Men’s loneliness is a feminist Issue in Men Without Men

Article here. Excerpt:

'In Men Without Men, Ferrara frames men’s isolation as a product and project of patriarchy, arguing that the very qualities that patriarchal masculinity emphasizes are at odds with the things men most need to thrive. Patriarchal virtues of stereotypic masculinity – like hyper-independence, stoicism, strength, control, and rationality – inhibit the forming of friendships between men. Consequently, this manifests into severe forms of social isolation, which result in increased suicide risk, depression, stress-related death, and (for men specifically) increased rates of domestic violence and incarceration.

Ferrara argues that the impact of men’s loneliness also falls on wives, girlfriends, and mothers in the form of expanded emotional and intimate labor. Ferrara’s preliminary research implies that women can often take on the roles of therapist, event planner, social concierge, and best friend for the socially isolated men in their lives. Yet many men and boys resist this pattern of isolation and paint a new vision for what types of relationships might be possible among straight men, and Ferrara will be visiting then as her book develops.'