We can’t talk about the health crisis among men and boys without asking deeper, more uncomfortable questions—ones that go beyond the usual grievance-driven narratives.
During a visit to the Franklin County coroner’s office, I was struck by the fact that over 70 percent of the bodies they investigate are male—victims of overdose, suicide, homicide and accidents. This data doesn’t just signal a crisis; it reflects a profound societal failure to understand men’s suffering through a critical, feminist lens.
Feminist scholars have long argued that the way men are socialized—into silence, risk-taking and emotional suppression—contributes directly to their declining health outcomes. And the burden of this crisis doesn’t fall on men alone: Women, particularly women of color, are often left to carry the emotional and financial weight of caring for the struggling men in their lives.
Healing men is not about restoring old hierarchies, but imagining new, more just forms of connection, care and masculinity.