Trigger warnings – eating disorders, suicide, misogynistic violence, extremism, death
At the Conservative Party Conference this year, there was a “Case for a Minister for Men and Boys” panel event. On this panel was Dr Luke Evans, MP for Hinckley and Bosworth – a vocal advocate for positive body image whilst in Parliament. The topics discussed varied from “health, male body image and education, to suicide”.
This is not the first time that a Minister holding this portfolio has been proposed. Earlier in 2024, a petition was launched to appoint a Minister for Men and Boys to “address problems that either exclusively or disproportionately involve men”. The petition received 6,444 signatures and was ultimately closed. Former MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher discussed the importance of having a Minister in September 2023. Various charities such as SurvivorsUK and Gender Parity UK have pressurised political parties into calling for a Minister in their manifestos.
Male mental health
There is a serious mental health crisis among men. The highest age-specific suicide rate among men was 22.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2021, compared to 7.8 among women, according to the Office of National Statistics. Suicide is also the largest cause of death for men under 50.
The crisis is more acute among men of minorities. LGBTQ+ men are much more likely to suffer from eating disorders than heterosexual men, and queer men identifying as a certain subculture are even more likely to do so. While men as a whole find it difficult to access mental health and wellbeing services, men of ethnic minorities find this even harder.
Mental Health UK argues that ‘toxic masculinity’ promotes the idea that men should be strong, and showing vulnerability is a sign of weakness. As a result, men feel unable to express their emotions properly, and are therefore more likely to turn to drugs, alcohol, recklessness and violence. All this occurs under the backdrop of patriarchal norms that socialise men to be silent about their issues.
A Minister for Men and Boys would need to focus on challenging the patriarchy that creates the male mental health crisis. However, they would also need to address the stigma and barriers that men of minorities also face.
Incels
Short for ‘involuntary celibate’, the Cambridge Dictionary defines an incel as “a member of a group of people on the internet who are unable to find sexual partners despite wanting them, and who express hate towards people whom they blame for this”. The people they blame are women and sexually successful men, called “Chads”. Incels generally hold misogynistic views and see women as fickle, manipulative and inferior.
The incel community promotes the ‘black pill‘ theory that they are genetically inferior, and so women will automatically reject them. This leads to a vicious cycle of resentment that culminates in violence. While there are no specific figures regarding the number of incels in the UK, 77 young men were referred to counter-terrorism schemes.
Incel violence has been on the rise in the UK. In August 2021, Jake Davison, who had been on incel forums, killed five people in Plymouth, including his mother and a 3-year-old girl. A 16-year-old boy in Birmingham, who was arrested for three terrorism offences in 2021, said online that all women “deserve” to die.
Clearly, incel culture has real world implications for male violence against women. A Minister for Men and Boys would need to work to prevent young men from being radicalised.
Far-right groups
Young men are targeted by far-right groups. This type of radicalisation has recently been portrayed in the media several times. The Walk-In, starring Stephen Graham, tells the true story of the anti-radicalisation trust ‘HOPE not hate’ infiltrating a neo-Nazi group via a young man, Robbie Mullen, who had been radicalised into joining them. Hollyoaks launched a story about a far-right group grooming Ste Hay, a gay man. This was to shed light on how far-right groups increasingly focus on grooming men of minorities.
Sociologist Michael Kimmel has argued that far-right groups use male identity and masculinity to manipulate and groom young men into joining them. One of the ways far-right groups appeal to young men is through the narrative that white women are victims of a multicultural society, such as the discourse surrounding non-white grooming gangs. As a result, men can reclaim their masculinity by protecting women from these threats.
A Minister for Men and Boys would need to highlight the role of masculinity in far-right politics and the gendered discourses that far-right groups use when recruiting.
The idea of a Minister for Men and Boys has faced criticism, with Martha Gill in The Guardian describing the notion as “offensive” and comparing it to having a Minister for the Upper Classes or for heterosexuals. Gill raises valid concerns regarding the practicality of a Minister for Men and Boys. This portfolio would deal with an endless range of issues impacting all men from all walks of life.
Furthermore, many of the problems raised in this article are largely covered by existing Ministers. Male mental health is covered by Health and Social Care; incel violence against women falls under Women and Equalities; tackling far-right groups is handled by the Home Office. It is unclear, therefore, what a Minister for Men and Boys would actually bring to the table. Male issues need to be discussed, but it is unclear whether this portfolio would be the most productive way to do it.
