What I found interesting
- The book encourages an evidence based approach to create an “aspirational agenda rather than an alarmist one” (pg. 4) and I like this idea – trying to foster hope rather than fear or anger
- It also wants young men to be thought of as subjects rather than objects in an “optimistic and expansive fashion” (pg. 5). This seems common sense but actually feels radical given (in my opinion) the flat and sensationalised conversations about young men’s mental health that I have seen
- It emphasises the idea that much of masculinity is underpinned by fear: “the fear of femininity or homosexuality, the fear of being outed as a fraud by peers and the fear of not playing the part effectively” (pg. 5) and this rings true with my lived experience. It is also the main impetus for the game I want to make -to highlight this sense of fear.
- Alcohol and young men
- complex but driven by masculine norms as a way to “assert their masculinity” by drinking large amounts of alcohol => signifying “endurance and toughness, especially when accompanied by physical violence against other young men”
- drinking is a way to socialise with friends
- alcohol also can be a way for men to “circumvent traditional masculine norms” through disinhibition and “displays of emotional vulnerability and support” (pg. 18)
- Young men and gaming
pg. 94
- the chapter suggests that gaming has both positive and negative aspects and the research is probably not yet good enough to draw good quality conclusions
- Interesting chapter on social media, incl. a breakdown of “pathways into the Manosphere” (pg. 193)
- Suggests that more research is needed to address the complexities of the situation
- Overall the book recommends more curiosity when it comes to researching and theorising about the lives and needs of young men. Moving away from the “hermeneutic of suspicion” (pg. 314) that wants to manage rather than understand this group.
- I hope that I can take this point of view into the design of the game – to try to name rather than blame. I think this is going to be most challenging when I am describing and interacting with the louts on the train – trying to make them realistic by recognising the stereotypic behaviour they were displaying, but also allowing some space for them to be subjects rather than objects.
- I’ll look to test the successfulness of this in my game testing.
Reference
Seidler, Z. (no date) Masculinities and Mental Health in Young Men. Springer Nature.
