Is it the end of men?

This blog marks two separate beginnings for me -- the first time that I have ever blogged and the first time I have ever taken a class on women's literature. As I've never blogged before, I am expecting a few technological glitches (setting up my blog was a challenge in and of itself as I accidentally created four different accounts and one email address). As a complete technophobe, I usually get my younger brother to help me when it comes to even the most basic technological tasks, including, but not limited to, downloading movies and even turning on the DVD player. I thought about that on a few occasions while reading "The End of Men", an article published in The Atlantic by Hanna Rosin, and in the rebuttal to this argument in "It's Not the End of Men" in The American Prospect, written by Ann Friedman. 


In "The End of Men," Rosin aggressively asserts women's dominance over the other sex. Not one for sugar-coating, she argues that modern, postindustrial society, is "simply better suited to women." 


Although Rosin's thoughts are clear and her message is powerful, I have a hard time agreeing or sympathizing with what she is saying. She talks about women surpassing men in the workplace, citing that women now hold 51.4 percent of all managerial and professional jobs. However, Rosin doesn't fail to mention that only 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and, on average, men still out-earn women in most professions. How is it possible that men are "failing to adapt," yet even men with only a high-school diploma earn 7,000 dollars more than women with the same level of education? 


She goes on to speak about social class:

"It's [the] broad, striving middle class that defines our society. And demographically, we can see with absolute clarity that in the coming decades the middle class will be dominated by women." 

This may certainly be true, but those in position of power (think CEOs and prominent politicians) are still comprised of a male majority. 


Nonetheless, something I found interesting in Rosin's article was the statistics about women and men surrounding university, and the fact that many universities are now comprised of about 60 percent women undergraduates. Affirmative action is now being applied with "boys playing the role of the underprivileged applicants needing an extra boost." I found this ironic as when American public and private universities were originally founded, they were male-only institutions. Also, Rosin does not fail to make overarching stereotypes about men and women in university:

"Guys high-five each other when they get a C, while girls beat themselves up over a B-minus. Guys play video games in each other's rooms, while girls crowd the study hall. Girls get their degrees with no drama, while guys seem always in danger of drifting away."

Attitudes like that, Friedman argues, are what contribute to the misconception that we have reached the "end of men." 


Women are making substantial progress, and that progress should be applauded. However, I find it to be outrageous to say that "it is the end of men" when men are still the top-earners and hold more prominent positions in the economy and the political world. Let's stop comparing.