Are 21st Century Men Losing Their Identity or Have They Found it?
Millennials are changing history
Girls and women suffer the most from the negative effects of rigid gender norms, no doubt. But now we are at a time when men are suffering more and hurting others because of it.
Statistics show that men are committing suicide more than women. That men are emotionally imprisoned more than women.
Another study indicates that boys have a higher rate of mental illness and lower achievement in education than girls.
Masculinities and femininities are social roles, behaviors, and meanings prescribed for men and women in any society at any time.
The Western cultural view of both gender roles is very clear. Males need to be physically strong, mentally resilient, and entirely self-sufficient.
While females are taught to be submissive, soft, humble, and fragile, their interests become unimportant and dismissed as trivial.
How people develop an understanding of their gender identity, including whether or not they fit into these prescribed gender roles, depends on the context in which they socialize and how they view themselves in relation to social gender norms.
21st-century male identity crisis
The ancient sense of purpose of men was to defend their land against all threats or to serve as the sole breadwinner for the family.
With fewer men needed as soldiers and fewer as sole breadwinners, many men now lack purpose.
That purpose has always been rooted in survival and prosperity, for the country’s survival or prosperity, for the family’s survival or prosperity.
Men are less likely to enforce boundaries that create the discipline to successfully realize their dream. Without discipline, men fail and soon become ashamed and afraid to dream.
Also, because they feel purposeless, they need to live their lives through other men or through a team they can identify with and try to fill the void in their hearts.
When men see themselves as inferior in social class, and there is no obvious way to improve their social status, they will often regress into more violent behavior.
The positive influence of femininity on men
Single mothers raise more than forty percent of male children. This means that almost half of children with predominantly or entirely female influence grow up at home and school.
Young men are taught that femininity is better or more desirable and healthier than masculinity. Young people are taught that physical fitness is important, so they care about their body image.
The more feminine young men act, the more they are rewarded for being good and for rejecting bad, loud, and energetic masculinity.
As they grow older, they learn that they should submit to their wives and take permission from their boss before doing anything for themselves.
Millennials changing face of masculinity
We must have both masculine and feminine traits to be better humans.
It is time for society to recognize that masculinity and femininity are not traits we associate with based on gender but rather on character.
By requiring men to be strong, have no feelings, and dominate women, masculinity causes men to miss out on aspects of life that should be available to everyone regardless of genders, such as emotional connection and compassion. And at worst, toxic masculinity can fuel violence.
Fortunately, millennials seem to have chosen a different path than our ancestors. They understand the collaborative relationship — that their partner can now work longer and earn more and may have a new definition of female sexuality.
They are raised with a sense of pro-social and environmentally friendly values and seek commitment. They build tribes with the same values and attitudes.
Millennials do not need to be externally validated to adapt. They act according to their own will and are not threatened by women rising either.
All of these changes in values, attitudes, and behavior of millennial men are likely to have a growing impact on all areas of our society in the years to come.
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