Where The Boys Aren't

Weekly Standard ^ | January 2, 2006 | Melana Zyla Vickers

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

This is a sad commentary of what the feminist have done to our society

Yeah, feminism is to blame for every social ill under the sun.(sarcasm).

[Revolting cat!]

[wolfcreek]

The other percentage of men probably knocked up some girl in HS and had to get a job to support his family or not.

[HitmanLV]

one in four [college women] will be mathematically unable to find a male peer to go out with.

One man can date more than one woman, Einstein. :-)

[RJS1950]

I have three boys and I can tell you that boys and their problems, even their questions in class are ignored by the teachers, beginning in grade school. They all worked hard in school but received absolutely no affirmation of their efforts from the faculty.

The emphasis in education has for years been on girls and making sure that they are favored because supposedly when I went to school and before they were slighted. While that is a load of crap, the attention and emphasis on girls in school and the efforts to ensure their success academically has been at the expense of boys.

My sons and their friends were not encouraged to excell in any way, that came from me. Even with that they opted not to go on to college based on what they saw and found out from friends who preceded them.

They are doing very well, have families and are now beginning to think about getting a degree. This is not unusual. I teach at a small university that caters to returning adult learners. I see many guys in their mid-20s to early 30s who have come to the conclusion that they need to expand their education in order to do a little better and they all do pretty well. I think that is because they are settled, most with families and they know that they will not have the same female oriented system at our institution that drove away from learning after high school.

The women's movement has pushed our sons away from education -- to the country's detriment.

[SauronOfMordor]

My daughter found a good solution -- she's an engineering major at a predominantly-engineering school. No shortage of boys for her.

[Big Red Clay]

I don't beleive that anyone is stopping anyone from doing anything.

I have a couple of theories on this phenomenon. Let me say up front that I certainly agree that the pendulum has swung toward girls in school. The young ladies have certainly taken advantage of the breaks they have been given.

I think there are two factors that may be having a big effect on this number as well. The first factor is the explosion of video games. An addiction to those things can impact focus and motivation bit time IMHO. I compare these kids that sit around playing games all day with the guys I knew in college who devoted their lives to smoking weed all day. All they wanted to do was sit around and party all day with no focus on their work or their future. Academic success requires motivation and discipline. Playing video games all day seems to rob kids of the motivation to do much of anything but continuing to play.

The other factor I see in play here was mentioned briefly in an earlier post. That is the pervasive "gangsta" culture. I think alot of kids (especially males) from all backgrounds buy into this culture hook, line, and sinker. I sure don't see this culture glorifying education. It seems to be all about drugs, crime, misogyny and hustling easy money. I think the influence is much more widespread than most realize.

This is a disturbing trend that does not bode well for the country.

[JasonC]

Berkeley I'll agree with you, but the girls at Brown, you clearly just haven't paid any attention recently (lol).

[AmusedBystander]

After they get to campus in the fall, one in four of them will be mathematically unable to find a male peer to go out with.

There's the problem. We send our girls to college and all we see is that there aren't enough boys to date. So is this an education problem or a dating problem?

By the way, college girls aren't much interested in "white boys" anyway. Not enough diversity there I guess, so the social problem is even more complicated.

[rabidralph]

I appreciate you expounding on the previous comment. I remember a few years ago, feminists complaining that video games were geared toward boys and that there were no games for girls to play. I guess they dodged a bullet.

[SauronOfMordor]

I have three boys and I can tell you that boys and their problems, even their questions in class are ignored by the teachers, beginning in grade school. They all worked hard in school but received absolutely no affirmation of their efforts from the faculty.

It's nothing new. Decades ago in Catholic parochial school, I noticed the nuns were far more supportive of the girls.

I went to an all-boys Catholic high school, with mostly-male teachers, and from there went to an engineering college that was predominantly male. I got an education (didn't get many dates until after graduation, though)

[Beaker]

Oh no no, I'm not offended. It's just that sadly, a lot of people invest thought into that type of sterotype, and today it simply isn't true. No hard feelings.

[Kozak]

American colleges from Brown to Berkeley face a man shortage

Which they manage with the practice of L-U-G's.

[MichiganConservative]

What is an L-U-G? Lonely undergraduate?

[LWalk18]

I think changes in marriage over the years might have something to do with this. 50 years ago, the average age of brides was 20- meaning that most women were married within a few years of high school, and would probably be married for life. There was less of a need to go to college, unless to snag a college educated husband. The jobs available to women who did not go to college were not that good, but since they were likely to be married within a few years it was less of a concern. For men, marrying young and having a young wife who would stay at home meant that they had to work harder to make enough money to support a family.

Today the average age of brides is almost 26, and about one third of those marriages will end in divorce. That means that a woman on average may be single for close to eight years on average after adulthood. It also means that she cannot count on financial security for life once she married. Even if she remained married, the increased cost of living meant that two incomes are often needed to support a family. Since most jobs that don't require a college degree involve physical labor/strength, it makes sense for women to go to college. Men, on the other hand, no longer were solely responsible for the support of their future families, a future further away from 18 than before. They can support themselves with the many jobs open to men without a high school diploma, so there is less of a need to go to college, at least not right after high school

[TexanToTheCore]

Many of the young men, I suspect, are more concerned with starting their own businesses than going to college.

"Work three years doing something you can do on your own, then start your own business."

College degrees can be had at any stage of life.

The large majority of college degrees assume that you will be working in a cubicle for a major company. That isn't where the money is anymore.

[mel]

I know and the churches are really being feminized.

[TexanToTheCore]

I also suspect that the cant about each person having four or five careers during their lifetime drastically reduces the perceived value of a college education.

Just to put a fine point on it: It is much more likely that you will be rich in your 20s if you own your company than if you work for someone else.

I don't see this as a bad development.

[handk]

Your comment reminds me of an article I read in a local newspaper about a guy in Florida who has built a $100 million company selling T-shirts that say, among other things; "Boys Are Stupid - Throw Rocks At Them".

I would respond: "Girls Don't Invent Anything - They're Out Buying Shoes".

[Kozak]

What is an L-U-G? Lonely undergraduate?

Lesbian Until Graduation.....