Over the years, mental health has become an increasingly eminent topic of discussion, with people gaining more awareness of its importance and taking it more seriously. In his essay ‘Everyone is Going Through Something,’ Kevin Love shares his personal experience with mental health, including his first panic attack. This essay will focus on how the speaker engages his audience, an analysis of the style of writing, and lastly, it will discuss the issues of masculinity and mental health. By sharing his personal experience with mental health, Love lets the reader empathize with his struggle, challenges and societal stigma surrounding mental health. In his essay Love shares the loss of his grandmother, "Then right before the trip, she was hospitalized …show more content…
Men are often expected to be strong, stoic, and in control of their emotions. This can make it difficult for men to admit when they are struggling with mental health issues, as they may fear being seen as weak or unmanly. In his video "Kevin Love details his battles with mental illness," Love talks about how he was taught to suppress his emotions when he was younger. He says, "That was my playbook when I was young is to suppress it and be a man." (3:40-3:46). This type of message reinforces the idea that men should not express vulnerability or seek help when they need it. While it is important to recognize the impact that societal expectations of masculinity can have on men's mental health, it's also important to acknowledge that not all men feel this pressure to conform. Some men may feel comfortable expressing their emotions and seeking help when they need it and may not feel the same societal pressures to conform to traditional norms of masculinity. Still, it is important to recognize that these societal expectations can have a serious impact on men's mental health. By promoting more positive and healthy models of masculinity, we can help break down the barriers that prevent men from seeking the support they need. Encouraging men to talk about their emotions and seek help when they need it can go a long way in reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues and ultimately, save
Susan Griffin once said, “Masculinity is a terrible problem, as we construct and shape it.” Men in today’s society cannot show emotion and cannot act the way they want for society has built up an expectation for men to follow. Society makes men its puppets and plays them the way it wants. Men often feel pressured because of highly set expectation of society and this is expressed in the article “Pain,” by Geoffrey Canada and the play Macbeth, written by Shakespeare. “Pain” is about a young football player who had injured himself while playing football, while Macbeth is about a man who lusts for power.
Society should not base masculinity with these traits since it is learned by observation and demonstration, and this leads men to disconnect their emotions. The author is trying to take away the blindfold on society's eyes because there is an injustice towards men and woman. These aspects of masculinity are how men are taught to be, but if we remove, eliminate, or ignore those aspects and misconceptions men will express their emotions openly without having to restrict themselves and be able to fit in society or at least feel like they are a part of the society. As you can see these views make men disconnect with their emotional side Jensen mentions this when he gives the example of his friend that worked on Wall Street and his friend described it as “coming to work as like walking into a knife fight when all the good spots along the wall were taken” (131). If we stop identifying masculinity as conquest, men would stop trying to be competitive, dominant, and even violent men might not need to always be on their guard to keep this appearance all the
The sexism and masculine norms put out by society are a struggle for men everyday. Men’s mental health is seriously impacted by sexism and masculine norms set out by society. In the film, “The Mask You Live In”, young boys and men talk about their experiences dealing with these norms and how it has affected them today and continues to impact them. Men have to face masculine norms such as, violence, self-reliance, power over women, winning and risk-taking. These brave men go against the societal idea for men and talk about how it feels to be different in a society that is telling you different is
As indicated by Sanchez et al. (2009), "conceptions of masculinity affect the self-image and relationships of many gay men. " The judgment of R.P. 's sexuality caused an emotional strain on his identity, based on the negative perspective of a family member. The issues related to the client as part of his mental and physical well-being negatively impacted him in a way that was hard for him to
History has repeatedly given men privilege due to their physical advantages; yet it is these same advantages that have developed into “rules” or expectations that all men should conform to in order to prove their manhood. Michael Kimmel’s essay, “‘Bros Before Hos': The Guy Code” outlines the “rules” where men are expected to never show any emotions, be brave, act knowledgeable, be risk takers, be in control, act reliable, and be competitive, otherwise they would be showing weakness which is analogous to women. It is humiliating that men associate weakness with women; they should focus on the potential of the individual rather than their gender. Most insults toward men attack their masculinity because society finds it shameful for men to be
In “The Boys Are Not All Right” by Michael Ian Black, the author uses different powers of persuasion to convince the audience to succumb to his opinion that men today don’t know how to properly express their feelings because of cultural norms that expressing your feelings is associated with weakness and femininity. He starts the article by drawing on the fact that almost all mass shootings have been committed by men. He says that men tend to lash out in anger because they don’t know how to properly express their feelings. He attempts to persuade his reader to start a conversation on how to make it more acceptable in society for men to express their emotions in a way that doesn’t potentially hurt others.
Although Cleary’s study is conducted on a small sample of one nationality, research conducted at the Mental Health Foundation proves Cleary findings to be common behavioural patterns in most men: “29 percent of women are more likely to be treated for a mental health issue than men, which is
By signing out of the hospital some men are showing that they are ready to have control over their own lives again and gain back the power and masculinity they
Kevin Breel wanted to break down this barrier when he gave his speech about his experiences with depression and suicide. Breel remains open and honest about his feelings toward how society reacts to openness about mental health issues. While doing so, he makes his point with the use of pathos. In his appeals, he remains forthright in his means of communication. To demonstrate his desire to bring attention to mental health, he does not just share his story but also draws in support for depression.
He argues, “The demand for men to be strong, dominant, and emotionless can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues” (Cantor). The pressure to conform to narrow and rigid standards of masculinity can lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, as well as substance abuse and even suicide. The stigma against seeking help for mental health issues can also exacerbate the problem. It's crucial to
Men who are unable to control their emotions and express vocal and
I think that under circumstances where my emotions reach a high intensity, that’s when I’m most likely to vent and speak about what’s on my mind. Usually, I choose to suppress the things that I’m feeling because I don’t want other people to know and I don’t want them to think my emotions are out of my control. I would argue that my tendency to suppress emotions is strongly shaped by the male gender role of society; men traditionally are expected to keep control of their emotions because a lack of control can display weakness. While I’m here to argue whether or not this standard is good, I do think it has impacted how I express emotions towards
For example, misandry can lead to discrimination against men in the workplace, education, and other areas of life. It can also perpetuate harmful stereotypes about men, such as the idea that they are all violent or emotionally unexpressive. Moreover, misandry can also affect men’s mental health. Men are often expected to be strong and emotionally stoic, and any display of vulnerability or emotion can be seen as weakness.
Toxic Masculinity When thinking about your biggest fear what tends to come to mind? Statistically speaking, most people 's biggest fears are snakes, spiders, heights, even the dark. But, what if I told you that one of the men 's biggest fears aren 't what we think it is? The biggest fear most men are afraid of admitting that they have is the fear of showing emotion. Due to a very serious but not so talked about issue in this nation called toxic masculinity, most men aren 't comfortable with sharing their emotions, which creates an unstableness In behavior for the remainder of their lives.
There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.