"The Men Are Not All Right"...Right?

In this conversation…
Caro & Katie dive headfirst into the “male loneliness epidemic,” “the boys are not all right,” “feminism hurts men” discourse to understand which right-wing think tank’s research suddenly indicates The Men™️ are struggling, its curious timing, and the frustrating tendency of all the coverage to completely gloss over the core problem.
References in this Episode
Of Boys and Men (bookshop.org/p/books/of-boys-and-men-why-the-m…), by Richard Reeves, the man who has penned most of the mainstream coverage on this issue, like this one (wsj.com/politics/elections/on-the-ballot-ameri…) in the Wall Street Journal
The CNN segment (youtube.com/watch?v=_XapCqE1w6k&t=374s) featuring Scott Galloway, “Young Men Feel Abandoned by the Democratic Party”
“How I Escaped the Alt-Right Pipeline (youtube.com/watch?si=t9QMSmKF9uBlCUnv&t=2&…),” the video we watched clips of in the second half of this episode that identifies Jordan Peterson as a common entry point
“Alok Vaid-Menon: The Urgent Need for Compassion,” (manenough.com/alok) an interview for the Man Enough (manenough.com) podcast
“omg enough about male loneliness (substack.com/@colormeloverly/p-150572165),” by Clara (substack.com/profile/7549371-clara) for Hmm That's Interesting (open.substack.com/pub/colormeloverly)
“On the Ballot: American Manhood (wsj.com/politics/elections/on-the-ballot-ameri…),” by Richard Reeves for The Wall Street Journal
“America’s Young Men Are Falling Further Behind (wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/young-american-men-l…),” by Rachel Wolfe for The Wall Street Journal
“How I Escaped the Alt-Right Pipeline (youtube.com/watch?v=OygHnodf0XM&t=2s),” by YouTuber JimmytheGiant (youtube.com/@JimmyTheGiant)
Bonus Reading & Resources
“Patriarchy is Bad for Men and Boys (matriarchyreport.substack.com/p/patriarchy-is-…)” from Matriarchy Report
“Why aren’t we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? (celestemdavis.substack.com/p/why-boys-dont-go-…)” from Celeste Davis (substack.com/profile/12350517-celeste-davis) of Matriarchal Blessing (open.substack.com/pub/celestemdavis), about the “feminization” of higher education
“Race, Class, and Gender in the United States (xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2020-05/…): Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity” by Michael Kimmel, which is a fancy academic PDF by a sociologist about all the ways “masculinity” is invented and redefined over time
“How an Empty Internet Gave Us Tradwives and Trump (archive.is/xqV9j#selection-701.0-701.49)” by all-star heavy-hitter Diabolical Lies favorite, Tressie McMillan Cottom, which explains the cultural aesthetic of the “podcast bro”
“Patriarchy Is Bad for Men and Boys, Too (substack.com/@matriarchyreport/p-147732938),” a banger by Lane Anderson (substack.com/profile/1628200-lane-anderson) for Lane Anderson (substack.com/profile/1628200-lane-anderson)
Time Stamps
0:00 - BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MEN? let’s discuss.
3:00 - Hulk Hogan enters the chat because of course
5:00 - *whispers* this is a conversation about identity politics actually!!!
6:00 - understanding Richard Reeves, the architect of the “what about the boys” movement
11:55 - CNN clip #1, in which two bald white men in suits convey their grave concern about the fact that “men have fallen”
14:11 - CNN clip #2, in which those bald white men seem not to realize that “latinos,” “rural Americans,” “ethnic Americans,” “seniors,” and other demographic groups…include…men????
19:10 — final piece of mainstream coverage, in which a featured image on an article says the quiet part out loud
23:35 — what is patriarchy, actually?
28:24 — are the men actually more lonely than other demographics?
32:10 — in case anyone wants to learn more about how the American Enterprise Institute lifts up men 34:22 — yes, dear reader, there are in fact women who uphold the notion that men need more time, attention, and resources from this country
50:00 — little tip for the women who want to give up feminist beliefs in order to “fix their marriage”
53:00 — Caro beats the “look at the data” drum
55:50 — Katie makes a huge point
58:30 — we listen to a personal account from YouTuber JimmytheGiant on how he escaped the alt-right pipeline
1:04:00 — Jordan Peterson enters the chat. Is anyone surprised?
1:13:25 — JimmytheGiant offers a v compelling argument for class consciousness as a solution to alt-right ideology drift
1:20:00 — no guys sincerely: it’s hard to overstate how unique America’s brand of “capitalism” is, compared to other wealthy capitalist nations
1:24:00 — Richard Reeves makes his big grand argument
1:29:00 — Katie makes another huge point
1:38:00 — let’s be clear on where the two-party system fits into this conversation

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