Andrew Yang Is Wrong About Boys and Men

Article here. Excerpt:

'Yang seems to misunderstand the term “toxic masculinity.” He thinks it’s meant to denote that there’s a problem with men and boys themselves. It’s probably because, like most American men, he has been socialized to experience anything short of praise as a threat to his manhood. Therefore, he responds like an entitled teenage boy who needs constructive criticism to be sandwiched between ego-boosting compliments. Yang pleads for less condemnation of problems and more celebration of “positive masculinity” (which he fails define). However, he’s comfortable disparaging other demographic identity groups; he carelessly launches familiar critical tropes about single motherhood and non-heteronormative family organizational structures.
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Still, it would be foolish to deny that men are struggling psychologically. When I was researching my book, Father Figure: How to be a Feminist Dad, it was immediately clear that many men feel wounded. It’s because they’re trying to reconcile their identities as mature men with a culture that’s actively shedding its old sexist inclinations. They don’t know how to imagine themselves without the privileges and entitlements of patriarchy. As a result, some men have become reactionary. They blame women, mothers, and the “identity politics” of elite liberal college professors like me. They also fight political battles against women’s reproductive rights and transgender rights because they unconsciously mistake non-cisgender-male bodies as a threat.'