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Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

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Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#211

Post by klyrs »

whymauri wrote: post #101
whatshisface wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an ideal world there would be a professionalism gradient for mental health the same way there is for physical health. The physical health gradient starts with yourself (trying to eat healthy), passes through your friends casually assisting (participating in outdoor activities, discussing food, telling you they're staying home because they're sick), then hits easily accessible treatments (pharmacy), moves on to mor…

>In contrast, the mental health picture for isolated urban professionals starts with self-regulation, then jumps straight to being treated by The System. It's pretty wild how poorly equipped some parts of the country are to treat mental health. My younger sister (13) suffers from anxiety and depression. She says she just needs a therapist to talk to, but every time my parents have reached out to local resources cover…

Absolutely, we've got the same problem in Canada. We waste so many resources on treating emergencies, because we can't spare a buck to help folks with minor/moderate problems. And of course, "universal healthcare" doesn't cover mental health, dental or vision -- those are privileges for folks with upper-crust jobs.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#212

Post by [deleted] »

ceilingcorner wrote: post #97
sandworm101 wrote: post #33

It isn't because they are barbers. That is secondary. These are men's groups. This is men helping other men. Thanks to continued differences re hairstyles barber shops are one of the very few all-male places left in modern society (other than locker rooms which have a distinct competitive air). So it is no surprise that many urban men feel at home and are more willing to talk at the barber than anywhere else.

It goes against pretty much everything in the zeitgeist, but yeah, men and boys are really hurting from this lack of all-male spaces. I hope culture boomerangs around enough to permit them sometime soon.

[deleted]

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#213

Post by djtriptych »

jacobrobbins wrote: post #30

This is really interesting and seems like a great example of how small businesses are better for their community than chains. When I lived in Fort Greene brooklyn I was surprised by how many barbershops and hair salons there were, like 5 or more on the single little triangular block at fulton and greene. It seemed clear they were providing more of a community function than just the utility of getting a haircut that i…

That's Clinton Hill!

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#214

Post by ilamont »

ceilingcorner wrote: post #91

This used to be the case for most communities in America, before we decided that externalizing and professionalizing everything was the "economically efficient" solution. If you had a problem, you'd talk to the elder folks in your community and see what they thought about it. Now we barely know our neighbors and our community elders are shipped off to special-purpose holding facilities.

Unfortunately, the trusted person in many communities could sometimes make things far, far worse. In my community there were a handful of priests and teachers at a local private school who abused children entrusted to their care.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#215

Post by recursive »

msla wrote: post #204
neartheplain wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>the confidentiality of a professional therapist is huge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_the_Confessional_and_t...

OK, but you're still back to "pray the gay away" if you go to a priest, at least through most of human history.

There are plenty of issues people have that aren't related to being gay. Most of them, I'd guess. That doesn't help if that's your issue, but it also doesn't mean the entire practice is useless.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#216

Post by mistermann »

msla wrote: post #204
neartheplain wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>the confidentiality of a professional therapist is huge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_the_Confessional_and_t...

OK, but you're still back to "pray the gay away" if you go to a priest, at least through most of human history.

Out of curiosity (because of the topic): do you consider this to be an an evidence based belief (taking into consideration the comprehensive nature of it)?

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#217

Post by emerged »

sandworm101 wrote: post #33

It isn't because they are barbers. That is secondary. These are men's groups. This is men helping other men. Thanks to continued differences re hairstyles barber shops are one of the very few all-male places left in modern society (other than locker rooms which have a distinct competitive air). So it is no surprise that many urban men feel at home and are more willing to talk at the barber than anywhere else.

I recently came to realize that many addiction groups are actually a social replacement for buddies who used to go out drinking / partying all the time.

Since they can no longer party, a replacement group is needed and they all immediately share in common that they don’t want to drink or take drugs.

Maybe this is common knowledge but it was a lightbulb moment for me when I realized it.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#218

Post by FooBarBizBazz »

namlem wrote: post #87
ouid wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such a poorly crafted argument that it's hard to imagine it's not in bad faith. You listed religion twice! The only way this is representative of any kind of "normal" culture is if you have defined it that way. Let's think about a couple more ways that you could go about obtaining a community in the US. leisure: clubs, cafes, live music events, bars, gyms. proximity: neighborhood, induced parent communities f…

I disagree that most of your examples are comparable, with the exception of gyms and coworkers/colleagues to a degree. Getting your hair cut is a qualitatively different type of experience. You have to sit still while it's happening, you can't just wander off. And there's even a degree of physical intimacy involved, even if it's purely professional. Likewise, in church you have to sit still, you can't go on your phon…

> I disagree that most of your examples are comparable, with the exception of gyms and [...]

You mentioned gyms:

tl;dr: Karate dojos are a kind of gym with lots of community -- maybe too much!

Original post:

Gyms are an interesting one. Most are relatively anonymous, I think. But my (somewhere between first- and second- hand) experience of karate dojos was that they are very tight-knit, almost cultish (though not entirely in a bad way). People's SOs often joined, not really because they were interested in karate per-se, but because it was a way to spend more time together.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#219

Post by lemmsjid »

motohagiography wrote: post #206
GavinMcG wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that abusers "cannot navigate masculine environments well" is absurd, ignores the fact that much abuse has taken place in masculine environments throughout history, and imagines that abusers somehow give themselves away by not presenting as traditionally masculine. Where are you getting this?

Abuse, e.g. sadism, opportunism, deception are all definitions of unmasculine behaviours. There are men who behave in unmasculine ways, and I'd reassert they usually disqualify themselves from deeper friendship with men who don't. Among men, I would also say that negative traits are necessarily also unmasculine because they are usually immoderate instances of other qualities. Of course, this is a practitioners view w…

I'm having trouble following you. The behaviors you describe above are neither 'unmasculine' or 'unfeminine'. They are behaviors that can be evidenced across the gender spectrum.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#220

Post by at_a_remove »

ceilingcorner wrote: post #97
sandworm101 wrote: post #33

It isn't because they are barbers. That is secondary. These are men's groups. This is men helping other men. Thanks to continued differences re hairstyles barber shops are one of the very few all-male places left in modern society (other than locker rooms which have a distinct competitive air). So it is no surprise that many urban men feel at home and are more willing to talk at the barber than anywhere else.

It goes against pretty much everything in the zeitgeist, but yeah, men and boys are really hurting from this lack of all-male spaces. I hope culture boomerangs around enough to permit them sometime soon.

Duke has a space for men: "The Duke Men's Project is an initiative to call men in to conversations about feminism and gender oppression. It aims to create a space of brotherhood and fellowship dedicated to interrogating male privilege and patriarchy as it exists in our lives, our campus and our society." as sponsored by the Duke Women’s Center.

That's pretty much the kind of thing that is available for men.

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