Each year, International Men’s day comes around. But such is the hatred of men in the popular culture that major news outlets ask questions like “Is International Men’s day needed?” Although it will come as no surprise to the majority of the readers of this blog, men have issues too, and it’s only right that they are discussed and publicised, just as with other groups. There has been a lot of research into the mental health of men in recent years. The findings aren’t good. Around a fifth of men of working age say that they have contemplated suicide and more than 40 percent say that they don’t feel like they can talk to anybody about their problems. With so much suffering, it’s surprising that International Men’s day isn’t more widely publicised. Here are some of the top issues affecting male health right now. Depression Depression isn’t just a men’s issue. But depression among men isn’t talked about as much as it should be. When it comes to depression, there’s a significant difference between the sexes. Women feel more able to come forward and talk about their mental health and wellbeing problems, whereas men don’t. Whether the reasons for this are biological or cultural, the issue remains: millions of men are suffering in silence with problems they feel they can do nothing about. Worryingly, things are getting worse, not better. Suicide rates among white males, in particular, are on the rise, even as rates for other ethnic groups fall. The reasons for this are many, but it has a lot to do with a loss of identity, falling incomes and stressful relationships. Prostate Cancer Just as women suffer from breast cancer, men suffer from a hormonally-based cancer of their own: prostate cancer. Every year, more than 8,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, making it one of the most common cancers around. Although prostate cancer is rarely fatal if caught early enough, it can lead to a life of debilitating consequences. Products like Lille Supreme Incontinence Pads for men can help make the aftermath of the condition more manageable, but it remains a major issue for men. Men need to get access to proper lifestyle advice on how to prevent this awful condition, something which is more than twenty times rarer in places like rural China than it is in the West. The Education Gap The media reports that women’s pay is lower than men’s: and, on average, that’s true. But if you analyse the figures a little more deeply, a worrying and disturbing trend emerges: today’s men are getting paid roughly 10 to 20 percent less than women who don’t have children. That’s a staggering gap, and it’s got nothing to do with the patriarchy – it’s the result of education. Men today simply aren’t as well educated as women. Throughout the state school system, boys regularly underperform girls. This continues all the way up to the university level, with women recently moving ahead of men in terms of academic performance. Though the media likes to ignore this issue, it is real and become more serious. Fewer and fewer men are able to earn incomes that would allow them to start families and this is feeding into an epidemic of depression. Death In The Workplace Almost all deaths in the workplace are suffered by men. According to estimates from the OSHA, more than 9 in 10 deaths are male, a shocking statistic which reveals just how far society needs to progress before we have true equality. However, you rarely hear about this particular issue in the media? Why? Why isn’t more being said about this disproportionate burden of mortality being placed on men? The riskiest jobs are those in agriculture, forestry, fishing, logging, construction and manufacturing. Higher Rates Of Homelessness When you think about it, the number of homeless men and women ought to be about the same. But it turns out that men are more than twice as likely to be homeless than females. In some countries, it’s even worse. The effect on life expectancy is pretty harrowing. Men live nearly a decade less than they would when they’re out on the streets. And male homelessness victims tend to live five years less than women in the same predicament. Even in countries like Australia with similar rates of male and female homelessness, outcomes for men tend to be much, much worse. What is going on here? The bottom line is that there are some issues which disproportionately affect men. These issues need to be discussed so that people suffering can be helped. ]]>
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