I just finished Bell Hooks' The Will to Change and I'm wondering what I should read next. Specifically I'm curious if in the two decades since its publication there have been new works that addresses this concern that Hooks raises in chapter 7:

Sadly there is no body of recent feminist writing addressing men that is accessible, clear, and concise. There is little work done from a feminist standpoint concentrating on boyhood. No significant body of feminist writing addresses boys directly, letting them know how they can construct an identity that is not rooted in sexism. There is no body of feminist children’s literature that can serve as an alternative to patriarchal perspective

The Will to Change does a great job identifying and voicing opposition to many of the fundamental issues underlying patriarchy, but I felt like it lacked in actionable advice. Does anyone have recommendations for books that do lay out clear steps that individual men (and their loved ones) can take to more effectively oppose patriarchy in their day to day lives? Or recommendations for further reading in general. Thanks!

Good day, everyone and welcome to our weekly mental health check-in thread! Feel free to comment below with how you are doing, as well as any coping skills and self-care strategies others can try! For information on mental health resources and support, feel free to consult our resources wiki (also located in the sidebar!) (IMPORTANT NOTE RE: THE RESOURCES WIKI: As Reddit is a global community, we hope our list of resources are diverse enough to better serve our community. As such, if you live in a country and/or geographic region that is NOT listed/represented but know of a local resource you feel would be beneficial, then please don't hesitate to let us know!)

Remember, you are human, it's OK to not be OK. Life can be very difficult and there's no how-to guide for any of this. Try to be kind to yourself and remember that people need people. No one is a lone island and you need not struggle alone. Remember to practice self-care and alone time as well. You can't pour from an empty cup and your life is worth it.

Take a moment to check in with a loved one, friend, or acquaintance. Ask them how they're doing, ask them about their mental health. Keep in mind that while we may not all be mentally ill, we all have mental health.

If you find yourself in particular struggling to go on, please take a moment to read and reflect on this poem.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This mental health check-in thread is NOT a substitute for real-world professional help/support. MensLib is NOT a mental health support sub, and we are NOT professionals! This space solely exists to hold space for the community and help keep each other accountable.

Welcome to our weekly Free Talk Friday thread! Feel free to discuss anything on your mind, issues you may be dealing with, how your week has been, cool new music or tv shows, school, work, sports, anything!

We will still have a few rules:

• All of the sidebar rules still apply.
• No gender politics. The exception is for people discussing their own personal issues that may be gendered in nature. We won't be too strict with this rule but just keep in mind the primary goal is to keep this thread no-pressure, supportive, fun, and a way for people to get to know each other better.
• Any other topic is allowed.

We have an active slack channel! It's like IRC but better. Please modmail us if you would like an invitation. As a reminder, take a look at our resources wiki if you need additional support as well.

I am making a list of common ways in which the patriarchy harms men. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but I want to flesh it out a bit. I came up with this off the top of my head, and I am confident I am forgetting or leaving stuff out. Statistics are for the US. Can you help me fill it in? Also, I am trying to include short descriptors. Let me know if there is a better term, better way to phrase things, or if I just got something wrong. Thanks!

• Violence - Men are far more likely to be victims of violence of almost every type.
• Sexual Assault - In the US, men are more likely to be victims of sexual assault as well if you include prison violence. Male victims of sexual assault are also less likely to be believed or taken seriously.
• Glass floor - Men are more likely to be disproportionately represented in jobs that are less attractive, stressful and/or dangerous.
• Life expectancy - Men are expected to live 5.8 years less than women.
• Work / life balance - Of men and women who work, men work on average 4 more hours per week.
• Believability - Men are less likely to be trusted or believed than women.
• Emotional training - Men are taught early to repress emotions instead of how to deal with them. This leads to many issues regulating emotions in a healthy way and hinders forming strong relationships.
• Emotional care - Men reaching out for emotional care are more likely to be rejected by both men and women. This results in higher rates of isolation, depression, and far higher rates of suicide.
• Duty to provide - Men are seen as responsible for financially providing for their families, and shamed if they don’t.
• Duty to protect - Men are seen as responsible for laying down their lives to protect women and society. Domestically, publicly, and nationally (ie. the draft, women and children first, etc.).
• Child custody - Men are disproportionately denied custody of children, even in situations where men are more capable of caring for the children.
• Contraception - Men have fewer options in terms of contraception
• Toxic masculinity - Societal pressures to do stupid or dangerous things to prove your manliness.
• Man Card - The fact that men are constantly judged on their masculinity, and can ‘lose it’.
• Pressure to initiate - Men are expected to take initiative in romantic relationships
• Justice System - Men are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and given harder sentences than women for the same acts. Sentences of any crime are harsher if the victim is female.
• Empathy - Men are less likely to receive empathy when they are in trouble or hurting.
• Health - Men are less likely to report and receive care for health issues.
• Children - Men are inherently not seen as being trustworthy with children.
• Drugs - Men are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, often due to emotional trauma.
• Education - Men are significantly falling behind at every level of education, and most grade school teachers are women.
• ADHD - Men are far more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, which may have other social issues to blame.
• Fashion - Men are not given as many fashion options, and are tightly restricted on what is deemed socially acceptable

If you are interested in a similar list I man for how the patriarchy harms women, see the one I posted here a few days ago on r/askfeminists. By making this list, I am trying to highlight ways in which men are also hurt by the systems in place, and not in any way trying to diminish the ways women are harmed, or even really trying to compare them.

Good day, everyone and welcome to our weekly mental health check-in thread! Feel free to comment below with how you are doing, as well as any coping skills and self-care strategies others can try! For information on mental health resources and support, feel free to consult our resources wiki (also located in the sidebar!) (IMPORTANT NOTE RE: THE RESOURCES WIKI: As Reddit is a global community, we hope our list of resources are diverse enough to better serve our community. As such, if you live in a country and/or geographic region that is NOT listed/represented but know of a local resource you feel would be beneficial, then please don't hesitate to let us know!)

Remember, you are human, it's OK to not be OK. Life can be very difficult and there's no how-to guide for any of this. Try to be kind to yourself and remember that people need people. No one is a lone island and you need not struggle alone. Remember to practice self-care and alone time as well. You can't pour from an empty cup and your life is worth it.

Take a moment to check in with a loved one, friend, or acquaintance. Ask them how they're doing, ask them about their mental health. Keep in mind that while we may not all be mentally ill, we all have mental health.

If you find yourself in particular struggling to go on, please take a moment to read and reflect on this poem.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This mental health check-in thread is NOT a substitute for real-world professional help/support. MensLib is NOT a mental health support sub, and we are NOT professionals! This space solely exists to hold space for the community and help keep each other accountable.

Guys who take care of themselves and look good (have been told by people except parents that you look good) please write your skincare routine here including products and their formulas if possible since we all live in different countries so it'll be easy to find similar product or you can add link if possible if you buy it from international stores like Amazon and Walmart (flipkart). Although "minimalist" and "ordinary" (brands) are available in many countries. Edit: Cetaphil is also available in many countries.

Also few questions: how do I get rid of double chin? Does mewing works and will it fix my double chin?

Welcome to our weekly Free Talk Friday thread! Feel free to discuss anything on your mind, issues you may be dealing with, how your week has been, cool new music or tv shows, school, work, sports, anything!

We will still have a few rules:

• All of the sidebar rules still apply.
• No gender politics. The exception is for people discussing their own personal issues that may be gendered in nature. We won't be too strict with this rule but just keep in mind the primary goal is to keep this thread no-pressure, supportive, fun, and a way for people to get to know each other better.
• Any other topic is allowed.

We have an active slack channel! It's like IRC but better. Please modmail us if you would like an invitation. As a reminder, take a look at our resources wiki if you need additional support as well.

Good day, everyone and welcome to our weekly mental health check-in thread! Feel free to comment below with how you are doing, as well as any coping skills and self-care strategies others can try! For information on mental health resources and support, feel free to consult our resources wiki (also located in the sidebar!) (IMPORTANT NOTE RE: THE RESOURCES WIKI: As Reddit is a global community, we hope our list of resources are diverse enough to better serve our community. As such, if you live in a country and/or geographic region that is NOT listed/represented but know of a local resource you feel would be beneficial, then please don't hesitate to let us know!)

Remember, you are human, it's OK to not be OK. Life can be very difficult and there's no how-to guide for any of this. Try to be kind to yourself and remember that people need people. No one is a lone island and you need not struggle alone. Remember to practice self-care and alone time as well. You can't pour from an empty cup and your life is worth it.

Take a moment to check in with a loved one, friend, or acquaintance. Ask them how they're doing, ask them about their mental health. Keep in mind that while we may not all be mentally ill, we all have mental health.

If you find yourself in particular struggling to go on, please take a moment to read and reflect on this poem.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This mental health check-in thread is NOT a substitute for real-world professional help/support. MensLib is NOT a mental health support sub, and we are NOT professionals! This space solely exists to hold space for the community and help keep each other accountable.

Welcome to our weekly Free Talk Friday thread! Feel free to discuss anything on your mind, issues you may be dealing with, how your week has been, cool new music or tv shows, school, work, sports, anything!

We will still have a few rules:

• All of the sidebar rules still apply.
• No gender politics. The exception is for people discussing their own personal issues that may be gendered in nature. We won't be too strict with this rule but just keep in mind the primary goal is to keep this thread no-pressure, supportive, fun, and a way for people to get to know each other better.
• Any other topic is allowed.

We have an active slack channel! It's like IRC but better. Please modmail us if you would like an invitation. As a reminder, take a look at our resources wiki if you need additional support as well.

Let me start by saying that I love this subreddit just the way it is. It is the only online space I know where men’s problems are addressed and being discussed by Leftists in a productive manner. The discussions we have here are important.

With all of that said, if we want to liberate men and change the status quo we need to do more than just discuss things in this subreddit, we need to take action.

To liberate men and solve men’s issues we need to use all the same methods other social movements have used: protests, rallies, boycotts, public displays of non-conformity, and if necessary more extreme methods.

• We can use protests, civil disobedience, or more extreme methods if necessary to abolish military conscription.

• We can organize rallies to promote the idea that all adult males are real men and deserving of equal respect regardless of whether they’re masculine and fulfill the male gender role.

• We should boycott Hollywood til they become progressive for men’s issues and stop body shaming small penises and making male rape jokes.

This are just a few examples of the things we could do. I’m sure we can come up with more activism to do.

But before we can do anything we need to make our movement bigger, and we can do this by getting more people to join MensLib. We should look for the men who MensLib will resonate the most (Leftist/Left-leaning men, men who have been hurt by gender roles and expectations, men who are disenfranchised, etc) and convince them to join the movement. It would also help if people with influence (such as BreadTubers who have participated on this subreddit) help promote us.

When our movement is big enough we can start organizing and do activism to liberate men.

Feminists gave women the rights they have today because and they did more than just have discussions, they took action. And we need to do the same to create a better world for men!