Jason: I could never predict how challenging it would be to live alone. Managing adulthood hit me hard. I study and work at the same time to achieve my goals. I want to become a respected member of society, so I take up many responsibilities simultaneously.

J: And my effort is paying me back. 

J: But to achieve that, I rely on those who care about my well-being. People whom I love, and they love me back. People for whom I care deeply because their support has been vital to my success. 

On a couch, unproductive, and indolent in comfy and as childish pajamas as possible, watching cartoons.

J: Not all days are the same. But this is okay. I have learned to give myself the time I need to be as productive as I want the next day. 

A friend joins, offering food and caring about him. 

J: And it is their love that keeps me going. 

Scrubbing his hands with hand sanitizer and hugging his loved ones. 

J: Now, with Dettol, I can care for them without worrying about our physical health, as it neutralizes 99% bacteria.

Caring masculinities can be observed as fatherhood emerges in their lives. The new dad is the one who makes decisions about the household and the upbringing of the kids collaboratively with their partner. He is approachable to his children and their interests. Moreover, he embraces and accepts his emotions, navigating his life through them. Nial Hanlon proposes that “we cannot deconstruct male power without reconstructing the emotional lives of men.”

It is vital to acknowledge that mental health is as important as physical health. This is something that we should be taught early in our lives. For this reason, I would like to draw attention to the incorporation of phycologists in the educational system. There should be a team of experts on youth behavior to teach kids to embrace their feelings and create healthier roles.

Older men suffer from mental illnesses, too. For this reason, the existence of helplines is of great significance in preventing self-harm. However, they should be widely advertised to normalize turning to them and eradicate the stigma of advising a therapist.

Thus, young men are growing up with the sense that they need to be responsible for the money flow in a household to be well-regarded people. Of course, there are cases in which they fail to achieve this goal, so they immediately lose their desired role. Losing such a significant role can contribute to serious mental issues, which, when left untreated, might result in the decision to self-harm. 

The goal is not to take away the responsibility from men. Rather conceptualize it as a shared value in a household. The notion of responsibility is putting an unnecessary burden on men, who feel accountable for it. This can be refrained from studying and promoting a “new type” of men, caring masculinities.

 

The advertisement proposal I created is based on two themes: First, a young man incorporates responsibility in his life and feels proud of his accomplishments. Then, he enjoys communicating his feelings with those who have loved and accepted him, getting himself closer to caring masculinities.