Men: Is it all downhill from here?

Are men becoming an endangered species? said Hanna Rosin in The Atlantic. Since the dawn of mankind, men have been the dominant sex, but “that is changing—and with shocking speed.” The post-industrial economy is “indifferent to men’s size and strength,” and women are now surging into the workplace in unprecedented numbers. The new economy values “social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus”—traits found more often in women than men. Three-quarters of the 8 million jobs lost during the recent recession belonged to men; for the first time, women now hold a majority of American jobs, including 51.4 percent of managerial and professional jobs. Women dominate colleges and professional schools, with three women receiving a B.A. for every two men. In advanced nations such as the U.S. and in Europe, “the centuries-old preference for sons is eroding—or even reversing.” Testosterone is out; estrogen is in.

Here we go again, said Ann Friedman in The American Prospect Online. Every time women take steps on the path to equality, someone comes forward to wring their hands and proclaim that society has become hostile to men. This is a crock. Despite “a handful of female CEOs and senators,” men still hold the vast majority of powerful positions in our society. And if men are at such a “disadvantage” in the “thinking and communicating” professions, why are most columnists, TV pundits, and professors still male? Men will do just fine in the new economy if they evolve beyond the “narrow, toxic definition of masculinity” that presumes men are too clueless to adapt to a world in which brawn and aggression no longer suffice, and brains, sensitivity, and communication are vital.

True enough, said Ronald Brownstein in NationalJournal.com, “but the trend lines favor women.” Since the 1970s, inflation-adjusted wages have gone up for women at every education level, while men without college degrees are going backward—making less than they did three decades ago. No wonder polls find that so many white males without college degrees “radiate dissatisfaction.” So as women “bring home more and more of the bacon,” said Margaret Wente in the Toronto Globe and Mail, “how will relationships between the sexes be renegotiated?” Will men figure out new ways to be men? Who knows? For the first time in human history, “it’s all up for grabs.”

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