Women:Men Ratio & Why.
 

Well, i was just talking to Ami (Strawberry-Gashes) And she was talking about how her Psychologist said to her how for every 1 man that SI's there'l be 25 females.


At first that sounds like a ridiculous claim seeing how mental health issues can hit anyone, anytime regardless of gender, but if you think about it, look at RYL for example, think to yourself. "How many male members do i know?" then compare that to females, you'l see we're pretty outnumbered.


Why?


Here's my opinion.
I think men have this "Macho" bullshit hardwired into them, so they find it hard to open up, i know i find it hard to talk to other males about how i feel, and it's not that i think it makes me "Less" of a man, as i know that's bullshit, but it doesn't stop me being nearly unable to give good advice to other male members, when i told my GP i cut and have depression i nearly died of embaressment, if it had of been a male GP i would'nt have told him, i'd have bailed.

I also think it's social acceptance, i am in no way saying having depression and self harming is easier for a woman, not at all, but i'd think men would have more chance to be mocked by friends if they "Came out" as a cutter. As society says men are "Hard as nails" and we shouldn't let stuff get to us.

Clearly my idea, Dan :P

I think women are more prone to depression to, as opposed to men. Also, my pschatrist said something about women feeling more worthless and less deserving on men. Dunno though.
x

but surely you'd think not being able to express feelings, keeping them bottled up and stuff would increase the likelyhood of si? ..sorry if i'm talking rubbish..

I'm not sure, you'd think so Toothpaste.

I agree with what you're saying. I find it really hard to tell other guys things. I've opened up to my female friends and things but I'm not sure I've ever told another guy things like that. I think the incidence in men is probably higher than it is but the very fact that men don't talk about it means it isn't reported and so it doesn't like as many men do it. Statistics don't tell the whole story.

Yea, i was also thinking that, that men won't be as highly statiscalised (Is that even a word?! :tongue2:) Simply because they may be more secretive.

But wouldn't you think they'd try and self help themselves? On RYL we're in complete annoyminity.

^^ ah yeah it could be guys are less likely to get help, so the stats may not be accurate.

Kay well, I shall give my loverly opinion.

I think your right, guys are less willing to tell someone about it which is why the statistics are very unreliable.
But also i do think more women do SH because women are generally more emotional anyway. Maybe in being too stereotypical, I probably am. I just speak from experience, i have 4 brothers and by far I am the most emotional. But again, I don't know if thats right so if its not just ignore me.
Anyway I don't really know how to reply to this thread so sorry =]
<3

Women might also suffer more emotional problems caused by PMT- I know mine are related to my menstrual cycle anyway.

Men tend to act out when they are upset. They get violent and angry, whereas women have been told anger isnt acceptable for a girl, so they push it inwards. Thats another influencing factor. I think there is a gender disparity, however i dont think it is as large as we are led to believe. Its just males are less likely to tell people, or to see that there is anything wrong. Like men with eating disorders, they more often shrug it off as too much sport. It is fasinating i agree, but it is just so complex we wont be able to pinpoint the many and varied reasons why this is the case.

Yea, i mean the statstic shows there are something like 1million men and boys suffering from anorexia, but 10million girls.

In my opinon, women are more prone to ED's, but still, i doubt that statistic isn't even nearly true, on both parts.

I think the data is flawed to an extent, because I agree that men have a hard time owning up to their emotions. I have a couple of guy friends who SI and have admitted it to me, but as far as I know, they haven't adnitted it to their guy friends because of the stereotypes we are all forced to live. Woman on the other hand, can admit it to other females without fear of being weak. I have a couple of female friends who have owned up to it to me. And myself being a female, it makes it a little easier to talk to others about my cutting/SI problems. My ex-bf told me that he couldn't talk to other males about it because he was afraid it would hurt his social status.

That's just what I have to say. And if anyone wants to talk to me about ANYTHING, I'll listen. I'm here for everyone and anyone. I'll listen.

it depends on the population your looking at...in prisons the rate of SI is much higher in males then females. another issue is that females are more like to seek psychiatric treatment(which is where the statistics come from). men are also more likely to turn their anger out towards others(fighting) and are more likely to use drugs. "agression" in men is tollerated if not encouraged as "manly". it's a different story for women because agression is considered "unladylike" so we're more like to turn our anger and frustrations inward. so...in the end...women and men had themselve in equal ammounts...its just that theres different ways to do it and unfortunately for them its somewhat socially acceptable...

I also read women are 4 times more likley to Attempt suicide. But men are 5 times more likley to suceed.

But i agree with everything said completley.

I'm going to ruin this and say in real life I know more men who self harm.
Ha.

I dont know anyone in real life that sh's.

Wow.

do you like live in a burrow or something?
everybody i know in real life has self harmed, does self harm or has tried it.
like my friends out of ryl y'know.
maybe it's hastings.

I've honestly never met another Self harmer (That i'm aware of, obviously we hide it) But yea, i know i'l have came in contact with people before, but not aware.

hide it?
what is this foreign concept?

i gave up hiding it years ago, unless of course it's actually in a hidden place.
psht.
i reckon it sucks thinking "oh noes i can't wear that htey may see scars/cuts OMGZZZ".

not that i go delibratly showing it off either.
eh.
i reckon i have a sixth sense for these things.
considering i spotted a self harmer in spar the other day and luke didn't.
tit.

Yea, i've thought a few people were SH'ers, but it's not as if i could go up to them. And i still hide my scars, wish i didn't have to, but that's life.

I think we tend to hide it more or use forms of self harm that arent as visible as cutting. As a guy I"m embarassed by my scars, cuz I"m afraid people will see it as a form of weakness. When all I was trying to do was survive, and in my eyes its made me stronger. I think the ratio is more equal than people think.

The self-harmers i know,are mostly both..yeh 4 boys and 3 girls. So I guess i do know more male self-harmers too.
I dunno =]

I admit i've not read all the replies here, but there was a point i wanted to make on this. Part of the reason i believe fewer men self harm than women, is that generally speaking, men partake more in physical methods of releasing stress and frustration. By this i mean that you will often find men go to the gym to release anger (for example), and so, without realising, they're actively avoiding hurting themselves because they already have a physical release for what they're going through.

Whilst for women, this isn't always the case, as women aren't encouraged certainly to be so physical and release anguish in a healthy mannor.

Hope that makes sense.

A lot of really good points have been made. When collecting statistics, it's always very hard to make sure it's accurate. There's no way to check if people are telling the truth. (Whereas with political polls, the results of the election can tell you how accurate the prediction polls were, there is no way to "check" the number of SHers.)
Also, I am not quoting any sort of reliable source (just my own understanding/observation) but I believe men are more likely to use other forms of SH (alcohol, specifically, and as someone already pointed out, drugs).
This kind of discussion really makes me realize how f*ed up our society is--the mentality that men are supposed to be x, women are supposed to be y...

I agree with Zombie. I think guys are better at hiding it and are more ashamed of it. I know I am. I'm really ashamed to even let my realy old scars show. I'm so afraid of people taking it as a weakness and nothing else.

And I also beleve the numbers are a little more balanced then people say as well.

I read that too; I think it was attributed to the idea that men use more violent methods (e.g. shooting themselves), while women tend to use "less reliable" methods such as overdosing or cutting their wrists (I am not saying any method is more/less reliable or that any of us should try it, it really does depend on the person).

But even there you find stereotypes - people I've talked to have seriously thought that guys have to hang/shoot themselves and girls have to OD/cut their wrists to kill themselves. They just can't seem to comprehend the possibility that any gender can use any method.

A few points were raised earlier
1) I used to cut on my wrist/arm but i couldnt hide it that much, so i started cutting on my legs/stomache. That is the reason i cut there, because i am a ashamed of it. I dont so much "disagree" with not hiding it, obviously its personal choice but i dont feel conformfortable with ti really. Obviously walking about in -5 is a short sleeved top with cuts all over can be considered attention.

2) I know loads of people who have tried ir or done it a few times, but i wouldnt consider them "self-harmers" i use that term to describe someone who constantly uses self harm as a coping method - not someone who's tried it a few times, which is what most people have done, who i know. Just because someone has cut once or twice when they were 13 does NOT make them a self-harmer in my opinion.

Also, the fact it is so common, or so many people have tired it makes me feel as though im not "ill enough" or "i cant feel that bad then if everyone does it". so yeah

I would say a general 'I agree' to most of the comments regarding statistics and self-esteem in men vs women, etc. As an additional thought though, perhaps it's just that men might tend to choose other methods of SH, such as alcoholism (which I believe is higher in men), and engaging is dangerous activities/looking for fights etc. All these things are, in my mind, forms of SH, and I think that guys would be more likely to turn to those kind of things than actual self injury.

I'd say again that it may be something to do with the social "acceptability" [if that's a word] of men releasing their anger in more obvious ways than women can, because women are seen less as the [stereotypically] stronger/angrier/whatever species. Possibly leading them to be more prone to self harm?
Keeping in anger/withholding it has been shown to increase the risk of cancers/stomach ulcers etc, and more prone in women in effect to their peronality type, maybe showing that it's more socially acceptable for men to release their anger in more "obvious" ways where women hold back and therefore cause the build up...possibly causing a lead to self harm..

//ramble.

Women have twice as many hormones as men and are more emotional. Psychically they are "bonders". Children need that emotional bonding in their early years and women are better suited for it then men (latter in life men are meant to have a less emotional love that brings kids to their psychic roots but unfortunately these days fathers become like one of the kids and often wanted to be mommied as well).

Women alse encounter more physical abuses early in life.

Good point, women do probably get abused earlier in life. BUT, then we're back to the "Are the statistics true?" scenario. If i was raped as a child by my father. I wouldn't tell anyone, i wouldn't even mention it on here. I'd guess alot of people would be like that on the male side, more so then females.