Male – the invisible gender

Like white people are considered the invisible race, because they view themselves as the default cultural perspective, male is the hidden gender, in that patriarchy is the dominant perspective.

However, being the assumed default perspective may have left men unprepared and untrained for having to share the spotlight with women, who have had decades of coordinated organising and advocacy behind them. In assuming that they would always be favoured, men seemingly lack the collective resourcefulness to organise and advocate on their own behalf, particularly among younger generations, who find themselves floundering trying to find where they belong in a world where their expected right to supremacy is challenged.

For many young men, hidden in the fantasy worlds of online games, their answers were given by right-wing advocates who saw an opportunity to channel the built-up confusion and frustrations of these men into becoming willing supporters to their cause. For others, feeling so lost left suicide as the only way out. There is no help from older generations who still have the power they inherited, and so see those struggling to find their place as losers in the alpha-male race.

Between exploitation, frustration and suicide, there does not appear to be much hope for young males. Of course, there is hope, and it lies in adapting to the world as it is, and that is one of where women are taking control of their own lives, which means men must do the same. That does not mean there has to be competition, but cooperation. But then that is the basic solution to all issues that confront societies.

However, we live in a world where women are still discriminated against and suffering from domestic violence and humiliation from those men unable to accept that that they no longer completely own their world. Fortunately, many men are encouraging women to stand up for themselves, and not fearing that they are losing themselves by doing so. Some men are working with other men to help them wean themselves off their misplaced expectations garnered from history and the decades of propaganda that placed men at the centres of society.

By shifting our focus from what we are missing out on to what ways we can improve the lives of all, we will build freer and more equitable societies, without all the false expectations placed upon us by those who seek to exploit us, and which we have often internalised to our detriment. When we cease to see another's gain as causing us to get less, we lose the need to compete, and can then just rejoice in their achievements. We can then change ourselves as we see fit, according to our needs and capabilities, as free beings acting according to our own free will.