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The Stigma Around Men's Mental Health ARTS
The Mental Health Taboo: A Fear Forged by History Meriem Terzi
The taboo of mental health is one of the biggest obstacles that need to be overcome in our society. People often find themselves ashamed to suffer from a mental illness and to reach out for help, which only carries out the stigma.
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This association of shame with mental health originates from the first interpretations of mental disorder.
Historically, mental illness was often a synonym of possession in a religious context, and the “cure” to
Movember is a foundation that was started in 2003 in Australia with the goal of raising awareness for prostate cancer, all while promoting mental health and suicide prevention amongst men. As the years passed and the foundation has spread all across the globe, Movember has become associated with a challenge for men to not shave their facial hair in November so as to spread awareness for men’s health.
Despite the fact that this movement has pushed boundaries, there is still a stigma around men’s health, more specifically, around their mental health. The root of this stigma comes from the pressure men face on the daily to be brave at all times; this is, essentially, the horrible consequences of toxic masculinity.
It being November, as well as a time in which many young people are not that was an exorcism. It was also viewed as a divine punishment, where confessions could dissolve your sins and save you from illness.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the first asylums were founded. Though mental asylums are the ancestors of modern psychiatric hospitals, their purposes
differed greatly. Mental asylums were put in place in an attempt to cast out the mentally ill from society rather than offer them help and healing.
The excuse of “mental only opposed to toxic masculinity, but also to the suffering that is a result of it, it’s important to be aware of its consequences and of solutions in order to be able to help the men in your life who are struggling.
Toxic masculinity is the enforcement of traditional roles and ideologies onto men, such as shaming men when they show emotion or appear “weak.” It is important to note that both women and men face stereotypes and pressure to act a certain way.
When women stray beyond the line of what is “lady-like,” they are ridiculed; however, when men cross the line of what is “manly,” not only are they ridiculed, but they are considered outcasts and are isolated.
Why is it socially acceptable for women to cry and express feelings but not men? This can have horrible illness” was also thrown in any situation in which a woman was too vocal about social issues.
Hysteria, an “exclusively female disease”, was a weapon used to silence women that dared to demand equal rights or express her disagreement with a man. The cures for this pseudo-disease ranged
from purification with fire to abstinence; each solution, more unethical than the other.
These historical views of mental illness created a effects on men, and even on young boys, who learn this from not only their parents but from society as a whole.
It can make men feel as though they have no one to turn to or make them feel like their emotions are invalid. Boys from such a young age are taught to “man up,” as well as that “boys don’t cry,” and this enforces the need to always appear stronger when they’re actually hurt.
It can also make some men become overconfident and cocky. This can cause certain men to not want to take advice from anyone else, for they feel like they are and everything they do is absolutely perfect since society never held them responsible for previous wrong-doings.
What do these consequences have to do with men’s mental health? For starters, men are actually stigma around mental illness. No one would dare to ask for help because the solutions were dreadful. Even with the advances in modern psychiatry, this fear lingered on.
It is our responsibility, as a society, to attempt to break this taboo because it is more common than we think. According to the World Health Organisation, 25% of the world population will be affected by a mental or neurological disorder, 2/3rds of which will never seek any help. The first step to breaking the taboo is to talk about it and share our experiences.
There is no shame in wanting to take care of your mental health. Mental illness is not a defeat, more likely to commit suicide than women. It is even stated by the Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention that the rate that men die by suicide is four times higher than that of women.
While women are no stranger to the oppressions of society, they are not shamed for reaching out to their friends. Women tend to have easier coping mechanisms that involve reaching out to loved ones and just allowing themselves to be vulnerable, which creates a path to recovery.
This is why, according to the Gateway Counselling Center, a mental health clinic located in New York, seventy-five percent of women who struggle with mental health will seek help.
Meanwhile, men do not have the luxury of being vulnerable without feeling the pressure of society, and this is also seen in statistics from Gateway Counselling Center. The percentage of men who seek help for their mental health is fifteen percent less than that of women.
Despite the fact that we have all this information about men’s mental health but rather one of the many obstacles we encounter in life. Therapy is a useful tool, one that you should not be afraid to use. This is how we get rid of the stigma, together.
If you are ready to take and how toxic masculinity can be a direct cause of mental health issues, why is this notion so hard to abolish?
Well, this is because, to some men, toxic masculinity is a term created by radical feminists as an excuse to call their every move toxic and suppress their “manliness.” Similarly, some women also feel as though it is not right for men to show a feminine side and that they only do so when they’re about to come out of the closet (which isn’t necessarily true, by the way).
This is normally a generational problem, in the sense that Generation Z tends to be more vocal about problems such as toxic masculinity, whereas older people see these problems as simply “kids going through phases” instead of legitimate issues.
Generation Z also tends to idolize men who don’t care for the normative gender roles and who are very open about mental health issues, such as Harry Styles and Yungblood.
As a society that is basically fighting with each other about who can cry
your first step, here is a link that compiles plenty of free resources that range from help hotlines to online therapy: https://amiquebec.org/
The Stigma Around Men’s Mental Health Isabella Del Grosso
listen/ and who can wear nail polish, how do we find a compromise? It’s really simple actually.
This November, or Movember, when a man in your life opens up to you about their issues, be quiet and listen because it probably took a lot of courage for them to do so. The only way we can beat the stigma regarding men’s mental health and dismiss the consequences of toxic masculinity is to simply be respectful to one another.
As Harry Styles would say, “Treat people with kindness.”
Five Must-Sees of Hong Kong (Part II) Yvonne Y. F. Kelle (Alumni)
Hong Kong is a fascinating city for many Westerners. It is not merely the international cuisine that attracts them, it is also the breath-taking vibrancy of the Special Administrative Region, comprised of the tallest-towers-in-the-world, traditional Chinese architecture, and a rich cultural history, which makes it “one of a kind”.
Following the article entitled “Five Must-Sees of Hong Kong (Part I),” which had appeared in the Insider in April 2020, five other amazingly exuberating must-sees of Hong Kong shall be added to the list.
Feng Shui/ Palm reading stalls in Jordan (near Temple Street)
Sophie Dufresne
Harmful misconceptions are rampant in society concerning the reality of trans women in prisons.
For example, if one searches the term “trans inmates” in Vanier’s database, the first five results will be about “male prisoners self-identifying as females,” who have supposedly raped female guards in female prisons.
These articles accuse trans women of pretending to be transgender in order to gain access to female prisons, only to then sexually harass guards and fellow prisoners alike. This is, unfortunately, the image a lot of people in society have of trans women in particular.
Whether you believe in Feng Shui and palm reading or not, it is always interesting to have a look at those stalls in Jordan, Kowloon. The Feng Shui and palm reading masters will welcome you at their desks, and are there to tell you what your future, career, and love life will be – but all at a cost: an affordable amount of money.
International Commercial Centre (ICC)/ International Financial Centre (IFC)
The ICC and the IFC are the tallest buildings in Hong Kong in today’s time: The IFC is about 100 metres tall. There is also a rooftop bar at the hotel at ICC, which gives you a breath-taking view of all of Hong Kong. The IFC is mainly made up
In 2008, a city in Florida passed a law that allowed trans women to use female public restrooms. “Citizens for Good Public Policy” made a TV ad that featured a young girl entering a female public restroom alone, only to be followed by a man with a scraggly beard, dark sunglasses and a baseball cap.
As the door closes behind him, the screen goes dark and the message “Your City Commission made this legal. Is this what you want for Gainesville?” appears.
Why is it that every time trans rights are brought up, the fear of sexual predators is resurfaced?
Well, this is because of company offices in the financial field (e.g. UBS).
Ladies Market (Mong Kok)/ Temple Street (Jordan): bargain towns
The Ladies Market in Mong Kok and the Temple Street in Jordan are renowned as “bargain towns”. Street stalls and food stalls fill these 2 areas of Kowloon.
More often than not, you can bargain for what you buy, as the local stall owners speak very basic English (e.g. “How much?” “No, no, not 10. Ok, 15 dollars.”)
The cross-harbour ferry: Tsim Sha Tsui (TST)/ Central – over the Victoria Harbour
No tourist ever leaves Hong Kong without a ride people tend to view malebodied individuals as being a threat to women and children when they are permitted to use women-only spaces.
The same (albeit, transphobic) logic can be applied to female prisons. The public perceives trans women prisoners as a threat to cis women prisoners and guards alike because they simply view them as male predators; they do not take real studies that have been made on transgender prisoners into account.
The truth is, according to a Californian study, 59% of trans women locked up in men’s prisons experience sexual abuse compared to the 4% of cis men prisoners.
Furthermore, according to the 2008-2009 American National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 16% of trans individuals and 47% of black trans individuals have reported being incarcerated at some point in their lives, clearly indicating that there is a major bias within the criminal justice system; this is a reflection of society as a whole.
Trans women are quite literally “othered” within the prison system, as they do not correspond to the on the cross-harbour ferry. It runs from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. There is more than one route: the TST-Central route and the TST-Wan Chai route give the best panoramic views. Each ride is very affordable: between 2 and 3 HK dollars, which is equivalent to only CAD $0.35-0.50!
Hiking
In Hong Kong, people say in Cantonese that Hong Kong is “a city of cement,” for it is full of high-rise buildings that are made of cement. The buildings are so numerous that one barely sees the blue sky. Is there no nature to appreciate at all?
Indeed, there is! Hik-
The Harsh Reality of Trans Women
ing is a common activity image society has of a human. They have the body of a man but the gender expression of a woman, making them victims of male predators all the while be-
ing depicted as predators themselves.
So, next time you read a news story about a trans person sexually assaulting a prison guard, stop and ask yourself: “Who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed in a prison context?” Prison guards subject all prisoners (but especially LGBT ones) to extremely cruel treatments, leaving many with long-term depression, anxiety, PTSD and that sporty people like to do around town. In the New Territories, where it is greener, the Lion Rock Hike and the Tai Mo Shan Hike are popular trails among tourists and locals.
Aren’t you eager to fly to Hong Kong right away? It may be difficult at this stage, given the COVID-19 pandemic, to access the Hong Kong Special Adminis-
even panic attacks.
Also, trans inmates are almost always placed in the detention center of their assigned gender at birth, even if they had fully transi-
tioned and guards only realized the person in question was transgender during the degrading strip search, during which any prosthesis is removed; if there had been any “mistake,” the prisoner is shipped to the detention center of their “biological sex.”
This isn’t to say that transgender aggressors do not exist. They do, but they are much rarer than society
trative Region.
Who can fully enjoy a stay there, given the tight lockdown rules and regulations? However, do keep the aforementioned list in mind and bring it with you on your next trip when the chance presents itself. Hong Kong is waiting for you!
thinks. In 2019, 11 transgender inmates in England and Wales reported having been sexually assaulted in male prisons, whereas only 1 transgender inmate had
reportedly sexually assaulted another prisoner.
In other words, think critically about every news story you read and ask yourself what the intention of the author is. Is it really to inform or is it to demonize an already marginalized group of people?
Going mad from writer's block, hysteria at 1 am, the calm settles and
I let the words flow out of my brain, my fingers have a conscience of their own
I feel like I could go on forever, or at least until I fall asleep
the only time my brain is silent, completely, utterly, silent.
An Ode to Trump (satire) Hue Bean
Very Very Close “Proud Boys stand back and stand by” Tremendous Tension
“Forest Management” “We need immaculate air” Oil Industry
“nobody tougher” “on Russia than Donald Trump.” Good relationship
Mr. President “Did you just use the word smart” You forgot the name
Untitled Janie Houle Miss Saigon & I Angélique Chu
Makeup Is Art Andrea Montes
Model: Camila Saenz
Location: Monseigneur J A Richard Park, Verdun
"Make-up is art" shows that we are a masterpiece. Make-up is an extra tool to accentuate the beauty of every human being.
