| 来源类型 | Article
|
| 规范类型 | 评论
|
| In defense of the APA guidelines |
| Christina Hoff Sommers
|
| 发表日期 | 2019-02-04
|
| 出版年 | 2019
|
| 语种 | 英语
|
| 摘要 | Yes, the new APA “Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men” are saturated with gender studies rhetoric. But buried under the blather about “hegemonic masculinity” are suggestions that are both contrarian and sensible.
Consider this sentiment: “For boys and adolescents, shorter sessions, informal settings outside the office (e.g., playground), instrumental activities, using humor and self-disclosure…may provide more congruent environments than traditional psychotherapy.” That may not sound revolutionary, but the authors are conceding that conventional talk therapy may work less well for young men than for young women. They are suggesting the need for male-specific mental health protocols. That goes against decades of theory denying the relevance or legitimacy of anything male-specific. Unfortunately, the authors offer very little advice beyond the passage quoted above. But it’s a start.
There is more hidden wisdom: “Psychologists are encouraged to advocate for public policy that supports and enhances teenage boys’ career prospects.” That is a revolutionary call-to-arms! Almost no one is advocating for the vocational well-being of young men. Politically mainstream organizations avoid it, knowing that it would be dismissed as a backlash against women. But men need help.
As my colleague at the American Enterprise Institute, Nicholas Eberstadt, documents, the U.S. is in the midst of a “quiet catastrophe—the collapse of work for men.” America, says Eberstadt, “is now home to an ever-growing army of jobless men no longer even looking for work—over seven million between ages 25 and 55, the traditional prime of working life.” Economist Lawrence Summers projects that one third of working-age men will to be out of the workforce by 2050. The social and psychological toll of such a dislocation is incalculable. Boys and young men desperately need advocates. So, I commend the report for suggesting the nation’s psychologists take up their cause.
There is much that is good and important in the APA guidelines. The authors stress the importance of fathers and present dozens of statistics that belie the idea of “male privilege.” So why did they bury their message in distracting passages about “Eurocentric masculine ideals of restrictive emotionality?” Here is my best guess: In our current male-averse environment, the only way to help men and boys is to pay homage to the gender dogmas—then quietly insert some sound and critical advice and hope no one notices. Even the authors themselves. |
| 主题 | Society and Culture
; Race and Gender
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| 标签 | gender differences
; psychology
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| URL | https://www.aei.org/articles/in-defense-of-the-apa-guidelines/
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| 来源智库 | American Enterprise Institute (United States)
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| 资源类型 | 智库出版物
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| 条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/265353
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推荐引用方式
GB/T 7714 |
Christina Hoff Sommers. In defense of the APA guidelines. 2019.
|
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