HAITI

Haiti's men live in what amounts to a failed state, and the masculine expectation to provide and protect becomes a cruel joke when there is nothing to provide and no institution that protects. Port-au-Prince is now largely controlled by armed gangs — many led by young men who had no other path to power or purpose. The gang leaders offer a dark mirror of masculinity: authority, resources, and respect earned through violence because the legitimate economy offers none of these.

The Vodou tradition, often misunderstood globally, actually provides one of the few spaces where Haitian men can express vulnerability — possession rituals allow emotional release that is otherwise forbidden. But evangelical Christianity's rapid growth has demonized Vodou, removing this cultural pressure valve without replacing it. The 2010 earthquake killed over 200,000 people and the trauma response was essentially zero for men — international aid focused on women and children while men were expected to dig through rubble with their hands and rebuild with their grief. Fifteen years later, the aftershocks are psychological, and nobody is measuring them.