My recent research on fatherhood initiatives has had me thinking about the contemporary state of masculinity quite a bit lately. Gary Chapman’s article in today’s Statesman caught my eye:
“…overall the trend is clear: Women are doing better in school, and pursuing their education with more ambition and diligence, than young men. Young women have better grade-point averages and they're more likely to attend college and pursue graduate degrees.”
I think most people would agree that gender plays no role in intellectual ability. So why are women outperforming men so consistently? Are young women, only one or two generations removed from the confines of the kitchen, more appreciative of opportunity? Simply more mature? More oriented towards long-term thinking and goal-setting? More concerned with achievement because of how it reflects back on themselves (read: self-conscious)?
While all of these factors probably play some role, my sense is that the greatest culprit is American society’s failure to redefine male roles as female roles rapidly shifted. Women enjoy increasing acceptance at most levels of society for a variety of life choices and lifestyles. Most people wouldn’t bat an eye at a female lawyer that enjoys floral design and boxing and has a job-share so she can stay home part-time with her 3 young children. Men, beginning in boyhood, still seem to be pressured into more confined boxes: masculine (tough) or emasculated (weak). Supporting your family is masculine, staying home with your children is not. Physical labor is masculine, academic labor is weak. These roles have been reinforced by right-wing rhetoric in recent years and are, in my mind, coded language for sexual orientation among those with strong homophobic, anti-intellectual tendencies. As Chapman points out:
“Many older observers have lamented that it's not "cool," for many young men, to appear smart or disciplined these days. There are much higher and predictable rewards for exceptional skills in sports or other traditional male activities. There is undoubtedly a strong wave of anti-intellectualism in the country today. And the news media have been saturated with stories about how people get rich through "deals" and personal connections instead of through hard work and perseverance.”
The question remains: is this a natural stage in the evolution of gender identities, a crisis in male identity resulting from rampant homophobia, or a combination of both? Only time will tell, but perhaps the recent rise of the iconoclastic “metrosexual” is a positive sign that things are slowly changing. If male gender roles become more relaxed and diverse and sexual orientation becomes a non-issue, perhaps more young men, like their female counterparts, will be comfortable blazing their own trails rather than allowing the strict confines of traditional gender expectations to choose their paths for them.