According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women in 2024. Despite this, men are less likely to be diagnosed with depression by mental health professionals. The cause of the men’s mental health crisis is complicated and has many contributing factors, yet a large component may be that the issue is easily overlooked to begin with. 

In recent decades, there has been a significant shift in gender norms and overall societal expectations for both men and women. While the acceptance of modern feminism has opened countless doors for American women, it may have left some men feeling displaced. America is far from true gender equality. The focus of the country remains on progression towards improving the rights of women and others who face discrimination. 

The expectation for men today is to support and stand as allies to women. However, it may be difficult for some men to stand as allies to women without feeling it takes away from their purpose as men. There is a surplus of evidence to support that the men’s mental health crisis is connected to how men feel in regards to their societal role in modern America. 

Recently, there has been a significant rise in media promotion of extreme masculinity, and it has grabbed the attention of many men and boys. The internet and media platforms create a space for men to come together and share their concerns. Yet it has had a negative effect on men’s mental health and allowed a greatly toxic and dangerous culture to brew.  

A highly influential perpetuator of this culture is controversial podcast host Joe Rogan. When asked to share his favorite quote on his show he responded with; “Most men live lives of quiet desperation.” Rogan hosts “The Joe Rogan Experience” and has 14.5 million (predominantly male) followers on Spotify. He has built a community where he shares opinions on politics, philosophical advice, and the guidelines for manhood. 

A large factor of Rogan’s appeal comes from his relatable and relaxed appearance to American men and his willingness to discuss any topic. According to a MSNBC article, he has made sexist remarks about female celebrities, labeled trans people as attention-seekers, and promoted non-scientific covid information during the pandemic. His discussion topics have allowed him to cultivate a large group of mostly white young men. 

Rogan is just one contributor in the reintroduction of very traditional and oppressive masculinity. Traditional masculinity was present in America during a time of male dominance. Back then it was normalized for men to speak or behave inappropriately without being scrutinized and having consequences. Joe Rogan has helped to build an environment for men where it is acceptable to share controversial ideas in defiance of ‘cancel culture’.  

In the last few years social media has also hopped on the trend through several popular influencers and the promotion of new internet slang. Infamous influencer Andrew Tate is largely responsible for the expansion of this mindset. It is crucial to note that Tate has been facing charges regarding sexual misconduct and human trafficking since 2022. In August of this year Tate was released from house arrest in Romania, but still faces travel restrictions. 

Despite this, Tate currently has 10.3 million followers on X (the only platform he hasn’t been banned from). His brand across social media platforms was a deeply misogynistic rhetoric. Through his accounts, he has referred to women as dogs, claimed men should have authority over their partner, and has declared that women hold some responsibility for rape. 

Along with influencers, new internet lingo and memes that are strongly linked with misogyny  have become widely popular across social media platforms. Some well-known phrases include alpha or sigma male. According to an analysis done by the University of Windsor, the Sigma Male ideology is a classification of men who are rebellious, silent, and follow their own principals. The analysis describes, “On the surface this content may seem innocuous; however, it often advances anti-feminist, racist, and misanthropic sentiments.”

 Joe Rogan, Andrew Tate, and Sigma culture spew similar hateful ideologies and attract the same audience. Pasha Dashtgard, is the director of research at American university’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab. In an interview for Education Week, he describes that “there are a lot of young boys who are like, ‘I don’t see how I fit into this, and I don’t understand how feminist concepts apply to me, except as a way of criticizing me or diminishing me.” 

The rise of the toxic masculinity rhetoric has given a place for men who feel left behind in a society that embraces feminism. According to the American Institute for Boys and Men, men are 11% less likely than women to complete four years of college. In addition, according to the Department for Professional Employees, women outcompete men by about three percentage points in occupations including legal jobs plus business and financial operations. 

The gap in equality between men and women is still vast in many ways. Yet men are not at the top of the pyramid as they were several decades ago. Back then, men could rely on their gender for certain guarantees in work and education. The acceptance of feminism has separated gender from capability in society.  The development of extreme masculinity through the media has fought to bring the spotlight back to men. It has brought importance and redefined their roles as men in a distorted and unhealthy way. 

If this toxic culture is normalized, it holds potential to be detrimental on a societal scale. According to the same EW article, misogynistic attitudes are connected to physical and sexual violence against women. Furthermore it explains, “Men who have sexist beliefs tend to have higher rates of substance abuse and depression and are less likely to be able to ask for and receive help… and are less likely to form intimate connections with women or men.”

In our society men and women will always have to coexist. Women will continue to fight in a non-linear battle towards reaching equality and men will have to find a way to not feel diminished by their progression. Masculinity itself is not toxic; it is as natural as femininity is. According to the Men’s Resource Center, there is a way for men to express their masculinity without resorting to extremes that promote hate and misogyny.

The center describes positive masculinity as wisely and appropriately used, empowering, and greatly impactful to individual men. They use an example, “We want smart, knowledgeable men instructing and leading others, but we don’t want insecure, sexist men mansplaining to knowledgeable women things they already know.”

If men can recognize the difference between toxic and positive masculinity it may positively impact men’s mental health. When men desire to express masculinity there are healthy and effective ways of doing so. 

Another important piece in this puzzle is the concept that gender is not a box people have to fit into. It is rather a spectrum and anyone can possess both masculine and feminine traits. There is no set amount of masculinity a man needs to have to feel purposeful or acknowledged by others. 

A solution to the men’s mental health crisis is to accept its existence. It’s probable large groups of men have not turned to hypermasculinity out of simply anger, but to feel seen by society. The mental health community and the rest of America can reach out to struggling men with support and new ways of viewing gender roles. The progression and acceptance of new ideas in modern society is not intended to diminish the roles of men, but to create new opportunities where gender has no correlation with self-fulfillment.