Mark Sherman

In her speech tomorrow (October 29), Kamala Harris has a great opportunity to get lots of votes that she may be simply giving up on. There is a huge gender gap among young people, with Gen Z men voting for Trump and Gen Z women for Harris. And I believe a major part of it is that Harris has never made a strongly pro-male statement in her campaign (Biden has never said anything pro-male either). Young men of all races and ethnicities are hurting in so many ways, and I believe a strong statement by VP Harris that her administration will address their needs, along with those of women and girls would be a major positive step in her presidential campaign. @jonhaidt @lisabritton @KamalaHarris @RichardvReeves

I am so hoping that Jennifer Klein and the White House Gender Policy Council will urge VP Kamala Harris to specifically address the issues facing boys and men today. Data shows that especially in Gen Z, males have little interest in the Democratic party. Their issues need to be noticed and discussed by VP Harris in a positive way. Not to in any way take away from support for women, but to be inclusive of males. @JKlein46 @KamalaHarris

Sadly, the issue of boys and men is not, and has never been, one embraced by the liberal or progressive side. I have been concerned about boys (and men) for more than 30 years, and having three sons and five grandsons has intensified my concerns. And I’ve always been a liberal Democrat. But I wrote a post for Psychology Today back in April 2010, which I titled “Boys and Young Men: A New Cause for Liberals”, and I’m sorry to say I have seen no real change since then. For example, President Biden’s White House Gender Policy Council has had no interest whatsoever in males. Check out their mission statement and their history. And I think this lack of interest in males could cost the Democrats dearly in the upcoming election. @ruthwhippman @LisaBritton psychologytoday.com/us/blog/real-m…

I loved reading "BoyMom" and you will too! Such and important book in this moment. @ruthwhippman The issues of boys and men should not be considered a right wing cause...

@LisaBritton This is so depressing. The ratio of men killed in war to women is huge -- right up to the Vietnam War it was about 99% male, and it's still mostly men. So to be so focused on women that brothers aren't even mentioned, but sisters are, is a disgrace.

Thank you so much, Michael! I've been concerned about boys' and men's issues for decades, and have seen -- as you have -- that the left appears to have no interest whatsoever in their plight. And the Democrats face the loss of male vote, especially among young men. Here's what I wrote for Psychology Today more than 14 years ago: psychologytoday.com/us/blog/real-m… Sadly, things have really not changed. Boys and young men, in particular, are continued to be ignored by the government, academy, and liberal media.

This is the problem with acknowledging that men need help: the ridicule is immediate. Men are killing themselves more, dying younger, experiencing an epidemic of loneliness, underperforming in school, and the left wants to ignore it because "patriarchy."

Yes, it has been several decades since our society essentially said, "You go, girl!" and "We won't notice you any more, boys." It started just about 30 years ago with things like "Take Our Daughters to Work" day, and books like "Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls." But boys were already behind girls in school, and beginning to fall behind in achievement in general. Boys and young men are hurting so much in so many ways today, but our country barely pays it any attention. Thank you, Lisa, for being a voice of truth and compassion.

Over the past few decades, all that young men have been given is video games, fast food, and easy access to porn. Meanwhile, their sisters have been provided with resources, support, and programs to help them succeed. Society has often promoted slogans like "girl power!", "the future is female!", and "who needs men anyway?!" This has encouraged women to break through glass ceilings, while men have been encouraged to step aside for them, and perhaps clean up the shattered glass. Given these circumstances, it should NOT be surprising to see a significant number of unemployed, unmotivated and unhappy young men today. And can we really blame them?

I certainly agree that boys seeing and hearing that "the future is female" is not good for them at all. Boys are struggling in all kinds of ways, and girls have, for the last 20 years or more, been doing much better than they are. Seven years ago I wrote a piece for Psych Today on the problem with boys seeing that message -- and what it says to them. Sadly, I don't think things have changed very much at all in terms of concern for boys. psychologytoday.com/us/blog/real-m…

Do you think constantly bombarding our boys with 'The Future is Female' messaging and anti-male rhetoric is having a positive impact? I don’t. Instead of feeling empowered or motivated to become great men, it leaves them feeling confused, demotivated and unloved. It's important to create an inclusive environment that uplifts and supports both girls and boys! Do you agree?

Thank you so much, Lisa! We need more women like you calling out the hypocrisy of claiming diversity while doing little, if anything, to encourage young men. As you well know, it is young men today, far more than young women, who are falling behind. They desperately need society’s attention.

The hypocrisy of this article from Tufts daily paper is truly striking. While the article’s purpose is to emphasize the significance of diversity, it paradoxically celebrates an all-female board. This contradiction reveals a lack of genuine commitment to balanced representation, instead striving for female dominance and retribution.

Speaking just for the U.S., I’m not surprised by this. Young men see that whether it’s government, media, or the academy, their needs are not being addressed. And as an 81-year-old man, I know this has been true for at least the last 30 years, when girls and women began to do better and better. I’m involved with groups of great people — male and female — who have done what they can, and continue to do so, to rectify this. But even now, many of us feel we’ve barely made a difference. Look at President Biden’s White House Gender Policy Council. It says gender, but it has no concern whatsoever for males of any age.

NEW: an ideological divide is emerging between young men and women in many countries around the world. I think this one of the most important social trends unfolding today, and provides the answer to several puzzles.

Carole, thank you so much for your piece in The Free Press; I am a big fan of your work and TFP. You and I had a little email correspondence after I read T: Testosterone…, which I liked a lot. I have loved Bari Weiss’s work since she wrote opinion columns in the New York Times. Five years ago, I wrote on my blog for Psychology Today a piece on Bari, which I titled: “A Brilliant Young Woman’s Message for These Polarized Times.” It described a talk she gave at the Chautauqua Institution in July 2018, titled “The New Seven Dirty Words.” One of these is “doubt,” which is necessary for discussions that are not ruled by ideology. You certainly know about that problem, Carole. I so admire your courage! @bariweiss

Thank you, Lisa, not only for this tweet but for all you’ve done — and keep doing! I certainly hope you’re right about this topic finally getting the attention it deserves. I’ve been concerned about and worked on boys’ and men’s issues for over 30 years. It’s a concern whose time has more than come.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. I believe 2024 will be the year that we see huge changes when it comes to addressing the many issues affecting boys and men. Taking a stand for boys and men and having compassion for boys and men has become more mainstream - trendy even - which is great to see, but I believe long-time advocates need to remain part of the conversation, as there will be many jumping on board to steer the ship and a lot of those folks were part of the problem in the first place. As always, send me lots of research, stories, memes, and tweets you find and I’m going to be more active in this new year. Love you guys!

The great psychologist B.F. Skinner said this over and over again, and the importance of consequences is as basic a principle as there is in psychology. I took a graduate seminar with Skinner 60 years ago, and he was so obviously a genius. It was all about the importance of positive reinforcement – natural or purposeful – then and it still is. Great to know for childrearing, management, and self-control.

If you can’t understand why someone is doing something, look at the consequences of their actions, whatever they might be, and then infer the motivations from their consequences.

A very good friend of mine, who is a chemical engineer with a lot of knowledge of nuclear energy is a strong supporter of its use to combat the extremely worrisome effects of fossil fuels on our environment. Incidentally, his number one concern — an obsession, actually, is global warming. But whichever gender is right, it will soon be moot, I fear. Temperatures in the northeast are expected to be close to or reach 80 degrees soon — in late October!

I’m fascinated by the massive gender gap in support for nuclear power. 37% of men strongly support, v. 13% of women. Is there another policy area with such a big gap? @Gallup news.gallup.com/poll/474650/am… #

@hoovlet @Harvard @AEI That's great, Carole! Wishing you all the best.

I'm no longer employed by ⁦@Harvard⁩ (but do have an affiliation in the Psych department) & in this convo⁩ I explain why. And very happy to announce that I have a new (mostly remote) home at ⁦@AEI⁩, as a Senior Fellow. higher-ed-now.libsyn.com/carole-hooven-…

There are so many ways young men are not doing well. Just see the work of @drwarrenfarrell and @RichardvReeves, among others. When will the mainstream media recognize this? Our boys and young men have been struggling for decades. They need this country’s attention now and in a big way! @LisaBritton

Young men are not doing "just fine." They're the only population not to bounce back from unemployment post-pandemic in NYC.

We must understand that the world of girls and young women is markedly different and improved vs. what it was, say, 50 years ago. They can do anything today. So to expect boys and young men to see their female counterparts as needing so much of society’s attention while they need none is very harmful to young males. Boys and young men legitimately feel ignored and neglected. It’s time to notice them and address their needs in a big way.

The topic of needing to do more for our boys & men is becoming mainstream, but I’m concerned that many “solutions” are going to be doubling down on ideas that helped create this crisis in the first place. What are some things you think society could do to TRULY help boys & men?

@LisaBritton Thank you, Lisa! You are so right about Democrats. Boys have been struggling for decades, but maybe now they are beginning, just beginning, to notice it. Richard Reeves and Christine Emba make this point in her recent Washington Post piece. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…

A Brookings report shows that parents, both Republicans and Democrats, are more worried about their sons’ futures than their daughters’, but Republicans are more worried about boys in general and Democrats are more worried about girls. Ds need to wake up… it’s not just your son!

Thank you, Richard! This is a longstanding problem, which I addressed in a Psychology Today blog post more than 13 years ago. I called my piece, "Boys and Young Men: A New Cause for Liberals. A crisis that needs the attention of America's liberals." So sad to see that with few exceptions, that situation has barely changed. Thanks for the work you and others who are on at least the center left are doing. @LisaBritton @GibmUs psychologytoday.com/us/blog/real-m…

Maybe I shouldn't have F-bombed to the @washingtonpost's @ChristineEmba. But I'll admit to being frustrated that the conversation about boys, men & masculinity has been so easily ceded to the political right. (Hon. exceptions. @RoKhanna @ChrisMurphyCT) washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…

@goddek Thanks, Simon! As for your first two items, thought you might be interested in a blog post I did for Psychology Today about five years ago, which I titled "Feminizing Boys as We Masculinize Girls. "@LisaBritton @jordanbpeterson psychologytoday.com/us/blog/real-m…

🚨 5 cultural viruses are infecting our society, corroding our values and contaminating our lifestyle: 1. Men are being feminized. 2. Women are being masculinized. 3. Children are being sexualized at an alarming rate. 4. Adults are being infantilized by design. 5. And worst of all, everyone is being systematically dumbed down. Despite the evident issues that can currently be observed everywhere, the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge them, let alone debate them. Therefore, it is up to us citizen journalists to challenge this "woke" agenda and stand up for our humane and traditional values. The plan to counter the current trend is as follows: 1. Promoting individual freedom and personal responsibility and opposing significant government interventions. 2. Critically informing about the state corruption (deep state, hunter's laptop, Ukraine war), global corruption (WEF, WHO, biased media, Medical-industrial complex), gender- and climate cults, 'artificial intelligence', scientism, physical and mental health, Covid perpetrators, social conditioning, and the cancel culture movement. 3. Finally, it is important to expand our reach by connecting with others and growing our network. The more people are aware of us, the more people will listen to what we have to say and eventually wake up. With the help of our journalistic work, the world is currently experiencing a Great Awakening, with people all over becoming more aware and conscious of the issues and challenges facing society. So please connect with those who are trying to enlighten the world. We are more! Cheers and thanks for your support, @goddek

@GadSaad I taught college for 25 years plus, and humor was a big part of my teaching. As I retiree I did 75 episodes of a mostly humorous podcast called The Kvetching Professor. And here it is. @GadSaad thekvetchingprofessor.libsyn.com

Bingo. Regrettably, most professors are deeply insecure about their personhood. Hence, they exude a fake aura of arrogant profundity to appear deep and solemn.