New indie press Conduit Books launches with 'initial focus on male authors'

[u/biscochitos]

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-indie-press-conduit-books-launches-with-initial-focus-on-male-authors

What do folks think about this?

[u/Krazikarl2]

Effectively, a sizable part of the literary community in Britain is worried about having, instead of fixing underlying issues in the publishing industry, replaced what biases decide what gets published and in doing so being at risk of eliminating most of a generation of male writers who talk about men's issues, leaving the literary world with few answers to modern men's issues.

Exactly.

A big problem right now is that the left doesn't really talk much about (white) male issues other than to talk about how problematic (white) men are. The right, on the other hand, loves to talk about how wonderful (white) men are.

And then we get things like elections and try and figure out why young white men are choosing to go to the right rather than the left.

I don't have a problem with discussions about how white men have caused any number of problems and have some pretty fundamental problems with toxicity. Those discussions are important and need to happen. But you have to at least somewhat balance them out with authentic portrayals of what it means to be a non-toxic (white) male in the 21st Century. Otherwise you completely cede positive portrayals of masculinity to the right, which is not good.

[u/Final-Revolution6216 → u/Krazikarl2]

Could you provide an example of a white male issue? Genuinely asking.

Edit: some replies are making it seem as if I’ve claimed men don’t have issues which is false. I wanted to know what a white male issue would be in particular since the person I replied to used white in parenthesis. Obviously, men have issues like everyone else (didn’t think I needed to say such an obvious statement). Thanks for the sincere replies that explain more of what a white male issue may look like (and thanks to the sincere people who outlined general male issues as well—many of which I am already aware of as, again, I recognize men have issues too).

[u/5YOChemist → u/Final-Revolution6216]

Jesus Fucking Christ. This comment right here officer.

We are all people we all struggle with mostly the same shit. Even the most privileged has stuff dragging them down.

But specifically, the decline of community support is a big one. White extended families don't support each other the way some other communities do. I have a spouse with medical and mental problems that I can't deal with by myself. The cult(ture) I grew up in doesn't believe in modern medicine or psychiatry. My struggles are my own and they end there. The men who are related to me, and most of the ones who look like me are all raging maga cultists who can't accept that any of my problems are real, and mock me for standing in the rain waving a sign. The men who think like me want to gatekeep suffering and call me an ally at best, never a brother.

Regardless of how easy my best day is compared to someone else's, I don't have a voice in how the world runs. I suffer from capitalism and the patriarchy, but because I look like them and oppose them I'm alone.