recently, I've been reading a great book that addresses the topic of masculinity... and maybe where we have gone a bit astray with the pressures placed on men in our culture. 

In his book, Lewis Howes discusses the many masks that men can feel obligated to wear, including The Stoic Mask, The Athlete Mask, The Material Mask, The Sexual Mask, The Aggressive Mask, The Joker Mask, The Invincible Mask, The Know-it-all Mask and The Alpha Mask. That's a lot of masks! 

I'm passionate about men's mental health (after all, you make up about 50% of the population), and truly believe that great things can come from men resolving some of these challenges... but that can't happen alone, it happens in community and relationship. So if you're female, don't halt your information and education gathering at women's issues. I recommend you grab a copy of The Mask of Masculinity, and maybe get a little insight into some of the destructive gender stereotypes that stand in the way of men's vulnerability and capacity for intimacy. 

Did you know that in the United States, nearly 88% of homicides are committed by men, men are 6 (!!!) times more likely to complete suicide that women and half as likely to visit a doctor or seek help for suicide prevention. A suicide prevention study in Switzerland made this sad and blunt summary - "Women seek help, men die." So with all that information and statistics, we can safely assume that things aren't going well for men in our culture.

The hope lays in the fact that we do know a little of what the solution is - vulnerability, connection, support and cultural shifts around masculinity... and we all have our part to play. 


​Photo by Lachlan Dempsey on Unsplash