young men sitting on a cliff
We normally think of health as a physical thing. If we are healthy, we can run, jump and play vigorous games.
If we are unhealthy, our headache, bronchial complaint, cancer or auto-immune disease stops us from being physically active.
Today, however, we increasingly recognise what has always been evident to older cultures: the subtle connections between physical, mental and spiritual health. Health has many dimensions, and men’s health, in particular. The expectations placed on men in their relationships with one another and with women, in work and in play and in inner and outer conversations are as important to their health as are temperature, muscle tone, good bronchial systems, and so on.
The recent focus on the harm done by domestic violence and the acknowledgment that men are overwhelmingly responsible for perpetrating it have led many people to take this broader approach to men’s health. It is now common to identify a toxic male culture as one in which young men prize hardness and inarticulate strength, and see women as compliant sexual objects to which they are entitled.
Many young men look to violent pornography for reliable models of how to relate to women. This view of masculinity is destructive both for young men themselves, for the people with whom they form close relationships and for the society of which they are part. It expresses itself in domestic violence, self-harm, substance abuse and risk taking behaviour that puts others also at risk.
For the health of society it is vitally important for young men to recognise what it means to be a male adult, as well as what is involved in building healthy relationsips with women, with other men and with the world around them. For this they need good example and people who will mentor them. Men who are disadvantaged by growing up in dysfunctional and violent families, in poverty or without significant male adults in their lives may need programs that help them to build good relationships and to express their anger in sociable ways.
We need to realise the complex network of relationships that shape young men’s identity as males and help young men to build good relationships, particularly with women, which will flow into living generous, happy and respectful lives. This work is vital for the future of Australian society.
Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash