Hello r/unpopularopinion,

Every generation has that one thing that they look back on and kind of say “whoops” that was a big problem that we didn’t see/ we didn’t do anything about. I think that thing is how we have treated boys in my generation (late millennial's). I think the writing has been on the wall for a while but nothing seems to happen. I of course mean socially not all of the pollution and terrible way we treat the planet. Let me elaborate.

I believe we live in a reactionary society I.E a kid gets hit in a street and the city decides to build a massive speed bump to overcompensate for the issue. Applying this to how women were treated previously and you kind of get the idea. I believe a good portion of our issues plaguing our society ( in the US. Mental health, gun violence in schools, suicide, homelessness, drug addiction etc..) currently can be traced back to the difference in how boys/men are treated. Boys from a very young age are told their lives are worth less than their female counterparts, they are taught to hold in their emotions not to talk about the issues plaguing them leading to mental health issues, going to war and dying in another country is virtuous, they should hold women on a pedestal etc..

I mean all the statistics look really bad.

1. Men/boys are way more prone to suicide ( yes I know girls are more likely to attempt but boys are 3 times as likely to follow through)
2. graduating college at a much lower rate than women (in the US)
3. Ridiculously high incarceration rates and longer sentences compared to women for the same crime.
4. You are ridiculously more like to be a Drug addict/ homeless.
5. Literally some states have zero domestic violence shelters that will allow men in…. (Seriously they won’t allow men in but will allow dogs.)
6. Very little paternity rights compared to women.
7. And one of the worst things is not being able to talk about any of these issues for fear as being seen as weak

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This all kind of stemmed from me recently talking to my dad and discussing why I was raised so different than my 2 sisters not really mad or anything more just curious as I always had harsher punishments/more chores/ less acknowledgement and overall was probably less involved in my family then my sisters. He said something along the lines of “I know it wasn’t right and wasn’t fair but no one gives a shit about a man and me and your mother decided we needed to prepare you for that inevitability of life.” I’m not mad or angry in fact in some ways it probably helped me as I am pretty successful right now and happy but it still got me thinking, I’m sure a lot of Men were raised similarly.

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I am not really a men’s right activist or anything or a women hater ( I am currently in a very happy 3 year relationship with my girlfriend) but the more I grow up the more I see issues in how I was raised and how society perceives men and how that leads to a bunch of issues we are currently facing in society. Just my 2 cents.