31 OCT 2022 · As a collective, if one person is hurting‒ we all are. This conversation is especially connected to the men’s mental health crisis. Men are less likely to reach out for support, and more likely to cope in violent ways. If I want to help undo patriarchy, I also have an ethical obligation to help men who are also harmed by the effects of such (lack of vulnerability in friendships, fear of being seen as soft and girly, stigma and inaccessibility of therapy, etc). This means that when men are being harmed by patriarchy, the manifestations doubly fall onto women.
I constantly find myself acting as a punching bag for random men to trauma dump on. I’ll mind my business while sitting in public spaces, and guys will come up to me and explain sticky situations they’re going through. While I am happy to help, how can I fight patriarchy while my unpaid emotional labor is taken advantage of? Is this not exploitative and lacking boundaries, only further replicating the same systemic harm many of us self-proclaimed feminists are working to undo?
Furthermore, these same gendered dynamics are ever present in sexual relations: men are expected to have their foot on the gas until women press the brakes. But what would it look like if instead, there was explicit permission before the car leaves the garage? By implementing a model of non-sexual consent, I am able to use my discretion to provide emotional support (venting space) when I’m available. Implementing this “ask first” model of facilitation can also be applied to sex‒ creating a second-nature communicatory theory that doubles as a buffer to sexual violence. This cultural shift is to act strictly as a supplement for conversational purposes until we collectively demand drastic systematic change of America’s mental healthcare system.
The issue is not that I cannot provide support, but rather the ethical principle that there is often no permission asked from the other party. There is a way to provide support, while also encouraging respectful and equitable exchanges that don’t leave me drained. Fighting patriarchy doesn’t mean providing unlimited emotional access, it means creating a sustainable culture of consent in all aspects of life!