Straw Men,Weak Men,and Hollow Men

Three forms of the straw man fallacy are posed: the straw, weak, and hollow man. Additionally, there can be non-fallacious cases of any of these species of straw man arguments.     

Straw Men,Iron Men,and Argumentative Virtue

The straw man fallacy consists in inappropriately constructing or selecting weak (or comparatively weaker) versions of the opposition’s arguments. We will survey the three forms of straw men recognized in the literature, the straw, weak, and hollow man. We will then make the case that there are examples of inappropriately reconstructing stronger versions of the opposition’s arguments. Such cases we will call iron man fallacies. The difference between appropriate and inappropriate iron manning clarifies the limits of the virtue of open-mindedness.     

Men,shame, and group psychotherapy

Male difficulties with shame and intimacy are described. Theories and research addressing the sources of the problem are summarized. Technical issues to keep in mind when conducting psychotherapy with men are also discussed. Finally, the special value of group therapy for treating men with shame-related problems is discussed and illustrated.The author would like to thank Drs. Robert Friedman, Robert Karen, and Amy Schaffer for their editorial suggestions.     

College Men, Their Magazines, and Sex

Relations between reading Lad magazines and pornographic magazines and the beliefs and attitudes that are consistent with their content were explored in two independent surveys of college undergraduate men (n?=?91 and 68, respectively). The impact of reading such magazines on men’s sexual self-schema was also examined. The results indicated a relationship between reading Lad magazines and endorsement of permissive sexual attitudes independent of actual sexual behavior. Reading Lad magazines was also associated with expectations of greater sexual variety and a more aggressive sexual self-schema. Reading pornographic magazines was found to be associated with permissive attitudes. Neither reading pornographic magazines nor reading lad magazines was related to aggressive attitudes.     

Men Helping Boys Become Men

SUMMARY

This paper explores the idea of men raising boys to be men as a potential site for abuse in the rearing of men and then creating abusive men. Looking at issues such as character building, the use of symbols to connote power and authority, and corporal punishment to create respect, the article, in a very personal way, explores the process of this segment of child rearing as a potential for creating abusive men in adulthood.     

Psychosocial Factors and HIV Prevention for Gay,Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

We are more than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, and, although we have made many important scientific advances, there remains much to understand and implement to prevent new infections. The science of HIV prevention, although interdisciplinary, has relied heavily on psychological theories and research methods to address many key questions. In this paper, we briefly review some historical and epidemiologic considerations about the U.S. HIV epidemic and then present some key psychological concepts from HIV prevention. We make the case for continuing to focus efforts on gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, who represent the sociocultural group with the highest incidence and prevalence of HIV in the domestic epidemic. We present a summary of the research support for, and limitations of, the three major psychosocial models that predict HIV risk behaviors – the information–motivation–behavioral skills model, the minority stress model, and the syndemics framework. We discuss the use of these models in the development and testing of HIV prevention interventions and end by highlighting a few novel research areas, including bio‐behavioral approaches.     

Men,Women, and the Self-Presentation of Achievement

This study examined men's and women'sself-presentation of academic achievement in aninteractional context. First-year college students wereled to expect an interaction with a peer to discussacademic achievement. However, the peer was actually aconfederate who portrayed his or her achievement in aboastful, moderate, or self-deprecating manner. Prior tothe anticipated interaction, subjects were induced to describe their own academic achievement andmake predictions about their first-semester grade pointaverages (GPAs) to be shared with the peer. Men's GPApredictions were highest in the boastful condition (and higher than their actual GPAs), nexthighest in the moderate condition, and lowest (and lowerthan their actual GPAs) in the self-deprecatingcondition. Women's predicted GPAs,unexpectedly,didnotvary by condition. Women were less comfortable inpredicting their GPAs than men, and there was a tendencyfor men to be more comfortable than women whileobserving the boastful peer and women to be morecomfortable than men while observing the self-deprecatingpeer. Results are discussed with regard to past researchand self-in-relation theory.     

Sexual Identity,Mental Health,HIV Risk Behaviors,and Internalized Homophobia Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between sexual identity, depression, self‐esteem, HIV risk behaviors, HIV status, and internalized homophobia in Black men who have sex with men. Results demonstrated a positive relationship between depression, HIV risk behaviors, and internalized homophobia; a negative relationship with self‐esteem; and differences in internalized homophobia by HIV status (i.e., positive, negative, or unknown). Counseling recommendations are provided for working with this population.     

Men,masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking

Research on men's help seeking yields strategies for enhancing men's use of mental and physical health resources. Analysis of the assumptions underlying existing theory and research also provides a context for evaluating the psychology of men and masculinity as an evolving area of social scientific inquiry. The authors identify several theoretical and methodological obstacles that limit understanding of the variable ways that men do or do not seek help from mental and physical health care professionals. A contextual framework is developed by exploring how the socialization and social construction of masculinities transact with social psychological processes common to a variety of potential help-seeking contexts. This approach begins to integrate the psychology of men and masculinity with theory and methodology from other disciplines and suggests innovative ways to facilitate adaptive help seeking.     

Thin,Sexy Women and Strong,Muscular Men: Grade-School Children's Responses to Objectified Images of Women and Men

There are data that show that women are objectified in the media, that girls and women experience a high rate of body dissatisfaction and eating problems, and that exposure to objectified media images of women is related to the experience of self-objectification and body shame among women. Media images of women promote a thin, sexy ideal. The objectification of men in the media has increased, perhaps promoting a “drive for muscularity” among boys. In the present study grade-school girls and boys ages 6 through 12 were shown four pictures of objectified images of women and men, respectively, and asked about their responses to the pictures. Although girls and boys responded equally positively to the objectified images of the people of their gender, girls showed a more consistent response to the pictures. Further, there were stronger relationships between girls' responses to the pictures, awareness and internalization of media images, and body esteem. Girls who consistently showed a rejection response to the pictures had higher body esteem than those girls who were uncertain about how to respond to the pictures. It was concluded that, perhaps due to cultural images and cultural pressures, girls more readily develop a consistent response to objectified images of women (than boys do to objectified images of men) that relates to their feelings about their own bodies.     

Men Counseling Men: Redefining the Male Machine

The opportunity for men to give and receive counsel with other men is now a reality with the men's consciousness-raising movement. This article describes a men's CR program that encourages men to explore their ideas, feelings, and values in a noncompetitive and trusting atmosphere. Three important themes—self-disclosure, competition, and affection are identified. Barriers to developing close relationships and methodological problems are also identified. In addition, the article provides some examples of experiential and discussion activities that may enhance the level of group participation and trust.     

Gurus,Mystics, and Medicine Men: On Transcending Anger

Many contemporary Western writers, both professional helpers and laypersons, often urge expression of anger as a key to healthy living. There are many experts, perhaps best described as sharing a mystical orientation, who offer a different perspective on how to handle anger. This article attempts to relate the unity of their thinking as well as to suggest that the time is overdue for consideration of viable alternatives to expressing strong negative feelings.     

Australian Trans Men: Development,Sexuality, and Mental Health

The aim of the study reported in this article was to gain an understanding of the experiences, developmental trajectories, and mental health status of Australian trans men. Participants were 279 trans men. The majority preferred to identify as “male”; from an early age, they had experienced their gender identity as different from that normatively expected of their natally assigned sex and had undertaken practices so as to facilitate their presentation as male in accordance with their gender identity. A majority reported a diagnosis of depression or anxiety within the last 12 months and attributed suicidal ideation and self‐harm and attempted suicide to personal issues with gender identity. Going through a masculinisation process and coming out reportedly led to improved mental health. The findings highlight the need to educate mental health and health care professionals on trans issues.