The Consequences — Part III

This is Part III of a three-part series. Part I examined the roots. Part II examined the APA Guidelines.

The most devastating consequence of the attack on masculinity is measured in bodies. Men account for approximately 80% of all suicides in the United States.

According to the CDC, suicide was responsible for 48,824 deaths in 2024. The suicide rate among males was nearly four times higher than the rate among females.

In 2024, the male age-adjusted suicide rate was 22.2 per 100,000, compared with 5.6 per 100,000 for women.

White males had the highest rate among all men at 24.8 per 100,000. Suicide-related deaths were four times higher among males (38,977) compared to females (9,847).

From 2014 to 2024, over half a million lives (516,790) were lost to suicide, with 2022 marking the highest annual total on record.

Young American men are now the loneliest demographic in the developed world.

According to Gallup data aggregated from 2023 and 2024, 25% of U.S. men aged 15 to 34 said they felt lonely a lot of the previous day — significantly higher than the national average of 18% and the total for young women (also 18%).

Younger U.S. men are also more likely to feel lonely than their counterparts across the 38 mostly higher-income, democratic countries in the OECD. Across the OECD, a median of 15% of younger men report feeling lonely — suggesting that younger men in many wealthy nations are not as affected by loneliness as those in the U.S.

No other OECD country has a larger gap in loneliness between young men and the rest of the adult population. In only three countries — the U.S., Iceland, and Denmark — is the loneliness rate among young men higher than that for other adults. Nowhere is the gap as large as in the U.S.

Twenty percent of men said they had no close friends, compared to 17% of women.

Millions of prime-age American men have vanished from the labor force entirely.

Research by Nicholas Eberstadt in Men Without Work (American Enterprise Institute) highlighted that millions of prime-age American men (ages 25 to 54) have completely dropped out of the labor force. His landmark 2016 study revealed that over six million prime-age men were neither working nor looking for work.

These men are not listed as unemployed — they have vanished from productive economic life entirely. Male labor force participation fell to 66.8%, the lowest non-pandemic level since 1948 — down from 77.5% in 1976.

The causes include the shift away from male-dominated sectors like manufacturing and finance toward healthcare and education, plus AI and robotics reducing industrial jobs.

American women now hold 176,000 more payroll jobs than American men, according to Wall Street Journal analysis of July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Men are now the minority in American higher education — a complete reversal from 1970.

In 2025, men represent only 42% of bachelor’s degree recipients — the lowest share ever recorded. There are now 2.4 million more women than men enrolled in American higher education.

Less than half of men who enroll complete a four-year degree within the expected time frame. Men are 29% more likely to stop out than women, and 32% less likely to re-enroll.

When legitimate institutions fail young men, counterfeit guides step into the void.

The “manosphere” refers to a loose ecosystem of online communities where men construct and strengthen anti-feminist and male hegemonic narratives. These include Men’s Rights Activists, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW), pickup artists, and involuntary celibates (incels).

The manosphere has grown because of a real crisis. As the British Psychological Society observed: “They have weak community ties, limited emotional vocabularies, and few public institutions that help them convert confusion into solidarity. Into that void step the influencer, the provocateur, and the manosphere entrepreneur as counterfeit guides to manhood.”

Research shows that engagement-driven algorithms “exploit vulnerabilities, transforming online misogyny into a pressing safeguarding and democratic threat.” These narratives are “amplified by the engagement-driven recommender algorithms of mainstream social platforms, which reward divisive and emotionally charged material.”

A University of York (2025) study found that 80% of 16- and 17-year-old boys in the United Kingdom have consumed content created by Andrew Tate.

A separate survey found that 45% of men aged 16 to 24 have a positive view of Tate, while only 26% held a negative opinion.

This is not an endorsement of Tate or the manosphere. It is a diagnosis of a failure. When a culture tells young men that their natural instincts are toxic, and offers them no positive vision of manhood, they will find one elsewhere. The manosphere is what fills the vacuum left by institutions that abandoned them.

The evidence is unambiguous. The attack on masculinity has produced measurable, devastating consequences. What remains is the harder question: what do we do about it?

1. Revise the APA Guidelines. The guidelines are set to expire in 2028. They should be rewritten to distinguish between harmful expressions of masculinity (violence, emotional suppression to the point of self-destruction) and healthy masculinity (protectiveness, provision, courage, stoicism in service of others). The guidelines must affirm men, not pathologize them.
2. Restore male spaces. The destruction of fraternal organizations, recreational leagues, and faith-based communities has left young men without mentorship. Churches, community organizations, and civic groups should deliberately create spaces for male mentorship and brotherhood.
3. Reform education. Boys need male teachers, competitive and hands-on learning, and vocational pathways. Richard Reeves’ proposal to “redshirt” boys by one year — delaying school entry to account for developmental differences — deserves serious consideration.
4. Address the father crisis. Father absence is a primary driver of negative outcomes for boys. Courts should adopt a rebuttable presumption of shared parenting, ensuring that fathers remain involved in their children’s lives.
5. Offer a positive vision. The manosphere thrives because institutions offer no compelling alternative. The Church, in particular, must reclaim its role in forming men — not as oppressors, but as protectors, providers, and servants.

The attack on masculinity was not an accident. It was the result of deliberate policy choices, ideological commitments, and institutional inertia. Correcting it will require equally deliberate choices — choices rooted in truth, evidence, and a commitment to the flourishing of all people, men and women alike.

The foundation of a civilization is its families. The foundation of its families is its fathers. And the foundation of its fathers is a culture that honors what they are called to be.

Primary References

• American Psychological Association. Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men. 2018.
• Ferguson, Christopher J. “The American Psychological Association’s practice guidelines for men and boys: Are they hurting rather than helping male mental wellness?” New Ideas in Psychology, 2022.
• Ferguson, Christopher J. “Toxic/problematic masculinity: A critical appraisal of its role in CBT.” Current Opinion in Psychology, 2026.
• Sommers, Christina Hoff. The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men. Simon & Schuster, 2000 (revised 2015).
• Reeves, Richard V. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It. Brookings Institution Press, 2022.
• Eberstadt, Nicholas. Men Without Work: Post-Pandemic Edition. Templeton Foundation Press, 2022.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Suicide Data and Statistics.” 2024.
• Gallup. “Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West.” 2025.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 2024.
• Tyack, David, and Elisabeth Hansot. Learning Together: A History of Coeducation in American Public Schools. Russell Sage Foundation, 1992.
• U.S. Department of Education. “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.” 1972.
• Women’s Educational Equity Act. Public Law 93-380. 1974.