Latest news with #selfcensorship
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Death and Life of the Straight White Man's Novel
A Los Angeles father, once an aspiring screenwriter and now a professional ticket-scalper, spends his spare hours calculating the extent to which younger straight white male novelists have been frozen out of the literary world. He pens a jeremiad against both publishers and critics who, he avers, no longer value great writing and a cadre of writers who are no longer interested in telling the truth about society. It sounds like the premise for, well, a literary novel. Saul Bellow's Moses Herzog, who wrote defiant letters to personages living and dead, meets the 21st century. Watch the advance money, sales and recognition roll in. Or not. It is the contention of a polemic published in March in the online magazine Compact by the writer Jacob Savage — dad, ticket-scalper, former screenwriter — that today, such a novel would not receive acclaim commensurate with its quality, a claim he backed up by showing a dearth of such authors from lists of prominent literary honors. Moreover, Savage argued that what he saw as these novelists' self-censorship, whether provoked by timidity or rational self-interest, meant that such a novel would not even be written. 'Unwilling to portray themselves as victims (cringe, politically wrong), or as aggressors (toxic masculinity), unable to assume the authentic voices of others (appropriation), younger white men are no longer capable of describing the world around them,' Savage, who is 41, wrote. What they do write, he added, avoids 'grappling directly with the complicated nature of their own experience in contemporary America.' Savage's essay has attracted both derision and amens in newspapers and journals, on social media and Substacks, over drinks and in group chats. 'I think the nerve I hit is fairly obvious,' Savage said in an interview, adding, 'being able to put numbers behind it was cathartic to some people and triggering to others.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White men are ‘walking around on eggshells at work', afraid to speak freely: Survey
A lot of white men are "walking around on eggshells at work" and afraid to speak freely, according to a new poll. Almost two in three 18-to-29-year-old White men are too afraid to voice their opinions at work for fear of being fired, according to a poll by J.L. Partners for Tim Samuels' new 5-part YouTube and podcast series, "White Men Can't Work!" "Millions of guys facing discrimination or hostility, walking around on eggshells too anxious or scared to speak out," Samuels said in the recent trailer for his podcast. Dei Is Dead. Here's What Should Come Next "What would be a smarter way to genuinely address prejudice by alienating men from the get-go by choosing radicalism over pragmatism, DEI truly turned itself into an irresistible piñata for President Trump," he added. On Jan. 21, Trump signed an executive order removing federal funding from educational institutions that have DEI policies. Read On The Fox News App According to the poll, 43% of White men, spanning all age groups, say they are self-censoring their speech at work, and an additional 25 million men claim they've not been given jobs or promotions because of being White men. In the second episode of "White Men Can't Work!" Samuels spoke to University of Chicago professor Dorian Abbot, who said that White men were targeted at his university. "We had a dean that said we could only hire someone, a professor, if it wasn't a White or Asian man," Abbot said. "Yeah, I didn't realize that at the time, but it's all happening, like, you know, behind the scenes kind of business. And so I was like, this doesn't seem right." White House Vows To Implement 'System Of Merit' In Us, Dismantle Dei 'Strangulation' He said that he tried to make YouTube videos for his administration explaining his stance on diversity, but faced pushback. The University of Chicago told Fox News Digital, "In keeping with its long-standing traditions and policies, the University of Chicago considers students, employees, applicants for admission or employment, and those seeking access to University programs on the basis of individual merit." The University added that it "does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law."Original article source: White men are 'walking around on eggshells at work', afraid to speak freely: Survey
Fox News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
White men are ‘walking around on eggshells at work', afraid to speak freely: Survey
A lot of white men are "walking around on eggshells at work" and afraid to speak freely, according to a new poll. Almost two in three 18-to-29-year-old White men are too afraid to voice their opinions at work for fear of being fired, according to a poll by J.L. Partners for Tim Samuels' new 5-part YouTube and podcast series, "White Men Can't Work!" "Millions of guys facing discrimination or hostility, walking around on eggshells too anxious or scared to speak out," Samuels said in the recent trailer for his podcast. "What would be a smarter way to genuinely address prejudice by alienating men from the get-go by choosing radicalism over pragmatism, DEI truly turned itself into an irresistible piñata for President Trump," he added. On Jan. 21, Trump signed an executive order removing federal funding from educational institutions that have DEI policies. According to the poll, 43% of White men, spanning all age groups, say they are self-censoring their speech at work, and an additional 25 million men claim they've not been given jobs or promotions because of being White men. In the second episode of "White Men Can't Work!" Samuels spoke to University of Chicago professor Dorian Abbot, who said that White men were targeted at his university. "We had a dean that said we could only hire someone, a professor, if it wasn't a White or Asian man," Abbot said. "Yeah, I didn't realize that at the time, but it's all happening, like, you know, behind the scenes kind of business. And so I was like, this doesn't seem right." He said that he tried to make YouTube videos for his administration explaining his stance on diversity, but faced pushback. The University of Chicago told Fox News Digital, "In keeping with its long-standing traditions and policies, the University of Chicago considers students, employees, applicants for admission or employment, and those seeking access to University programs on the basis of individual merit." The University added that it "does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law."
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Half of white men are self-censoring at work
Almost half of white men are self-censoring at work for fear of causing offence, a poll has found. Research by JL Partners also found almost a quarter of them (23 per cent) believe they experience discrimination because of their race and gender. Some 41 per cent said they worried they would be sacked if they said the wrong thing, while a third (34 per cent) believed white men were the least valued employees in their workplace. The survey of 823 white males, conducted for a five-part podcast and YouTube series White Men Can't Work!, also found one in three white men (31 per cent) believed their sons would lose out on opportunities because of their race or gender. More than a third (36 per cent) of those under 34 said they had lost out on a promotion or opportunity because they were white and male. 'Young men are despondent about their futures' Tim Samuels, former host of the BBC show Men's Hour and the host of White Men Can't Work!, said the trend was pushing white men towards populist political parties and misogynist influencers such as Andrew Tate. He told The Sunday Times: 'Millions of men are walking around on eggshells at work, too scared to speak freely, while knowing that being male can now be a disaster for your career. 'The scale of discrimination, self-censorship and anxiety is staggering. 'Younger men are very despondent about their futures. 'All this is pushing men towards populism and the likes of Andrew Tate.' He added: 'Jobs are so central to men's identity, status, daily purpose and mental health.' Mr Samuels also addressed diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programmes, which are still run by most UK companies, while public sector bodies such as the police and NHS are providing diversity training. He said: 'Of course racism and sexism have to be stamped out, but our biggest companies and institutions have implemented a very divisive and ideological form of DEI that demonises white men, disregards free speech and, when you look at the data, doesn't even help those it was meant to. 'We need smarter ways to tackle discrimination that actually work.' Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist who first appeared on Big Brother in 2016, regularly tells his followers that women belong in the kitchen and owe their male partners service.
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Hong Kong's Beleaguered Journalists Say Their Taxes Are Now Under Scrutiny
Journalists in Hong Kong have increasingly complained about having to self-censor and the fear of arrest since a national security crackdown began five years ago. Now, they say, they have another worry to add to the list: tax inspections. The Hong Kong Journalists Association said on Wednesday that the union itself and six independent news outlets — as well as their founders — are among those who have been subject to tax investigations, saying it added to the pressures being placed on journalists as press freedom dwindles in the Chinese territory. The investigations also extended to the personal taxes of the spouses or parents of some the journalists who are being investigated, the group said. Most of those being investigated by the department have been issued additional tax demands, and a few said they were asked to provide up to seven years of financial information. Selina Cheng, the chair of the association, said that there was not sufficient evidence to prompt most of the tax investigations, and that, in some cases, the authorities had overestimated income without taking into account business expenses. 'Journalists in Hong Kong do not have a very high income. Other than having to pay these claims of taxes, they also need to spend money, time and energy to prove in reverse that they were innocent,' Ms. Cheng said. The number of tax investigations in Hong Kong is relatively low: the Inland Revenue Department said it completed about 1,800 field audit and investigations between 2023 and 2024. The department said in a statement that the investigations followed standard procedures. 'The industry or background of a taxpayer has no bearing on such reviews,' it said. Some independent media outlets in Hong Kong, especially independent ones, have faced great scrutiny since a national security law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 and criminalized some forms of dissent. The authorities have sent police officers to raid newsrooms, arrested media executives and convicted news editors. The authorities have also used subtler ways to try and silence opposing voices of journalists, activists and even book store owners, political analysts say. Groups that are critical of the government have faced problems finding private venues for events, inspections of their premises and even inquiries into their pet licenses. Thomas Kellogg, the executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said that administrative harassment can be an effective way to keep in line the remaining outlets that have managed not to cross red lines that could put them at risk for prosecution under national security or sedition laws. Such reviews 'serve as a reminder to media outlets that they have to watch what they say, and that the government has ways to hit back at them over reporting it doesn't like,' he said. Damon Wong, the director and editor in chief of InMedia, said that a tax investigation into the independent news outlet had caused it to use up significant time and resources. In 2024, he appeared in court and paid a fine of about $1,250 for failing to keep a physical copy of the company registry in its office. Tom Grundy, the founder of the Hong Kong Free Press, an English-language online outlet, also said that it has had to redirect time, resources and money away from covering the news as it faced scrutiny from the tax and other departments. Last year, the authorities investigated what the outlet described as 'false complaints,' including claims that a hot sauce it sold as a fund-raiser had come from an unlicensed food factory and that Mr. Grundy's pet dog lacked a license and rabies shot. Both cases were closed after he submitted evidence to the contrary, Mr. Grundy said. This year, Hong Kong's press freedom ranking fell to 140th out of 180 countries and territories, according to an index compiled by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. About 20 independent outlets in Hong Kong have closed since 2020, according to a study published last year by the Georgetown Center of Asian Law. A press freedom survey conducted by the Foreign Correspondents Club in 2025 showed that more than half of the respondents were concerned about the risks of arrest or prosecution, and that 65 percent had self-censored in their coverage. Mr. Grundy said that his outlet has always paid its taxes on time and had cooperated fully with the review. But that approach also came at a cost. 'I'm having to act as a one-man compliance department instead of a journalist,' he said. 'It's just not what I expected from the world's freest economy when I chose to set up a business here a decade ago.'
