Why did I think this was necessary?
That’s a good question, and probably the first question that a lot of people may have when they encounter this blog for the first time. For a number of reasons: mental health, lack of constructive dialogue and personal therapy. If you want a briefer discussion, there is a small explanation of what this blog is about on the ‘About’ page. But in the first post on this blog, I thought that it might be important to explain why I thought that it was necessary to embark on this project.
Mental Health
- In the UK, men are three times as likely to take their own lives than women.
- In the Republic of Ireland, men are four times more likely to take their own lives than women.
- In the UK, the highest suicide rate was for men aged 45-49.
- In the Republic of Ireland, the highest suicide rate was for men aged 25–34 (with an almost identical rate for men aged 45–54).
(Statistics taken from samaritans.org)
I think that this is simple evidence for a need to talk about men’s issues, whatever they are. Discussing our problems makes us healthier, happier and stronger. It provides us with solutions and often gives us the knowledge that we are not alone. There is a common truth that men do not talk about their problems and there is a common truth that there is a problem with male mental health in this country. I believe, rightly or wrongly, that there is a meaningful correlation between these two truths and they are two truths that I hope to remedy to whatever degree I can through the writing of this blog.
A Lack of Constructive Dialogue
This is also an explanation for the apolitical framing of this blog. I appreciate that there are some generalisations made in this section, but they are also generalisations that I don’t feel are unjust. Having said that, I will allow that they are based on my personal experience, and I welcome anyone to challenge my preconceptions.
There are problems across the political spectrum when it comes to the discussion of men’s problems; both from the left and the right. Men’s problems or concerns are often dismissed by the left, particularly the liberal left, and there is a demographic on the right, leading the charge with frankly regressive, unhelpful and often sexist “men’s rights” dialogue.
With an apolitical framing, I wish to escape these trappings and speak constructively and objectively about these problems without accusations of wrongdoing from either side.
(In the interest of transparency, whilst this blog takes an apolitical stance, its author is a member of the UK Labour Party, a left-wing organisation.)
Personal Therapy
As I have already said: men do not tend to talk about their problems. Myself included. Many of the issues that I will write about on this blog will be issues that I myself have dealt with and I will openly talk about my own experiences. It is no secret to my friends and family that I have not always had the most stable of mental healths and through the writing of this blog, I seek to talk about and illuminate my own problems in order to better deal with them.
I would like to state now, that Let’s Talk About It, is not:
- an antifeminist blog
- a men’s rights blog
- an incel blog
- a platform for hatespeech
- an ideologically driven platform
Let’s Talk About It is a blog that I have started to be able to constructively talk about men’s issues free from ideology, politics or identity. Hopefully, through the writing of this blog a narrative may emerge where we are able to discuss men’s issues constructively, healthily and free from judgement.
Let's Talk About It 