At some point in life, all men will have to come to the realization that it is darn tough to be a man. It is even tougher to become a man. No man is truly prepared for the incredible battle he will face as he claws his way through life to become a man. But one thing is for certain, he will eventually come to the realization that to have experience, he must lose his innocence.
Innocence is something that all boys start with. They are born with it. When little boys venture into the world, they aren’t aware of the sacrifice they will have to pay to become respected, valuable men. Valuable to the woman who will love them, valuable to the career that will pay them, and valuable to a society that will not care what price they pay to become valuable.
In 2024, society has become a place where men are harshly judged for everything. Their ability to provide, lead, and protect is demanded with almost nothing in return from their partners. Men are criticized for their masculinity if they are too emotional, or if they don’t earn enough.
The pressure to be in the top ten percent of income earners has become soul-killing for so many men who work tirelessly daily but get no praise for their efforts. Earning a respectable income is no longer attractive to the average woman. Making $60 to $80k while working a blue-collar job, which is still a decent income, is no longer dating material for women. This realization, along with what kind of car is driven and the ability to take lavish vacations is killing the dreams and lives of many men.
The number of suicides for males increased 2 percent, from 38,358 in 2021 to 39,255 in 2022, while the number for females increased 4 percent, from 9,825 to 10,194. Age-adjusted suicide rates for males and females increased by 1 percent and 4 percent, respectively (from 22.8 to 23.1 for males and from 5.7 to 5.9 for females).
In 2021, the crude suicide rate among men ages 85 and older was 52.4 deaths per 100,000, greater than the rate among females. In other words, men experienced a crude suicide rate nearly 17 times that of women of the same age.
Suicide is the biggest killer of people under the age of 35 and the biggest killer of men under the age of 50.
“I never knew how lonely it would be to become a man,” Clint from Chicago said. “I used to want to give up because of how hard it is to do all of the stuff that is expected of us.”
Trading innocence for experience can be crushing for those men who aren’t prepared for the loneliness of being a respected man. Men suffer in silence because sometimes the verbalization of what they have experienced on the journey of life can be too hard to discuss.
INNOCENCE FOR EXPERIENCE
Men must learn from their mistakes. The mistakes they make help mold who they will become as they grow. Men must accept their weaknesses to conquer them. Society tells all men that they must earn six figures, be taller than 6 feet, and they must live a certain lifestyle. What are 98 percent of men supposed to do when they realize that only 2 percent of society has all three things combined?
Men must choose to accept what they don’t have to create value in the things that they do have. Men must work on their personalities, their income, and their self-control, and they must work on their attractiveness if they are going to create value for themselves.
Men also must deal with the punishment they receive on a daily basis from life itself.
“Becoming a man of value is one of the hardest things that men will ever have to go through,” Eric from Boston said.
“We must be able to endure pain, ascend with patience, and do the hard work of self-repair if we are going to be able to protect and provide for those we love.”
Men must be willing to take on the weight of the world to provide for those they love. That love means that they must be willing to get bruised so those around them can maintain their innocence.
Men are often shields for their families, so they don’t have to suffer. Men will work in pain, quite often parking their emotions at the door to endure all kinds of situations that are less than ideal.
Men who work in blue-collar positions often deal with the harsh conditions in which they work to provide a lifestyle that no longer earns them society’s respect. But they do the work anyway. They take on the stresses of their work environments while putting themselves in harm’s way, so those that they love can enjoy the fruits of their labor.
LOVE IN 2024
What was, and still is today, is the pain that men suffer at the hands of seeking companionship. In 2024, men are under more pressure than ever to live up to the expectations that women have for them.
Women are 82 percent responsible for divorces in America. Typically, women benefit more from divorce than men. They get alimony, custody of the children, and financial support long after the marriage is over.
Dating today seems to be more transactional than anything else where women expect a man to pay their bills and support their lifestyles to enjoy the companionship of a woman.
With the feminist movement, women today often claim that they no longer need men in their lives. This creates confusion for men because, while men know that they need women, they struggle with the statements of not feeling needed.
“Dating today is horrible,” Sterling of Cincinnati said. “Women have a delusional expectation that men will take care of them, only go to places where food costs $300 per date and get nothing in return. They offer no value to us anymore.”
“All I see on the dating apps is women who are masculine in nature, with kids of their own, wanting men to give them everything,” Nick from Cleveland said.
Men want relationships more than ever. They want to find someone they can share their lives with. What they don’t want is to fight a battle with a woman after fighting life all day. Those who find love often describe their partner as peace.
All men understand that once they have experience, it comes at a price. The price of innocence must be paid to achieve the kind of success that society respects. Men are willing to pay that price because of what it brings.
This article was written to remind men to undergo the metamorphosis that they need to in order to become the man they want to be. The pain will pass, the struggle will lessen, and the joy of becoming an experienced man will pay off in the end. ●
