Chris pointed out an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal to me today titled Where Have the Good Men Gone?. It essentially argues that the rise of womens' economic status, the difficult job market for early 20-somethings, increased disposable income, and the delay in marrying ages has created a growing generation of "pre-adulthood guys" who are not boys but who are also not willing to 'man up' to adult life.
As a female, I don't have much perspective as to whether or not the author has accurately delved into the male psyche, but Chris brought up some interesting points that he thought the author missed, which I will defer to as the resident male opinion :o) :
1. An education system that favors women: While the glass ceiling is still an issue for women rising in business/upper management (they represent only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and make 77 cents on the dollar to men in identical positions), early education tends to favor girls in the sense that it focuses upon visual/auditory learning in settings requiring sitting still for long periods of time. At least in the early years, this leaves out boys who are typically more active, and more commonly kinesthetic learners (those who learn by doing) than girls.
2. Lack of strong male role models: When a couple splits, the mother typically raises the children. Rising divorce and unwed parent rates mean that unprecedented numbers of children are raised in mother-only environments. This means boys are growing up without strong male role models, unless community members or other relatives will step up to the plate. Missing men from one generation means the next generation grows up not knowing how to act, perpetuating the cycle.
3. A "safe" society: political correctness is awash in our rhetoric, but there is a parallel movement to have a 'safe' society as well as 'safe' speech. Thus fewer risks are encouraged; gone are the days when boys could roam free outdoors a-la-Andy Griffith style - instead they are encouraged to stay safe, study hard, and shoot for a 'successful' job... which is usually defined as a well-paid desk job.
4. A services ecomony: Our society places a premium on 'intellectual' rather than physical work - the best paying jobs are in services such as lawyers, bankers, doctors. With the rise of outsourcing in a global economy, manufacturing and other industrial jobs are increasingly scarce and increasingly poorly paid. As men are statistically much more present in manufacturing jobs than women, economic globalization has hit them particularly hard. As Newseek noted this week, of the 15 industries projected to grow the most in the coming decade, 13 are primarily staffed by women.
So what do you think? Where have all the good men gone?
(Of course, I know where one good man has gone... I married him!)
