Male Malaise Is Not Just About ‘the Culture’
November 16, 2023
You are familiar with the litany of ills blighting our society: declining rates of work and marriage; rising rates of obesity and loneliness; soaring deaths of despair. All of these trends reflect the falling fortunes of the American male, a malaise magnified when we look at boys and men in poor and working-class communities.
When the male malaise is raised among conservatives, too often the blame is assigned to “culture,” that most nebulous of forces. The assumption here is that vague changes in the culture—shifts in norms, preferences, and aspirations—are robbing men of their sense of industry and ambition, not to mention their ability to forge meaningful ties to others—including a wife.
