Despite being strictly perceived as the exploitation of women, patriarchy has a much more negative impact and traps men and women of all genders in its confining web. The daring disclosure of this truth by actress Fatima Sana Shaikh, who is often underappreciated, challenges the stereotype that patriarchal demands influence both men and women. An inclusive view of gender equality is long overdue, as her insightful remarks remind us that although experiences vary, the same gender-based hierarchical system imposes strict rules and suppresses genuine self-expression on all sides.
Silent Struggles: Men’s Mental Health and Hidden Emotions
Patriarchy sharply constricts men’s emotional experience, frequently instructing that being vulnerable is a weakness. From an early age, the repetition of “boys don’t cry” or “man up” are learned, instructing men to keep their feelings locked down. This social conditioning creates a perilous inner battle, where men must become stoic and emotionless, no matter the turmoil brewing inside them. This repression is a major factor in greater depression, anxiety, and even suicide rates in men.
As an example, statistics firmly indicate that although women attempt suicide more frequently, men have a higher success rate, in part because of less help-seeking behavior through fear of seeming weak. In addition, the inability to vent has been known to show up in dysfunctional coping mechanisms, like anger, aggression, or drug use. The pressure to be “strong” at all times isolates men, keeping them from experiencing close, emotionally meaningful relationships and from receiving the mental health support they need, and so repeating a pattern of quiet suffering.
The Sole Provider Trap: Pressure vs. Passion
The all-conquering pressure to be the main, if not the only, breadwinner is yet another pernicious aspect of patriarchy’s influence on men. This intensely ingrained social demand puts an enormous and frequently crippling load on men to be forever providing financially, regardless of their own interests or health. This financial requirement can cause massive stress, exhaustion, and an overwhelming fear of failure. Numerous men end up in jobs that they do not like, because of prioritizing supposed financial security for their families over personal satisfaction.
Such compromises might include giving up creative expression, taking less lucrative yet more personally satisfying jobs, or even opting out of the workforce altogether to care for family members. The stereotype of the “provider” perpetuated by patriarchy minimizes the contribution of men in areas such as childcare, emotional support, and community welfare, diminishing these contributions to mere usefulness as breadwinners. Such a limited definition of success for men can be very constraining by restricting many of their options, with relentless focus on their economic contribution as a measure of their worth, which is often degrading.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
