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I was a bit incredulous and shocked at first when I read about the research months ago, as well. But I got the guy's book. The author is somewhat of a fierce, rabid gay bloke, frankly. However, He did several studies seemingly well and objectively designed and carried out over a number of years.

I think some of his inferences and interpretations of his results are more than a little overblown. However, the answers to his survey questions were amazingly consistent across a number of contexts, locations etc. IIRC, there's SOME similar shifts in Australia's sports culture--not near as dramatic but in a similar direction.

Certainly, it would be even more interesting if some straight folks did similar research with similar results. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they found essentially the same things.

The fact remains as a multiplicity of research studies have documented for decades: Fathers who are lavishly physically affectionate with their sons in a healthy way--produce--as a group--significantly fewer homosexual sons. THAT FACT is very telling to anyone with any fair-mindedness.

In the Western USA, most cowboy, trucker father types believe the opposite is true. They are emphatically wrong. And far too often, THEY DO have an avoidant attachment style and are horrible fathers producing very wayward and often conflicted sons who are torn about a list of things--sometimes including sexuality.

So, we now have a culture wherein the oligarchy has been on a full court press strategy to devastate manhood, masculinity, the family, marriage and fatherhood--for decades--very successfully.

Men are increasingly estranged from God, from women, from themselves and essentially friendless in any robust, deep sense of the word.

All their needs for affection are narrowed and funneled into a distorted sexual dance with women--who--too often--are driven by the culture and a very twisted sort of "feminism" to being shrews, manipulative, shallow, demanding, controlling, complaining, emasculating bw*tches.

Compared to the feminine and masculine depicted in God's Word, it's a very sorry state of reality.

The sexual dance with women becomes loaded with a lot of baggage and distorted intensity it is poorly prepared to manage at all--much less well.

As humans, we are DESIGNED to be affectionate with one another--and only a minority slice of that is designed to be sexual with a life-long marriage--opposite sex partner.

It really is the case that our immune systems do much better; our mental and emotional health does much better; our general physical health does much better and our relationships do much better when there is a lot of healthy platonic affection between the individual and at least a good percentage of those closer to him/her in their extended family and social network. That's just a fact. Trying to deny that fact and rationalize that fact is simply ignorant.

In some Asian and other cultures, such a fact is taken as a routine truism in life and even exalted in; routinely enjoyed and engaged in as a simple fact of life etc.

Only in hyper distorted Western culture is the man pressured to be perfect at work; perfect in bed with the wife; perfect as a father; perfect as a fishing/golf buddy; silent about his inner struggles; non-vulnerable emotionally and in dialogue; to show a stiff upper lip about all things in all contexts, regardless; to always win or pretend to win; to always be in control or pretend to be in control; to never cry; etc etc etc.

And many of those facts correlate rather closely with the significantly earlier death rates of men vs women in our culture. We were NOT designed to live such farcical, impossible lives. We were NOT designed to be every man a disconnected fiercely independent island unto their increasingly isolated and lonely selves with an increasing host of physical and other maladies therefrom. The burdens are too great and idiotic--by design from hell.

True--the oligarchy is flooding the land with very destructive homosexuality in a list of ways.

But too many men have played right into the devil's hand in such matters. They have allowed themselves to be robbed of their birth-right in terms of deep, rich, robust, healthily platonic affection man-to-man as has been demonstrated in Scripture and a host of other cultures.

Brene Brown is right--most men have been taught that vulnerability is weakness--tantamount to chronically losing and playing the role of losER.

When, actually, there is NO COURAGE without vulnerability. And there is NO CONNECTION without vulnerability. And where there is no connection, there is poor health, poor psychology, poor emotionality, poor communication, tons of literal "skin-hunger" from poor to nonexistent platonic affection; poor relationships at home, work and the golf course, poor fulfillment in marriage, poor fulfillment at work and poor fulfillment in life in general--usually including a very conflicted and poor heterosexual dance--full of unmet expectations, clumsiness, disappointment and hurts.

Such men may die early deaths from a starchy stiff walk and starchy stiff upper lip and a starchy brittle control freak demeanor--but at least they can drunkenly shout how totally, rigidly, stubbornly and 100% masculine and heterosexual they were--regardless of how p*ss-poor their heterosexual sex lives are; how p*ss-poor their marriages are etc. etc. etc.

What a farce.