I began reading the article by Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, with a feeling of hope as the issue of misogyny was being tackled by such a prominent UK politician (Misogynists like Andrew Tate hold sway over thousands of men and boys. Male leaders like me must address that, 15 August). But I was disappointed by its bland virtue-signalling and lack of any real substance.
It’s not enough to ask men simply to reflect. Most men are already on the side of preventing suffering by women and girls, but many are unaware how language or actions they haven’t noticed may be interpreted. We do need to discuss the problems at times, to educate men and boys about the behaviours that make women feel uncomfortable, but specifics are important rather than general man-shaming.
Anyone who has received any training in radicalisation knows that the discourse in which any societal group (in this case men and boys) is targeted tends to make problems worse. For the young men and boys who might listen to Andrew Tate, this article, which had the potential to be so motivational, is likely to increase the feeling that society is against them.
Doing down men – and making it appear that “the norm” is to be misogynistic – is not helpful. People respond to positivity and examples to follow. We should be focusing on stories of men who have done the right thing, or women who have been empowered, rather than creating a culture of the guilty and the victims. This would be better for young people of all genders.
Name and address supplied
• Humza Yousaf rightly dwells on the toxic behaviour embraced by a significant number of men, but his sweeping generalisations are rather obvious. No responsible person could disagree that young boys need inspiring, exemplary role models. Most of us can agree that Andrew Tate and his ilk don’t fit that description.
Yousaf has finally found a useful open door to push against. The Scottish National party under Nicola Sturgeon actively looked for them, and that was what made it so electable. The electorate in Scotland has more sense than to vote against free prescriptions, subsidised tuition fees and free bus passes for young people. However, the SNP is dogged by a lack of vision in areas such as drug abuse, secondary school education, policing and public transport.
As first minister, Yousaf says he wants to “build a healthier, safer and more equal society”. But that is an open door that leads only as far as the high moral ground. As a voter in Scotland, I’d rather see him put forward strategies for a safer, healthier and better educated country – one where toxic masculinity would struggle to find any friends.
Michael S Clark
Dundee
• Humza Yousaf is, of course, correct to say that every male has responsibility for addressing harmful behaviour. However, this only touches the tip of an iceberg, because what we are confronted with is toxic competitiveness, which enables callous ruthlessness to be the easy path to leadership, power and wealth. We have seen this in politics and in many of our major international companies. Toxic masculinity is a product of toxic cultures. We won’t move forward just by stopping something bad – we also have to create contexts for caring and sharing to flourish.
Prof Paul Gilbert
Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby
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