Let's all take Blindboy seriously now...

smurgen wrote: »

Why throw in the word feminism? It's the wrong word and he's not a stupid fellow so i'm thinking he put in a current buzzword to get his soundbite.my issue is they're actually bandwagon jumpers and populist even though they try to portray themselves as part of the subculture.
As for men not crying or being told not to i dunno have i ever seen this in real life.when people like the rubberbandits talk about stuff of how things are in irish society i wonder am i living in a different place to you all? Men cry, i have seen it plenty of times.i have never seen someone telling a young boy to bottle up their emotions any differently to a young girl.rubber bandits tell us how society is but i cannot say it's what i've seen.they're not as in touch with common men as what they think.

Do you think it's in any way possible that his experience of things might not be exactly the same as your own? Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it isn't true for someone else.

Maybe he meant feminism in the narrowest of meaning like people seem to be taking it, but maybe he was using it in place of effeminacy? That's how I took the point he was trying to make talking about the thermos (rightly or wrongly), it was camouflage coloured and he took this to be marketing a masculine trait of the cup. And you do see this in society, things are marketed differently depending on the target audience. How many little girls got a play kitchen & dolls for birthdays and Christmas while their brothers got toy guns & toy knives?

I've seen men cry plenty of times and I've cried in front of others myself but not everyone (myself included) is capable of expressing their emotions openly & comfortably all the time. Not everyone is comfortable talking about their issues.

smurgen wrote: »

His experience is fine and i no doubt he is sincere about his experices.but he's applying his experiences to society as a whole and i'm not sure his reality reflects society as a whole.that's why it irks me when he's portrayed as the real life voice of ireland.men can be weak,we know this.he is saying we tell men they can't be weak.i don't think anyone is telling men they can't be weak.he's fixing issues that aren't there.

But no one's experience defines society as a whole, it's far too diverse. I don't think he's ever said he's speaking for everyone, he's just speaking about his own experience and how it's affected him in his life. And he has the platform to do that. If it brings some awareness to overall support for mental health issues then I'm all for it.

Maybe I'm wrong about that, I don't hang on his every word so maybe he has represented himself as speaking for everyone but I haven't heard him do that yet myself.

_Whimsical_ wrote:

I don't really read the gentleman's club here but it's sad if it's not used to promote positive messages.. Internet forums can be echo chambers that don't reflect society in general. It doesn't change the fact that positive things are out there even if you aren't hearing them. It's probably good to be reminded that other prescriptive exist in wider society. That message needs to be reinforced. The names that have added something positive should be remembered. I think it's brilliant if Blindboy is reaching people on that level though. We need as many as we can get discussing mental health in general, not just for men.

You don't need to go to the gentleman's forum. The premise of this thread is that he shouldn't be taken seriously.

_Whimsical_ wrote:

We should be able to roll some female names off the tongue though. You shouldn't feel male mental health is completely different to female experience and that female experience isn't relevant to you. We should be talking about it as a general issue affecting both sexes because ultimately lots of men in trouble will reach out to women and vice versa. We are in it together.

I think a lot of these things are role modeled in art directed at women. I'm vaguely aware of Stacy Slater in EastEnders who has bipolar depression. That's an ongoing story line. I imagine that autobiographies aimed at women will deal with mental health too. I know some of the ones aimed at men include sections about mental health.

I think there has been a push for men to come forward and speak which has resulted in men on interview shows like the late late and Tommy Tiernan. But I think you're probably right. There are probably more men who speak about their mental health in interview shows.

_Whimsical_ wrote:

My exposure to Blind Boy has been through the media and I've heard him talk on panel shows on everything from religion, where he was quite insulting to religious people, to social policy to brexit. I think those might be the issues the original OP was referring to, where it feels slightly ridiculous to listen to someone wearing a plastic bag and choosing to appear as his comedic character. Like if Mrs Brown was joining important discussions. I thought he did a great job tonight on Tommy Tiernan though and I will search out his podcast based on what you've said about it too. It's a pity to see him ridiculed for that. As a country we have a slightly problem with latching into someone with something to say and thinking they can be included in every conversation though. It gets tiresome. That's not to ridicule him but ourselves though.

Similar to yourself, i admire any of those people whom come forward to try to offer support to other men whether they're people I would usually see or not.

Well Mrs Brown did an anti bullying campaign as Mrs Brown. That's a serious topic.

Is he just a comedic character though? He got famous for his comedy but I think the character is a lot more than just comedy. I think one of the pain points of art is to discuss a topic from a unique perspective. Some people seem to think that the only way to discuss a serious topic is through a dry lecture style. Lots of art use parody or satire to discuss serious topics.

I really don't get the problem with having a bag on his head. The fact of looking ridiculous puts the focus entirely on the content of his speech. It's mad to think that his speech would have a different message if he wore a three piece suit. Do people think wearing a suit means the words are more likely true? Watch a political panel show and apply the same principle. They all dress well but does that mean they're more trustworthy?

I would recommend giving the podcast a listen to see the kind of things being discussed. it covers an range of topics in each episode but the message on mental health is entirely positive

optogirl wrote: »

he's not applying his experiences to society as a whole though - he's giving his opinion. He calls his musings 'hot takes' implying he's open to correction, discussion & argument. More than implying infact, he says it all the time 'feel free to tell me I'm talking ****e'. He's not portraying himself as the 'real life voice of Ireland' - if that's what some clickbaiter at Joe.ie wants to call him that's not BB's fault.

Did you think that maybe he's projecting his own issues on people as a whole? Maybe some impressionable young men with minor problems will listen to his spiel and come off feeling worse about themselves?he's not a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist yet he's offering advice to young men that pisses me off to be honest. And don't get me wrong they were great when they were laughing about buzzing bags of glue and yoke popping but i just feel it hard to take to him as an englightened individuals now championing mental health.

smurgen wrote: »

Did you think that maybe he's projecting his own issues on people as a whole? Maybe some impressionable young men with minor problems will listen to his spiel and come off feeling worse about themselves?he's not a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist yet he's offering advice to young men that pisses me off to be honest. And don't get me wrong they were great when they were laughing about buzzing bags of glue and yoke popping but i just feel it hard to take to him as an englightened individuals now championing mental health.

I'm pretty sure he does have a degree in psychoanalysis

smurgen wrote: »

Did you think that maybe he's projecting his own issues on people as a whole? Maybe some impressionable young men with minor problems will listen to his spiel and come off feeling worse about themselves?he's not a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist yet he's offering advice to young men that pisses me off to be honest. And don't get me wrong they were great when they were laughing about buzzing bags of glue and yoke popping but i just feel it hard to take to him as an englightened individuals now championing mental health.

You're clearly someone who's just read summaries of his interviews or podcast. There is literally no way someone could feel worse about themselves after listening to it.
I'm also starting to feel that this argument is becoming "those who've had or have mental health issues vs those that haven't"

Some people, me included, find his podcast beneficial and or just funny, those that don't shouldn't feel the need to slate him or anyone who listens to it. It's one man's opinions and experiences of mental health put across in an entertaining (to some) way, what harm.

As someone said above, I'm not a fan of Mrs brown, I actually can't stand it, but I don't go to the Mrs brown section of boards telling everyone he's crap & to stop watching it. How arrogant is that?

smurgen wrote:

Did you think that maybe he's projecting his own issues on people as a whole?

Would the fact that he constantly says he's just speaking from his own experience impact your opinion at all?

I've studied psychology for 6 years but don't work in the area and my Mrs does work in the area and I can tell you that he doesn't overstep the bounds at all. He offers a sensible high level overview of what a professional would say and doesn't say anything that a psychologist would disagree with.

Of course he repeatedly says he's not a professional and it's just make starting point.

I think your objection is completely unfounded.

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Maybe I picked it up wrong but what I took from what he was saying is that the stereotypical lessons of "boys don't cry" is a poor lesson to teach a child, things like crying or expressing emotion are viewed as "girly" or feminine traits so boys are taught not to show those feelings. And that's what I thought he was saying about it's impact on mental health, a lot of men don't know how to express their feelings because they were taught as children not to which leads to some level of inner turmoil.

Lord save us from useless weeping men in touch with their 'feelings'.

'Boys don't cry' is a simple way of teaching an important lesson.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

This is exactly what he was saying. Breaking down the unhelpful parts of the stereotype of gender roles. Simple and sensible.

I get the impression that for some people feminism conjures up an image of some blue haired loon from America. I do t think Blindboy was suggesting men need to be more like her.

Why not say men need equality rather than feminism?equality of the genders.probably be harder to grab a headline with that phrasing.we have enough loons like Louise O Neil without having to go to the states.

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

Young men absolutely do not need third or fourth waves bonkers feminism to help them. Or Blindboy Boatrace.

They'd be better off listening to clinical psychologists like Jordan Peterson or even feminists like Camille Paglia on how to improve their lives.

Either Blindboy's last or second last podcast had a lengthy piece about how much he enjoys listening to Jordan Peterson and recommending it to other listeners. He's on the same page as you but you don't know that because you've dismissed him out of hand.

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

Either Blindboy's last or second last podcast had a lengthy piece about how much he enjoys listening to Jordan Peterson and recommending it to other listeners. He's on the same page as you but you don't know that because you've dismissed him out of hand.

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Except Peterson has never stated that Feminism is the way for young men to improve their lives.

Blindboy made a huge sweeping statement when he said that Feminism is what young men need. And he did it on National TV.

He never qualified it, never caveated it, never explained what aspects or strains of Feminism should be investigated and ignored. Again he did this on national TV.

Maybe he needs to take what Peterson has always said into account - be very careful with the words you use in the public sphere.

smurgen wrote: »

The views he expresses seem to be at odds to peterson's.

You should engage directly with him on Twitter or Facebook, he's always asking for people to tell him if he's incorrect or have a different opinion on something he talks about

I know it may be hard to fathom but You can actually listen to people who may have different points of view on certain subjects without automatically shhlappin a 'enemy' or 'spoofer' label on top of them and ignoring them or whatever else they have to say for the rest of your life.