Men Need Restoration, Not Leftist Ridicule, To Fix Our Modern Masculinity Crisis

The “former conservative” Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin declared in an October column that the “masculinity crisis” regularly bemoaned by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is “actually inside the GOP.” Rubin said, “Far from displaying the masculine virtues they imagine are endangered, Republicans have become the party of fearful men afraid to stand on principle.” She went on to cite David French, the senior editor of The Dispatch, and Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as exemplars of real conservative courage for their willingness to stand up to toxic masculinity within the GOP. 

Putting aside the risible claim that people like French and Cheney represent the faithful remnant of true conservatism, Rubin’s op-ed, like so many commentaries offered by leftists, fails on multiple fronts. It fails because it does not understand the severity of the crisis facing males in 2022. It fails because what it offers as solutions to the very real masculinity crisis represents what only insulated bureaucratic elites are capable of conjuring up to address the problems of everyday people. And ultimately, it fails on anthropological grounds because it does not understand men’s biological, psychological, sociological, and teleological character.

Our Masculinity Crisis

Although liberals seem to view masculine suffering as more of a joke, if not justified, retribution for having to live under “the patriarchy,” America is witnessing unprecedented problems for its men. As Hawley said in a speech last year, “American men are working less, they are getting married in fewer numbers, they’re fathering fewer children, they’re suffering more anxiety and depression, they’re engaging in more substance abuse.” The percentage of men pursuing degrees in higher education is precipitously declining. According to a study released by the Brookings Institution earlier this year, only 41 percent of students currently enrolled in college are men. That decrease, which has been going on for years, seems likely to continue. The percentage of men graduating from college is also declining.

This problem goes far beyond education. Lifetime earnings for men are also declining, a trend that has been going on for more than a decade. As of last year, men’s life expectancy had dropped by two years. Their testosterone levels have been faltering for decades. Almost a third of men are overweight, which puts them at risk for several health complications.

Male suffering unsurprisingly contributes to the overall suffering of America writ large. Significant percentages of the American population grow up in fatherless homes, putting children at increased risk of poverty, behavioral problems, health issues, and truancy. Children who grow up without a father are more likely to suffer abuse and neglect, commit crimes, wind up in prison, or become pregnant as a teenager. In other words, America’s male crisis is a societal crisis.

Elites’ Indifference

These problems are not unknown to liberal elites. Yet their solutions, rather than reflecting an appreciation for the threat the masculinity crisis presents, or even demonstrating empathy, more often prioritize partisan point-scoring while invoking condescension and indifference. That is undoubtedly Jennifer Rubin’s perspective: Rather than addressing Hawley’s concerns,

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