While the system of the patriarchy has suppressed women for centuries and institutionalized the inequality between the two genders through its ominous embedment in society. The systems which give our society its structure have been built upon male favoured foundations. The political, economic, legal, medical, religious, educational, and other institutional systems are all male dominated.[1] But are these same traditions the cause of widespread mental health problems and suicide among men?
Nearly 800,000 people commit suicide every year, meaning every 40 seconds somebody will take their own life.[2] In the UK, Women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, while men are three times as likely to commit suicide.[3] This begs the question as to why?
Societal structures and cultures unknowingly teach men about patriarchal standards. From young, men are socialized to be non-emotional in society and this can lead to complex implications in later life. Men are experiencing mental health symptoms without being clinically diagnosed and are therefore under-represented in mental health statistics.
Since men are discouraged from forming close relationships, they cannot experience their emotional benefits.[4] Society also expects men to be self-sufficient and to deal with personal problems themselves by ‘manning up’ without expressing or discussing their feelings. Unfortunately, this can lead to a failure in the processing of emotions, allowing them to manifest into other emotional outlets like aggression, substance abuse and violence.[4] Subsequently, men are three times as likely to become alcohol dependent and report frequent drug use compared to women, which is another contributing factor as these often worsen depressive symptoms and impulses.[3] Other consequences of alcohol and substance abuse are social and financial problems which are also commonly linked with mental health issues and suicide.[5]
Cultural society enforces the idea of traditional gender roles which fundamentally assume that men must internalise their emotions to avoid appearing feminine or weak. It is the nature of patriarchal gender roles also discourages men from receiving treatment once they have issues regarding their mental health, as they would appear weak in admitting emotion or even needing help. Treatment practices are also less accommodating for men due to the stigma surrounding men and their emotions.[6] These factors explain the disparity between men and women in mental health statistics as a significant number of cases go undiagnosed. In short, Men are experiencing mental health symptoms without being clinically diagnosed and are therefore under-represented in mental health statistics.
The masculine norm of being the provider for a family has been a big contributor to suicide rates. Periods of economic downturn often see spikes in male suicide.[7] When recessions occur and subsequent levels of unemployment strike, the men effected struggle to cope with the financial impact. An example of this was in Hong Kong in the 90s where suicide rates of men between the ages of 30 and 59 nearly doubled.[7]
Furthermore, men’s life expectancy is considerably lower. Living an average 7 years less globally, there are thought to be many contributing factors to this.[8] Traditional gender norms play a big role in this disparity, for example, men being bigger risk takers, being more likely to have harmful addictions and higher suicide rates. Moreover, the same factors are the cause of the male tendency to avoid revealing medical problems to doctors. It is believed by many that greater gender equality and that eradicating certain aspects of masculinity will lead to a reduction in the inequality in physical and mental health.[9] And ultimately increase male life expectancy.
What can be done?
Admittedly, since this culture is so ingrained into our lives and society and has been for generations, it is not a simple problem. Fortunately, awareness of mental health among men has most definitely increased in recent years, but 40% of men still refuse to talk about their mental health problems (Priory, 2021). This is an indication that although raising awareness has been beneficial, it still isn’t enough. If we stop conditioning young boys to be completely non-emotional and self-sufficient, so that later in life they are not as vulnerable to their consequences. If we further educate men about the complexities of mental health and understanding their symptoms. By changing the stigma around men accepting help from mental health institutions while also making those institutions more hospitable for men. These are just some of the steps we can take to improve the problem surrounding men and mental health. If we fundamentally change gender norms, we can begin to achieve greater equality, not only for women, but for men too.
Bibliography
1. Hawkes, Sarah. ‘The banality of the patriarchy Kate Manne, Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women’ THE LANCET. Vol 396 (2020)
2. Suicide - WHO | World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/suicide-data accessed 4 March 2021
3. Why more men than women die by suicide - BBC Future, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190313-why-more-men-kill-themselves-than-women Accessed 4 March 2021
4. Smith, Elise. ‘The Psychological Consequences of Patriarchal Culture on Men’s Mental Health’ (2019)
5. Does alcohol and other drug abuse increase the risk for suicide?, https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/does-alcohol-increase-risk-of-suicide/index.html Accessed 5 March 2021
6. Why the patriarchy is killing men, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/why-the-patriarchy-is-killing-men/2019/09/12/2490fa7e-d3ea-11e9-86ac-0f250cc91758_story.html Accessed 8 March 2021
7. Why men often die earlier than women, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-men-often-die-earlier-than-women-201602199137 Accessed 8 March 2021
8. Etienne, Carissa. ‘Addressing masculinity and men's health to advance universal health and gender equality’ Revista Panamericana de Salud Publica (2019)
9. 40% Of Men Wont Talk About Their Mental Health, https://www.priorygroup.com/blog/40-of-men-wont-talk-to-anyone-about-their-mental-health
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