Progressive media and politicians have long lived on the fact that while the views of young Poles are turning more and more to the left, their peers are taking the other course. The discussion frequently boils down to casting all work for the political choices of men on themselves (they yearn for lost privileges or reflect them from those who inactive have, are dreary, lazy, ignorant, little than women empathic and little open to change, more susceptible to populism), and besides seldom comes up with possible sources of this right-wing phrase.
In this narrative, leftist and liberal politicians prove helpless: they do what they can to delight everyone, and only the ungrateful complain. Men should shut up, appreciate how easy and enjoyable life provides them with their sex and usage it to support women and minorities.
Don't get me incorrect – I appreciate those who do it and I want there were as many as possible. But there is no place in this image to capture the real problems that men and boys face in the late patriarchy. all memory of them is perceived as taking space from women or distracting them from their harm.
Change of parliamentary left communicative
It's changing slowly. Alone I've been taking up the subject for respective years. and during this time I have talked to hundreds of women – mothers, partners, sisters, colleagues, mostly feminists, including media – who are tired of bidding about which sex is more affected, polarizing and common antagonizing, and who note that in any areas it is men who are in lost positions. And besides that the fight against this state of affairs is—or should at least be—common.
No little akin talks have been held with men who, although they support sex equality, feel excluded by their respective slogans and political solutions. Now it is yet noted by the Seym Left. At a gathering organised in the framework of Campus, the Polish Minister for Equality, Katarzyna Kotula, declared that the rights of men and boys would be 1 of the main subjects addressed under the Polish Presidency of the European Union.
This is an highly different voice from what Joanna Scheering-Wielgus has just said (that the Left does not intend to do anything about an unequal retirement age or to discuss the work to defend the homeland in a situation of emergency, imposed solely on men and only on suspended ones), or Anna Maria Żukowska, writing a terrified imagination of conscription and a disheartening gender-based defence policy to boys that "there are citizens and citizens".
What precisely did Kotula say? It is worth quoting the full thing, due to the fact that it is not only wise but even groundbreaking erstwhile it comes to mainstream politics: “We inactive get a ricochet for many years on women’s rights, but besides we see and hear – and I see and hear them besides – those voices of boys and men who say: “Hey, what about our rights?”. It seems to me that our function present is to convince everyone that it is worth being on the same boat and going together. That is why I have decided that during our Presidency, which we are beginning on 1 January, as part of the trio that we are creating together with Cyprus and Denmark, 1 of the 3 main themes will be the rights of boys and men.
We want to start with this, we want to introduce this subject to the agenda, show that it is important, and talk about it with men and boys, just as we will talk to women and girls, on a mutually beneficial basis. What are the benefits of equality for women and men?
Our function is not to go to war with the sex, although many people imagine it. Yes, there are many specified areas, specified as education, labour law, occupational security, most likely regarding retirement age, about enlistment into the military, which concern men and in which men may feel that they are discriminated against in these fields and that this cannot be swept under the carpet, just request to be talked about, and this must be taken on the agenda."
What are men truly facing?
I have written about this many times, but it is worth recalling the most crucial areas in which men in Poland may feel peculiarly vulnerable. The most apparent example is the military qualification – all Pole must show up and undress his pants in front of a committee, which determines how suitable he is for cannon meat, which the state can usage in case of armed conflict.
Perhaps, in the utmost situation of war, the rule of "my body – my choice" cannot be applied, at least if we want to halt the imperialist urges of another countries, but it is worth looking at countries specified as Norway, Sweden or Denmark, which besides have women in their work to defend their homeland (these are countries where the right to decide on their body in the event of pregnancy is apparent – and should besides be the request to make equality of course).
Surely, Kotula’s reminder of an unequal retirement age was besides a origin of joy for the rights of men and boys.
In January of that year, the Minister acknowledged on TOK FM radio that there was discrimination in this field, and she repeated this repeatedly. Men are statistically early in their work, they end up 5 years later, and since they live on average 8 years shorter, they spend up to a twelve years little on retirement than women – which, in fact, inactive execute much more of their household and childcare duties, which makes it hard for them to stay in the professional hierarchy and to accomplish higher incomes, and so besides pensions, but the distribution of unpaid duties is not straight related to retirement age. Women who share with their partners equally or simply do not have husbands or children can besides enjoy the anticipation of early remainder and much longer life.
One of the reasons for the shorter life of men is that they execute most of the most risky – and essential – work. These proportions will be hard to equalize – they depend on slow changing cultural sex patterns, but besides biological differences. Men are simply a small stronger and more physically resilient, which predestinates them for any kind of class. However, it is surely possible to take more care of their safety – it is not only a substance of wellness and safety regulations, but above all of their enforcement. Today, men account for more than 80% of the victims of serious and fatal accidents at work.
Suicides are the main origin of the premature death of Poles up to 45 years old. They take their lives 7 times more than the Poles. In this respect, we are at the forefront of Europe. It is worth looking at the actions undertaken by Finland, which managed to cut suicide rates by half over respective years, including expanding access to psychiatric and intellectual care, as well as counteracting alcoholism.
The second besides concerns men in particular. Like the increasing plague of loneliness, which increases the likelihood of premature death from all possible causes (here comes the class thread – the loneliest and isolated are men of the lowest social strata, they besides live the shortest). I hope that there will besides be area for these issues on the progressive agenda.
Katarzyna Kotula mentioned that young men were not privileged in the Polish education system. The boys gain an average of 10 p.p. little than their peers on the eighth grade exam from Polish and repeat the class more than twice. In addition, all year 20 percent little men than women graduate, and 70 percent little graduates.
This involves another problems, related to mobility or loneliness. Many more women than men decision from tiny centres to larger cities, and 59 percent of adult singles who live with their parents are men – emancipated women leave them behind and do not want to associate with those little educated and independent. And those who keep pace with them are less and fewer.
It can be exchanged for a long time, but I will close this list with a thread seldom touched. Men are the majority of perpetrators, but besides victims of physical violence, both at school and in adulthood. As their torturers are usually of the same sex, the problem is widely ignored, and the victims are compared to the wrongdoers ("the boys do so"). I would like to see erstwhile state-funded campaigns on this issue, as well as proposals for concrete solutions that should come at least (although most likely not only) from the Ministry of Education.
The left must turn straight to men
I have no uncertainty that from now on the left has the best consequence to another political options to the problems affecting boys and men. They – as the majority of adults surviving with their parents – would benefit most from programmes specified as inexpensive housing for rent, discounts or freezing rent.
Most left-wing demands, specified as strengthening trade unions, negotiating positions of workers and caring for their rights, concern most people, regardless of gender, and in many sectors mainly men. The same is true, for example, with the backing of public wellness and education (curiosity: there are no differences in the achievements of students and students in the best private schools – the same can be achieved at national level). It is besides the left that addresses issues specified as the intellectual wellness crisis among teenagers and the shortage of school psychologists.
At the same time, however, she has refused to recognise that there are areas in which men can experience gender-related discrimination, and any of its forms have actively supported (as this unequal retirement age) about manhood by actually mentioning only the accusing tone.
In this context, the left has a primarily communicative problem. Until now, she has been incapable to scope men even with postulates that are peculiarly beneficial to them. possibly due to the fact that she did not address them directly, focusing her message on women and minorities.
For men, the right, especially the utmost one, did not have a hard task, due to the fact that it is based on established schemes, combining masculinity with dominance, rivalry and individualism, and nothing works on people as convincingly as confirming what they already know. Even if it is harmful to them, it gives the appearance of safety – which is peculiarly crucial in times of dynamic change, in this case especially in terms of the progressive emancipation of women.
At the same time, I would not like the ruling coalition to draw attention to the above issues to be just a sign of calculation – it is clearly increasing awareness that further ignoring them is leaving the men of the far right, and thus acting simply unwise politically. Either way, the announcement of the Minister of Kotuli is simply a swallow that can announce the beginning of the left to men and, hopefully, men to the left.
The Patriarchate is well
Some – especially I mean self-proclaimed "man's rights defenders", who unfortunately frequently have an anti-feminist attitude – may consider the problems mentioned by me as proof that there is no patriarchy.
On the contrary, they confirm that it is rather good, due to the fact that it is due to the same sexist stereotypes that sustain the power (narrow group) of men, allowing them to control women and another men. It is inactive the association of masculinity with strength, dominance, self-sufficiency – the further distant from this "ideal", the little it catches the individuals from the patriarchal table. any people don't get it. But everyone experiences the force to meet deadly standards.
The Patriarchate was never meant to service all men – it is simply a race that the winners have no reason to share the prize more than the position quo requires. This is besides served by polarisation between the sexes and progressive antagonisation, which is simply a reaction to the erosion of patriarchal foundations – as long as women and men fight each other, alternatively of reaching for equality together, the strategy will be safe.
Bowing down to the problems of boys and men does not mean giving up the fight for women's rights. On the contrary, our injuries are entangled and 1 cannot be full addressed by ignoring the other. We live in a single society, and if we want it to be healthy, we cannot just care about our own group.
It is time to abandon the idle slogans about "toxic masculinity" and dilemmas like "better to meet a man or a bear in the forest" – if something like this leads us to, then to anti-feminist reactionism – and focus on a common conflict for real equality.
