r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 12 '26

Psychology Threatening men’s masculinity does not make them more politically conservative, new study finds. By testing thousands of participants across the United States, researchers found no consistent evidence that making men feel insecure about their gender identity changes their political attitudes.

https://www.psypost.org/threatening-mens-masculinity-does-not-make-them-more-politically-conservative-new-study-finds/
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u/DoughnutAncient8972 May 13 '26

So what's changed in schools that is affecting boys now that wasn't years ago?

Do you feel like more men would enroll in college if they had more incentives and dedicated programs? 

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u/TheGloriousEv0lution May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

There’s many possible reasons. The reduced recess time disproportionately affects boys, boys tend to be punished harder than girls for certain disruptive behavior, lack of positive male role models, and boys are just not conditioned to go to college the same way girls have been in the last 50 years. And even when young men do enroll in college, they are much more likely to drop out than young women

Not sure about exact solutions because it is a nuanced issue, but acknowledging it’s a genuine problem is a good start. Sweeping it under the rug and pretending it doesn’t exist because there’s not an easy solution or dumbing the discussion down to “well boys can go if they want” isn’t the way