Is Unemployment a Form of Misandry?

Times are indeed tough, and for men with hopes and dream, even more so.

To me, the first, most obvious of ways society has stunted  a man's ability to develop is the unemployment rate. Perhaps it is not targeting men directly, but giving young men little or no way to begin a career and work himself up the ladder is socially risky. Men need an aim in life. Goals. Dreams. For most, a satisfying career is one of the most essential things in a man's life. This isn't to say that there are not other ways to build up one's life, but for most, it is a first step, and essential.

One complaint you hear nowadays is that men aren't getting jobs and are sitting around playing video games all day living at home. (Notice how, when you hear such a complaint, it is the men who are blamed - a good example of misandry.) Now, there ARE guys who decide to sit around being lazy bums who have no greater desire that to just sit around all day, every day. However! I submit to you that this is not true for most young men. I think most desire to start a career and build a life, and yet are unable to do so. 

So many guys are searching for meaning, looking for a job, just trying to start somewhere.....but they cannot start! And even when they fail due to something out of their control, they get blamed for it most times. I am a good example of this. Last year, I had graduated from college, and began applying for jobs right away. A month passed with no calls or emails from potential employers. I stepped it up. I began sending emails and making calls instead of just sending in applications. Typically, I was either told no when I asked for interviews, or told they would call me if they wanted to interview me.

I think you can see where this is going.

This persisted for months. At the worst point, I had applied for at least 300 jobs, had 7 unsuccessful interviews. (A little over a 2% success rate.....only for getting interviews! Wow!) This was after 8 months of job searching. By this point, I was in the midst of the deepest depression of my life. I could see no way out, and could see no future. I had internalized that it was my fault. It was my failure completely. And apparently even applying for hundreds of jobs meant I was a bum even if no one gave me an offer. Not to mention that the American Dream itself was as far away as it could possibly be. I think had things continued like this too much longer, I may have started to entertain thoughts of suicide. And no doubt that many young men have, all because of the apparent inability to get life started.

(Fortunately, I found a job after 8 months, and life has improved a lot for me, and I am trying to draw closer to accomplishing my dreams.) 

And what was I doing when not job searching? Playing video games. And of course I lived at home. I would often go apply for jobs online, send some emails, or make a call or two, go to a job fair if there was one somewhere close. And then go play Call of Duty. I could at least live vicariously through fictional characters in those games.

Last year's experience still leaves me with a little bitterness when I think of it. And I hope to never be in such a situation again. But for many young men, this situation is ongoing. And there's no end in sight. A few have escaped perhaps. Perhaps a decent career begins, and they can run with it. Many more of us have not escaped the nightmare entirely: many men are underemployed, and will likely never get ahead. (I include myself here.)

The unemployment rate COULD be fixed. The tragedy is that it won't be. When a society throws young men by the wayside and offers them no hope of building a life and advancing, it harms itself. I will even go so far to say that it dooms itself. I think it is safe to assume that if you are reading this, you probably agree that misandry is rampant in society. Men are essentially the hardest hit when unemployment and economic turmoil comes.

(After all, who has to save up money to start a family? To buy a home? To become stable and prosper? To live the American dream?)

Is unemployment a form of misandry? Is it in any way linked to misandry, even if not directly or overtly?

Post a comment and tell us your thoughts!