Really well said—I particularly appreciate the part about vigilance stress, that I find really difficult to explain to even the best men in my life. Since the election, I’ve joined the League of Women Voters, specifically to address all of this. I hope to do my part.
Thanks Danielle. Yeah, it's hard to explain that constant state of being vigilant and sometimes I think we don't even realize how stressful it is because it's our normal. Awesome that you joined LWV!
Have you read Ruth Whippman's book BoyMom? It's excellent. And Christopher Pepper's substack is great for info about teens in general and boys specifically.
I've been thinking about how a new baseline level of misogyny + gender-based violence in America could affect women's health. The concept of vigilance stress was not even on my radar but you are 100% right to call this out. And community is a key stress buffer.
I didn't know about that Napoleon quote. No wonder the latest movie portrayed him as such an incel - guess he was the OG one.
Seriously makes my blood boil when I think what women are going through in the US. Hopefully more decent men will also have the backbone to stand up in solidarity and tell their male workmates and friends that Trump winning is irrelevant and that they better keep behaving or else!
Loved taking the time to read through this! As a young male college student I’m always trying to find ways to better understand the struggles of women and how the patriarchal systems are set up to suppress them. I thought you started off soo strong by comparing what’s occurring now to what Hitler did during his regime. I didn’t even know about the women’s March in Versailles in 1989, the Mother’s of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and even the Iceland Women’s Strikes in 1975, so that was fascinating to learn about and I want to do more research on all of those events. When you quoted Foreign Affairs statement “In other words, fully free, politically active women are a threat to authoritarian and authoritarian-leaning leaders.” that reminded me of an article recently published by Lane Anderson where she stressed the fact that our current government is spreading the idea that masculinity is in grave danger because of women, the LGBTQ+ community, non-binary individuals, etc. You even backed that up by stating how 90% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies are men. However, it’s toxic masculinity and the ideals of the patriarchy that are the real threat. To learn that there was a 4600% increase in online misogynistic rhetoric and attacks after the election genuinely scared me for what’s the come now that Trump is finally in office and these social media platforms are de-censoring harmful rhetoric, and also in real life like you stated. I do want to ask though, other than what you’ve stated, what are ways for me as a male to further support women and help them feel safe and help their voices feel heard within an increasingly troubling environment?
Really well said—I particularly appreciate the part about vigilance stress, that I find really difficult to explain to even the best men in my life. Since the election, I’ve joined the League of Women Voters, specifically to address all of this. I hope to do my part.
Thanks Danielle. Yeah, it's hard to explain that constant state of being vigilant and sometimes I think we don't even realize how stressful it is because it's our normal. Awesome that you joined LWV!
Could I get some links to good resources that deal with raising young men in this shitstorm? I'd love even a starting point - thanks, all. 💥
Have you read Ruth Whippman's book BoyMom? It's excellent. And Christopher Pepper's substack is great for info about teens in general and boys specifically.
So many good points here! And this history--oy.
Thanks Lane. Oy indeed :)
Nailed it, Jo-Ann.
I've been thinking about how a new baseline level of misogyny + gender-based violence in America could affect women's health. The concept of vigilance stress was not even on my radar but you are 100% right to call this out. And community is a key stress buffer.
Thank you. I'm in this fight with you!
Thanks Molly! There are so many ways this will affect women's health. SO MANY. I look forward to reading your take on it or chatting soon!
I didn't know about that Napoleon quote. No wonder the latest movie portrayed him as such an incel - guess he was the OG one.
Seriously makes my blood boil when I think what women are going through in the US. Hopefully more decent men will also have the backbone to stand up in solidarity and tell their male workmates and friends that Trump winning is irrelevant and that they better keep behaving or else!
Fingers crossed! And yeah, Napoleon was a dick 😉
#truth!
I’m with you!
Solidarity JC!
With you fighting forward here in Idaho.
Thanks Jane. And thank you for subscribing ❤️❤️❤️. To fighting forward!!
Loved taking the time to read through this! As a young male college student I’m always trying to find ways to better understand the struggles of women and how the patriarchal systems are set up to suppress them. I thought you started off soo strong by comparing what’s occurring now to what Hitler did during his regime. I didn’t even know about the women’s March in Versailles in 1989, the Mother’s of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and even the Iceland Women’s Strikes in 1975, so that was fascinating to learn about and I want to do more research on all of those events. When you quoted Foreign Affairs statement “In other words, fully free, politically active women are a threat to authoritarian and authoritarian-leaning leaders.” that reminded me of an article recently published by Lane Anderson where she stressed the fact that our current government is spreading the idea that masculinity is in grave danger because of women, the LGBTQ+ community, non-binary individuals, etc. You even backed that up by stating how 90% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies are men. However, it’s toxic masculinity and the ideals of the patriarchy that are the real threat. To learn that there was a 4600% increase in online misogynistic rhetoric and attacks after the election genuinely scared me for what’s the come now that Trump is finally in office and these social media platforms are de-censoring harmful rhetoric, and also in real life like you stated. I do want to ask though, other than what you’ve stated, what are ways for me as a male to further support women and help them feel safe and help their voices feel heard within an increasingly troubling environment?