Men in Culture

The CSJ’s Lost Boys: state of the nation report launched a nationwide discussion on why so many boys are failing at school and dropping out of the workforce. It asked questions of how we mentor and role model young men, both in our homes and wider communities. It asked why so many men are dying young and filling our prisons.

Over the next few months the CSJ will release a number of reports bringing forward practical and implementable solutions to many of these problems. But one finding was a bit different: 50 per cent of young men aged 18-24 feel that ‘the media too often portrays men as being a bit pathetic’ and one in three 18-24 women (32 per cent) agree.

It suggests that some of the problems young men face, particularly of intangible but important issues like identity, belonging, and purpose, are being exacerbated by the cultural water they swim in – a water of pathetic role models. New polling for this paper has found that over three quarters of people think teenage boys lack proper role models across popular culture, and even higher proportions think that if they had them it would lead to better outcomes for men and women too (85 per cent and 77 per cent respectively).

It’s hard to measure the truth of this and in the absence of data and objectivity, can quickly slip into grievance and self-pity. And yet the feeling is there and it’s widespread. This paper attempts to unpack it, understand it, and kickstart the conversation about whether we can and should do something about it.

But perhaps one of the most interesting things to emerge during this work was how many people we contacted did not want to speak to us. And that many we did speak to asked to remain anonymous. This is difficult stuff, and we don’t profess to have all the answers. But we do think this is a good starting point and hope you enjoy reading it.