refuting Hymowitz...slackers, flappers

...according to Kay S. Hymowitz, maybe the females are to blame for the males’ lack of success. Her new book is titled "Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys." Her descriptions of confused young men, uncertain about their roles in a feminist world, do match some of the statistics from Rosin’s article. Hymowitz seems to sympathize with this “generation dropped onto…the stage without scripts.”

I agree with some of her analysis. Our culture does lack appropriate coming-of-age rituals, and there are few truly good masculine role models. However, while I agree with some of her findings, Hymowitz is way off base when she blames the phenomenon on women. Correlation does not imply causation.

Furthermore, testosterone is built for challenge. If young men were not already opting out of competition, then they would *enjoy* competing with women. I believe that Hymowitz has it backward: young women are not pushing young men off the playing field, the men are abandoning it, and leaving it to the women to excel.

Please note: I am not saying that women can only win if men allow them to. I am saying that women and men are basically equal, and since men are essentially giving up, women are surging ahead.

So why are men giving up? My hypothesis is this: the slackers of today are like the flappers of a century ago.

Not quite 100 years ago, “flappers” were young women who experimented with their yang, masculine energy. They left behind traditional notions of “femininity” and instead, took control of their sexuality and smoked, drank and drove automobiles. Nowadays, the pendulum is swinging the other way, and young men are experimenting with their yin, feminine energy. They are abandoning outmoded understandings of masculinity, competing less and relating more...

Full sermon at So May We Be.