As we become more aware of the physical and psychological implications of health in society and the draconian notion of concealment and suppression from fear of judgement and being ostracized. Society’s move into the direction of discussion about health outside of those physically has vastly and rapidly undergone a process of normalization, rightfully so as 1 in 4 are impacted each year with 676 million people documented globally. However, one demographic often misrepresented in the study are males. Opinion leader conducted a study for men’s health forum in 2016, that uncovered that 34 % of men would be embarrassed or ashamed to take time off work for mental health concern including anxiety and or, depression. That figure indicates 46% of males with a mental health concerns would be ashamed or embarrassed.
In a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) study of American workers, the fashion industry ranked seventh below police and factory workers on a list embarking on the correlation between occupation and suicide rates. High stress, competition and lack of security in an ever-changing industry has impeded on the wellness of its workers.
In addition to workers, we need to explore the dynamics between social media, the fashion industry and status. For people under 30 this is one of the biggest causes to mental health concerns. Competing in a frivolous market so heavily reliant on the new and reinvention, for young people who, either come from low income households, are areas or harbor informal or formal dependents, earn minimum wage, the sheer need to live up to the social expectations that’s sensationalized via social networking platforms like Instagram. From influencers to youtube content centering high priced luxury garments for sport we cannot deny the negative of effects of a people so easily influenced by others. Especially young men.
Mr Porter’s new initiative aims to uncover stories by industry insiders and conduct studies in association with the men’s organization Movemeber to try to drive the discourse centering men’s mental health. Considering the difficulties that men have simply expressing emotion and describe thoughts and feelings, it is important for these discussions to be had.
Toby Bateman, managing director of Mr Porter stated, “Mr Porter Health in Mind is a passion project for us as a business and as our audience has grown we’ve become more aware of the importance of making long-term commitment to an overarching cause. We decided to use our platform to support mental health and wellness, a subject that affects all of us, and to build awareness of it through our content,” and added
“We hope to have influenced our customers in leading more stylish lives through our content, events and campaigns. With Health in Mind, we simply hope to have a similar effect. We’re not the experts, but we have an expert partner with Movember. By having an ‘always on’ conversation around health and wellness, we only hope to inspire our customers to lead happier and healthier lives,” said Bateman.
