Telling boys and men that they're disadvantaged only hinders them further - and, anyway, it's not true

There are a set of beliefs about gender that are almost ubiquitous across the political spectrum, from left to right, from feminists to men’s rights activists. These are as follows: boys and men are currently having an unprecedentedly tough time. Boys underperform, relative to girls, throughout their entire schooling; an experience which often leaves them feeling worthless and ignored by an educational establishment whose methods and focus are evidently more directed towards helping girls. While they’re growing up, boys - especially boys who aren’t naturally sporty, good-looking and popular - lack healthy role-models. As adults, men often find that traditionally masculine skills and male social networks, and their banter, are no longer valued in society but, in fact are widely derided. The harms done to women in society are publicly discussed, but less so the ways in which men have been harmed by wars and violence. Men feel sidelined and devalued in professional and domestic worlds, w…