Going To The Pub "Boosts Mental Health"

Going out to the pub "boosts mental health" in men, according to The Scotsman.

Well, yeah.

The reason given, however, is weirdly male-stereotypical: it's because the pub lets men open up about their emotions.

Researcher Dr Carol Emslie asked about drinking habits and was surprised they said pub visits benefited their mental health.  

“The most surprising thing was the way drinking opened up a space for men to behave in alternative ways that aren’t so associated with masculinity,” she said. “There was the idea if you’ve had a few drinks it really helps you to express emotion in a way you might not in your everyday life. I did not ask about mental health. This they raised themselves.  

“There is a stereotype that men are strong and silent about their mental health and it is something they never talk about. This wasn’t what we found. It was very much the idea that alcohol or drinking in these communal groups had this positive effect on your mental health.  

“You’re drinking together, you’re laughing and joking and it’s uplifting. It helps you to open up and relax. Also men talked about it being a way of looking out for each other.”

What a feminist perspective. What a crock.

Look, I'll concede that the "I love you, man" moment comes more easily when the beer is flowing, and that they can sometimes be salutary. But what I'm really reading here is this: women interact with each other in a healthy way; men are incapable of interacting like women unless alcohol is involved; therefore women and men can now rejoice, send your pet man down to the pub for his girl-circle time with the boys.

It's not complicated, Ms. Lady Scientist. Men, like women, are human. They like to have freedom. They like to have friends. They like to have affirmation and acceptance. You don't want to be a hothouse wife; nor do we wish to be hothouse men.

Wise women have always approved of husbandly pub time. One of the weird side effects of the feminist revolution and its radical individualism is the idea that when hubby and wifey are not at their wonderfully satisfying jobs far from the house, they should both be spending all their time at home together. All hubby and wifey are is two individual particles who decided to hang on to each other for a time; they are not part of a broader society and community, except as consumers. Wives resent their husbands absences because there is little security or society in their marriages.

Well...healthy humans continue to be as they have been. They make families in towns and communities, and have friends and hangout spots and extended family nearby. In that setting, men like to go to the pub to receive the "hail, fellow, well met" reception that is so satisfying.

Going to the pub is about camaraderie, not confession.