For the past few years, right-wing media have argued that the U.S. is plagued by a masculinity crisis, whether it’s former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson warning of collapsing testosterone levels in his 2022 documentary “The End of Men” or Sen. Josh Hawley decrying what he called the left’s project to “deconstruct” men and “define traditional masculinity as toxic.”
Rhetoric aside, there may be a real vein that these pundits and politicians are tapping into.
Deaths of despair, which are caused by drugs, alcohol or suicide, are disproportionately experienced by men. Meanwhile, many of the traditional markers of manhood – earning enough money to raise a family, buy a home or even rent an apartment – are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.
