Peter Pan is becoming more relevant than he has been in a long time as young men are struggling to reach maturity. In the past few years, we have seen young men deal with mental health, isolation and more confusion. Men account for three out of every four "deaths of despair" or deaths by suicide or drug overdose. David Brooks recently wrote an article for the New York Times about this phenomenon with young men coming of age.
Brooks reported that young men are more likely to be hindered by growing up in adversity or without a father, whereas young women are more likely to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." But there are many social programs to aid young women in their quest for upward mobility and ambition, and almost none for young men. In fact, the qualities that often allow young men to grow, achieve and mature are counter cultural and seen as "toxic" today.
The solution is relatively simple in concept, more complex in how we carry it out. We need to encourage our sons in masculinity, rather than shaming them or calling masculine ambition "toxic."
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