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Comment by standardUser | Hacker News Reader

> The solution is a modern progressive movement for men

Do you have thoughts on what this should/could look like?

I think mental healthcare might be a good place to start. Campaigns specifically targeting men's mental health, particularly more "embarrassing" ones like depression and anxiety. Show men who can't bring themselves to brush their teeth, show men sitting in their car with a revolver in their hands. That's a harsh reality that is completely silent, I think.

I think we need to come to terms with men being in positions of abject "weakness" - or what we currently perceive as weakness. And we do that through visibility. Through PSAs, television shows, movies.

I also think clothing would be a good place to start, just because it's so immediately obvious and visible. Get protests allowing men to wear skirts at work, and make it clear they're still men. I don't think that will fix anything really, but I think it could force the issue to be looked at.

you gotta start real young and psychiatry is a soft science and so is early-childhood studies; it makes recommendations difficult to get behind. The only way to change this is cultural, seriously. We have to start now with Millennials and zoomers, and the few gen-x that aren't calcified in their own trauma - start by making therapy better sounding. Less "tissues and issues" and more "neutral third party that will be honest about reflections on what you've said / contemplated." I hope this makes sense - right now, seeking mental health help has a stigma. It's strange to go to the equivalent of a doctor and spend 45 minutes talking. Can you trust them? How open should you be? Are they judging you, and will that color their dialogue? Seriously, how open should you be?

Once we have a generation of parents that have benefited from therapy, when they see their child having an issue, they can now reach for the therapy route in addition to dr spock. Having good experiences with therapy in your formative years will make you more likely to seek similar experiences as an adult.

Who knows, it's all flimsy.

The fact that banning circumcision wasn't among the first things you said indicates that your movement is doomed to fail to meaningfully show men that you did something for THEM.

I think this is a good idea too on grounds of bodily autonomy. Really there's a lot of places you can start, but I'm not convinced circumcision is one of the larger issues (although it is an issue).

It is likely an important issue because of the downstream consequences of such a severe trauma.

From a physical trauma point of view, I'm not sure. I'm not educated enough on how the brain/body interprets this stuff. Intuitively, I would imagine they are just too young to remember anything.

But from a social perspective I think it matters, because of the message. I mean, it's a blatant violation of bodily autonomy done purely for sexual cosmetics. I don't think that sends a good message to boys about them and their body. It's hard to convince them there's more to them than sex when their own parents prioritized their sexual attractiveness right out of the womb. I think young boys already face a lot of sexualized pressure - they're essentially told that they are, or will become, sex-crazed monsters and that's their duty/destiny. I think circumcision without consent plays into that.

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