"I'm Looking For A Man In Finance - But The Patriarchy Is Still Awful"?

I am going to caveat this blog by stating that everyone has difficulties in life, and that in writing this I am in no way diminishing the difficulties of young women or any other demographic.

However, there is a growing pool of data that present just how much young men are struggling in recent years and how it is receiving such little attention and recognition.

I also want to add that anyone who believes that this is an unqualified proclamation, it really isn't, inequality and injustice do not discriminate. There is a concept called ‘Fallacy Of Relative Privation’ which is the act of dismissing one issue because it is ‘perceived’ to be less significant than another, this is something that is definitely happening at the moment with regards to the aforementioned notion.

There is quote from Chris Rock that I heard a few years ago, where he basically stated that men are loved in proportion to how much they provide. I remember at the time being somewhat dismissive of the idea, probably due to naivety and lack of experience, however as I progress through life and marinate over the world around me, which is something that I do a LOT, I now see his point.

Men and women are mostly, if not almost entirely (given that we're the same species) the same, however, I wonder if the largest differences between the two sexes appear with regards to sexual interest and relationships. There are and have been plenty of women who were more capable than plenty of men, and more deserving of having flourishing careers and independence etc. Anyone with any sense can see that a society that does not offer maximal opportunity for anyone, regardless of demographics, is deliberately impeding it's potential improvement and progression.

With regards to sexual selection, at least with heterosexual relationships, women primarily select men based on their ability to provide and protect, and despite all the rhetoric of ‘social construction’ this is still the case in 2024, and does not show any signs of being curtailed anytime soon (Hence how viral the aforementioned video has gone). Whereas, men do not select women based on their ability to provide and protect, this primarily biological differentiation leads to the inequity in expectations. As a result of this, there is an unwritten societal expectation placed on men to achieve and provide, a standard that is seemingly becoming increasingly difficult for men to uphold, the reason for this is still mostly unknown.

I am by no means advocating that society should regress to archaic gender roles and standards, or that these developments are a detriment to society, I am just exploring an idea.

But this is at least partially a reality of the male existence, and one example of a myriad of surreptitious phenomenona that take place in our modern world.

So what is the solution?

With regards to men, the solution is pretty simple, work on yourself. Strive to cultivate your weaknesses, hone in on your strengths and endeavour to maximise every aspect of your being as much as you can feasibly manage. This appears to me as the only way that young men can improve their lives and their position in society, unsurprisingly.

With regards to society, we should have more compassion and speak up on the struggles of men and be grateful for the litany of developments and achievements that we benefit from on a daily basis, and limit the amount of facetious remarks on the topic.

Once again, I do not wish to antoganise anyone when I write blog posts like this, they are written with the purpose of exploring the alternative side to a story/narrative. I truly believe that new knowledge and information can only be beneficial in informing and reforming our perceptions, biases and outlooks in life.

That is the purpose of these blogs.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

OxJ