1062: Ruth Whippman | Raising Boys in the Age of Impossible Masculinity

26 snips

Oct 10, 2024

Ruth Whippman, the author of BoyMom, dives into the challenges boys face today, highlighting a mental health crisis marked by loneliness and academic struggles. She discusses the confusing messages boys receive about masculinity, leading to relationship avoidance. Whippman advocates for better emotional nurturing and diverse role models to help boys build social skills. She also tackles the impact of toxic masculinity and societal pressures, emphasizing the need for deeper emotional connections and healthier narratives around manhood.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Boys' Crisis in America

Boys in America face a crisis, including higher suicide rates, mental health issues, and loneliness.
They also experience academic underachievement and a "failure to launch" phenomenon.

INSIGHT

Pre-Academic Skill Gap

Parents spend more time teaching pre-academic skills to girls, possibly contributing to boys' lagging kindergarten readiness.
This disparity may stem from societal expectations and preconceptions about boys' needs.

INSIGHT

A Sexual Revolution for Boys

Ruth Whippman suggests a "sexual revolution" for boys, similar to what girls experienced, to broaden their emotional range.
Society often views boys engaging in traditionally feminine activities as humiliating, hindering their development.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Young men today face a crisis of mental health and social connection. BoyMom author Ruth Whippman is here to explore causes and potential solutions.

What We Discuss with Ruth Whippman:

Boys in the West are going through a crisis, facing higher rates of suicide, mental health problems, loneliness, and academic underachievement compared to girls.
Society sends conflicting messages to boys about masculinity, telling them to be dominant and make the first move, while also cautioning them not to overstep or be seen as creepy. This leads many boys to avoid relationships altogether.
Boys receive less emotional nurturing and communication from parents compared to girls, which contributes to gaps in social and emotional skills as they grow older.
The "incel" movement and extreme ideologies like those of Andrew Tate are symptoms of broader issues with how society socializes boys and sets unrealistic standards of masculinity.
Parents and educators can help by providing boys with more emotional nurturing, teaching social-emotional skills, exposing them to diverse role models, and creating spaces for them to express themselves. With the right support, boys can develop into emotionally intelligent, well-adjusted men capable of forming deep connections.
And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1062

If you love listening to this show as much as we love making it, would you please peruse and reply to our Membership Survey here?

And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/deals

Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!

Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!

Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.