WILL WE GET A WHITE WIDOWS CAMPAIGN IN BRITAIN?

One of the greatest casualties of economic downturns and recessions is the increase in depression due to financial hardship and the loss and/or lack of jobs and crumbling businesses.

This can lead to serious mental illness and sadly, to suicide. And this directly affects men more than women (more three times as many men commit suicide - 4,231 men and 1,377 women in 2010), though every suicide is a tragedy for those individuals and their families.

In Italy, there is a movement called The White Widows, those wives and partners of Italian men who have committed suicide due to the recession. This movement is putting the issue on the map so it is being openly discussed unlike in Britain, where male suicide is only a fringe issue when it comes to public policy and social recognition. Despite the best efforts of CALM, the Men's Health Forum and others, it is still a fringe issue. Why?

Partly, it is to do with anti-male anti-equality feminists who want to shut out any debate about the issue and all other male issues. The Fawcett Society (who laughably say they believe in equality - pure Orwell) launch lifeboat campaigns based on lies about female unemployment and child benefit, but would never launch a White Widows movement for women who have lost fathers, sons and brothers.

Also, more mainstream magazines and websites (Mumsnet) are so self-absorbed about themselves as are their readers that they never consider men and boys - even though they will have sons, husbands/partners and fathers.

Politicians as ever are cowed and infected by political correctness so don't say anything.

Women are the most powerful voice to ensure there is equality for men - this is why the White Widows campaign has had such an impact in Italy.

It is now time for such a campaign in Britain to highlight the plight of men who commit suicide because of the economic problems they cannot face.

And because the Male Equality Movement and Men and Boys sector believes in equality, we would be happy for a White Widows and Widowers campaign.

Posted by Skimmington

Comments

[Groan]

Thank you Skimmington. I hadn't heard of the White Widows campaign. This is a very important issue and is sidelined as you say. Along with the unreported and untreated incidence of depression and anxiety disorders. The health agenda is very important as men are quite literally the disposable sex. One of the key reasons for the marginalisation is the central role of men keeping things going in our society. After all paying attention to simple goals like increasing male life expectancy or reducing industrial deaths and injuries imply some attention to men's welfare. Thus the very fact that men are in a much wider range of industries, are much more likely to be self employed and/or in the private sector means they benefit least from the society they contribute most to.

The worst health statistcs especially mental health and suicide are in the regions most hit by the contraction of manufacturing, building and the like. At its most extreme the recession kills men.

The paradox is that as a society, working age men are what all the rest of society depends upon; even the service and state industries women crowd into. We are reluctant to tackle this precisely because being nicer to men might imply other people,working age women for instance, placing less reliance on them.

Of course a second element of this is another paradox. If men are active agents( not the Fawcett Societies' helpless women in need of support and help) then their problems nust be for them as individuals to solve. As with the Fawcett society view, women need lots of help while men are supposedly so strong they can sort it out for themselves. The Fawcett Society and their like don't seem to realise that rather than challenging sexism this simply confirms a victorian view of gender.

Finally on an individual basis "men don't cry because women don't like it". As in the recent research female partners like to see some emotion from men, but not so much it threatens his ability to support them and the family.

So male suicide is a crucial ussue of equality. It should be a crucial issue for Feminisim as it represents a clear instance where sexism maintains one sex in roles that can be demonstrated to have real negative consequences for many(and there are feminists who have the honesty to take this view). It is an issue where women do need to stop relying on a sexist view of men and step up to the responsibilities of being active contributors (and here I have to say many do, but too many expect special privileges and heaps of praise for doing what men do every day).

As you say on so many levels male suicide is an issue that should unite men and women. It is an exemple to me why we should not take the separatist "women only" route of the Gender feminists. Most of all there are future lives to save.

This recession, like those others I have lived through, hits hardest those doing and making. Our country needs to focus on making stuff. The Fawcett society should not be arguing for state benefits and quotas in cushy jobs for the already well off, if they had any integrity they should striving for more "Rosy the Rivetters" and supporting men who take on too much.

[anonymous]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17907534

[Dave]

Wow, that BBC link and the comments show that momentum really is gathering. You know, I predicted years ago that there'd be a backlash against the growing feminist movement which gradually tried to erode away the rights of men in the UK (and succeeded in so many ways to wreck men's lives!). I have spent half my life putting up with their twisted, hateful tactics that have filtered their way into my life in so many guises.

It's really comforting to know that other men feel the same as me. I spent years thinking that I was over-emotional and felt guilty for fitting in with the orthodox opinion that men are only here to serve.

Now I know different. I really hope that our children will have an easier time and that things will get straightened out. I'd like to know how long it will be before I can turn on the TV and not be confronted with a plethora of sexist adverts, news that skews or avoids certain statistics, soaps and films and music videos that promote violence against men, and a whole host of other material that generally besmirches, degrades or objectifies men whilst it would be totally unacceptable the other way around.

How long will that take, I wonder? Because once the media has gotten a grasp of the fact that men should be treated equally on TV, for instance, this will be a reflection that men and women in society have finally met in the middle and agreed that equality means equality on both sides of the fence!

[source]

"Sloganeering" haha - brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I read almost all of your posts - you are Godin without the self-indulgence. Well done - I've found this very helpful.