TL;DR: We can't achieve equality without addressing men's issues as well as women's.

By definition, feminism is the advocation for the equality of the sexes. Whilst our society is an inherently patriarchal one, patriarchal oppression also affects men.

Research from [WHO] (https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/addressing-harmful-masculinities/en/) found that while 'harmful masculinities are an issue of global concern, only 8% of interventions that involve men and boys actually challenge male norms or unequal power'.

The endorsement of harmful masculinities by our society has long term consequences as a whole. To name a few, the idea that men should not publically show emotional weakness is one of the contributing reasons why in the UK, [ONS] (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/01/male-suicide-rate-england-wales-covid-19) reported that in 2019, men accounted for 'three-quarters of suicide deaths'. This alone, says that something needs to change.

TL;DR Men's issues are equally as important as women's to address, but we cannot conflate them without any nuance

In recent years, domestic abuse against men and a damaging culture of toxic masculinity have, rightly, been receiving more attention. It has become a more frequent point of discussion that men suffer from a number of issues to an arguably more serious degree than women:

• Men are more likely to be diagnosed with depression
• Men are more likely to commit suicide
• Boys are more likely than girls to report adversity, including physical neglect, violence and sexual abuse

However, these statistics fail to consider why women do not experience the same issues, or the severity of the issues they face:

• Women are less likely to be believed about their mental health issues
• 80% of women in the UK have been sexually harassed compared to less than half of men
• 74% of domestic abuse victims are female, with their inflictors almost exclusively being male

To say that women experience gender-based discrimination and violence at a higher rate is not to say that's men's experiences are invalid, quite the opposite. But to insinuate that men's issues are not to do with a crisis in toxic masculinity, but women pressuring them to be 'manly', is problematic. Men must be helped, but also held accountable, as violence against women is a men's issue.

Toxic masculinity is a huge gender issue for men and is created by Patriarchy

• Toxic masculinity is a cultural concept of masculinity that exists under Patriarchy in which glorifies stoicism, strength, virility, and dominance, and that is socially maladaptive or harmful to mental health
• Toxic masculinity creates and enforces a taboo around male emotions ad mental health issues and can be deadly eg. [suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50] (https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/tackling-the-root-causes-of-suicide/)
• Many of the traits and characteristics that are looked down upon within Toxic masculinity for example sensitivity and emotions are viewed by society as weaknesses and are traditionally associated with femininity which highlights how society views femininity as weakness
• Toxic masculinity is also dangerous for women

Men do have their own unique set of gender issues that need to be addressed and something needs to change to not only progress equality but also raise awareness and improve mental health issues amongst men.

• Gender inequality affects everyone: social stereotypes and expectations can still deeply impact men.
• History has dictated, which are still enforced by the media today, that men need to be strong, hide their emotions and be the family breadwinner. But these traditional stereotypes are sexist and should not be presented as the ‘ideal’ in modern society.
• Many men find it difficult to live up to these standards and feel pressure to be a ‘real man’, these gender issues need to be addressed to achieve equality.
• This expectation that men need to be emotionally strong is psychologically damaging as men are less likely to seek professional help or talk about their problems. For example, in the UK suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 and in the US, men are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide (this article provides more information and resources).
• Another gender issue that men face is toxic masculinity, the idea that “manliness” perpetuates domination, homophobia and aggression. Without addressing this issue, the patriarchy will only continue to impact women as well as worsening social pressures on men.