Information Age + Feminist Movement = One big shit sandwich
Mind Over Muscle
By DAVID BROOKS
The New York Times
Once upon a time, it was a man's world. Men possessed most of the tools one needed for power and success: muscles, connections, control of the crucial social institutions.
But then along came the information age to change all that. In the information age, education is the gateway to success. And that means this is turning into a woman's world, because women are better students than men.
From the first days of school, girls outperform boys. The gap is sometimes small, but over time slight advantages accumulate into big ones. In surveys, kindergarten teachers report that girls are more attentive than boys and more persistent at tasks. Through elementary school, girls are less likely to be asked to repeat a grade. They are much less likely to be diagnosed with a learning disability.
In high school, girls get higher grades in every subject, usually by about a quarter of a point, and have a higher median class rank. They are more likely to take advanced placement courses and the hardest math courses, and are more likely to be straight-A students. They have much higher reading and writing scores on national assessment tests. Boys still enjoy an advantage on math and science tests, but that gap is smaller and closing.
Girls are much more likely to be involved in the school paper or yearbook, to be elected to student government and to be members of academic clubs. They set higher goals for their post-high-school career. (This data is all from the Department of Education.)
The differences become monumental in college. Women are more likely to enroll in college and they are more likely to have better applications, so now there are hundreds of schools where the female-male ratio is 60 to 40. Here's the important piece of data: Until 1985 or so, male college graduates outnumbered female college graduates. But in the mid-80's, women drew even, and ever since they have been pulling away at a phenomenal rate.
This year, 133 women will graduate from college for every 100 men. By decade's end, according to Department of Education projections, there will be 142 female graduates for every 100 male graduates. Among African-Americans, there are 200 female grads for every 100 male grads.
The social consequences are bound to be profound. The upside is that by sheer force of numbers, women will be holding more and more leadership jobs. On the negative side, they will have a harder and harder time finding marriageable men with comparable education levels. One thing is for sure: in 30 years the notion that we live in an oppressive patriarchy that discriminates against women will be regarded as a quaint anachronism.
There are debates about why women have thrived and men have faltered. Some say men are imprisoned by their anti-intellectual machismo. Others say the educational system has been overly feminized. Boys are asked to sit quietly for hours at a stretch under conditions where they find it harder to thrive.
But Thomas G. Mortensen of the Pell Institute observes that these same trends - thriving women, faltering men - are observable across the world. In nearly all developed countries, women are graduating from high school and college at much higher rates than men. Mortensen writes, "We conclude that the issue is far less driven by a nation's culture than it is by basic differences between males and females in the developed world."
In other words, if we want to help boys keep up with girls, we have to have an honest discussion about innate differences between the sexes. We have to figure out why poor girls who move to middle-class schools do better, but poor boys who make the same move often do worse. We have to absorb the obvious lesson of every airport bookstore, which is that men and women like to read totally different sorts of books, and see if we can apply this fact when designing curriculums. If boys like to read about war and combat, why can't there be books about combat on the curriculum?
Would elementary school boys do better if they spent more time outside the classroom and less time chained to a desk? Or would they thrive more in a rigorous, competitive environment?
For 30 years, attention has focused on feminine equality. During that time honest discussion of innate differences has been stifled (ask Larry Summers). It's time to look at the other half.
Sexy, successful…and single?
IMHO, most (if not all) high-powered AW have opted for the "there are other fish in the sea" option since they (and the same goes for the rest of AW) only date-up. I agree with Chocha Monger in that these "Women will be forced to choose between a poor man and a wealthy lesbian". I think they'll choose the wealthy lesbian over a poor or average man any day of the week.
Sexy, successful…and single?
By Elsa K. Simcik
Here’s the scene: A woman’s spending way too much time around the cheese tray at her neighbor’s drab get-together when suddenly, a tall, slightly stubbled gentleman (think Jack from Lost) approaches. After about 30 seconds of swapping stories about how they each know Trish (host of said drab gathering), he predictably asks her, “So, what do you do?”
Sounds cheesy (pardon the pun), but some women dread revealing their occupation. Who are they? They’re women with impressive jobs—doctors, lawyers, engineers.
And a woman having an impressive job always yields the same reaction from a man: Confusion, awkwardness, that moment when he’s wondering, “Is my job as an assistant manager of a copy shop going to sound pitiful?”
Apparently just because you have a lot of degrees on your wall doesn’t mean you have a lot of suitors at your door. And as women continue to achieve higher-level jobs, there are more smart, accomplished gals who have to face the fact that they may intimidate men. In fact, in 2003, women accounted for 36% of all chemists, 28% of all lawyers, 30% of all physicians and surgeons, and — wow — 66% of all psychologists.
So are successful women doomed to a life of tense cheese-tray introductions? Of course not. These women can either be patient till an equally high-powered man or a naturally confident fella turns up. Or they can know how best to present their career so as not to scare off less-assured guys. Here, some pointers:
Ask for advice
Bring your career down to reality, suggests John Gray, Ph.D., author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Open up and show a vulnerable side right from the beginning, “When a woman immediately senses that a man is intimidated, she should find a way of communicating that she has a need for some advice,” Dr. Gray explains: “For example, if she’s a doctor, she could talk to him about something frustrating that happened at the hospital that day.” Dr. Gray points out that men want to feel needed, so this tactic is a good way to bring him inside your circle.
Chat up guys about their career
“I say date someone who is as equally passionate about their job as you are,” recommends Jill Farrar, a lawyer. “After speaking legal jargon all day, that’s the last thing I want to come home to. I find myself usually dating doctors, architects or even salesmen—guys who are consumed with their jobs and want to swap stories with me.”
Find equal footing
Don’t let the conversation just be about work. Find a way to change the topic to something you can both relate to: The last movie you saw, your favorite spot for a hike, the wine-tasting class you’re taking next week. The goal here is to get talking about mutual interests—or hobbies you can share with one another. This isn’t just resume-trading time. Show what else makes you tick.
Know when it’s not going to work…
Still, some high-powered gals know that there are some situations where it’s best to say ‘there are other fish in the sea’: “I dated a guy who couldn’t get over the fact that I had a Master’s degree,” admits Whitney Bessler. “Since he hadn’t been to college, he would always remind me that I had two more degrees than him. He even made a point to read the newspaper right before he would pick me up. I didn’t care about our educational differences. But I did care that he made an issue out of it.” Whitney packed up her two framed diplomas and left.
And what if a guy is perhaps too pleased about your turbo-charged career? That’s a situation Kory Jones, a surgical resident, faced. She thought dating a musician/bartender would provide a nice balance to her intense, life-and-death, grueling-schedule job. “Most guys I date get fed up with the amount of time I spend at work,” explains Dr. Jones. “But this guy encouraged it. He told me to work hard so that when I was done with my residency I would ‘make the big bucks.’ The last straw was when he introduced me as his Sugar Mama.” The lesson here? Sometimes you don’t have to think too hard to know when a relationship just isn’t going to work.
Elsa K. Simcik is a writer specializing in relationships and fitness. Besides MSN Dating and Personals, Elsa has contributed to Men’s Edge, Daily Candy, Women’s Health and Fitness and more. She can be reached at [url]www.writinggal.com[/url].
She won’t lose the weight!
If this guy knew about this forum, do doubt he would know what to do. There are many alternatives around the world to fat/bitchy/fake/vile AW. Like him, many don't know this fact...........
She won’t lose the weight!
By Lynn Harris
Hi Lynn,
During the past six years, I have been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with my college sweetheart. Time after time, we've gotten together and then decided to call it quits because of different circumstances. The real issue now is that over the years, she has gained more than 40 pounds.
I love her and could see myself with her for the long haul; however, her weight gain has really been a major issue in my not wanting to make a commitment to her. I have spoken to her about this issue a few times within the past few years, and I’ve gone as far as to write her workout plans, offer nutritional advice and advocate her making a lifestyle change. She isn't offended by my complaints, but aside from an occasional modest weight loss, she has regained the weight. I’m not shallow or using the weight issue to get out of the relationship: I'm worried about both the potential long-term health risks and, quite honestly, have become less attracted to her physically. Do you have any advice?
—Weight-Worried Waldo
Dear Waldo,
I suppose I could lecture you about how it’s “what’s inside that counts,” and about how some studies show that exercise and fitness are more important than (and often unrelated to) actual poundage when it comes to overall health and longevity. But honestly, my time would be better spent attempting to dismantle the size-ist bias of our society as a whole. (Working on it!) Because if you had been born during the Baroque period, you might be saying, “I’m not attracted to my girlfriend because she’s not fleshy and plump like those hotties in those paintings by that guy Rubens. What should I do?”
Just as I can’t tell you, “Well, get more attracted to her!” you can’t make her change herself. I can, however, help you with how you approach the issue with her. I know your recommendations (workout plans, nutritional advice, etc.) are nothing but sincere and clearly very constructive. But put her cross-trainers on your feet for a moment. If there were something difficult that you were trying to accomplish — get into law school, say — I’m not sure how effective it would be for someone, even someone you love and respect, to come at you waving LSAT workbooks and study schedules.
And just to up the ante, let’s say you had reason to believe that that someone’s love for you was contingent on whether or not you got into law school. That’s just the kind of pressure that might make you act out and not study.
So I think you need to let your girlfriend know that you want her to live — ideally, somewhere very, very close to you — for a very long time. And that she has your support in whatever she undertakes. And that you’re about to go for a nice walk to that farmer’s market with all the fresh fruit—would she like to come?
And then back off. Give her the sense that you’re not going to be hovering in her kitchen with a food scale; give her some time to do whatever she’s going to do. Turn your focus from her to you. What would it take to bring the love back? Is her losing weight the only thing? Are there evenings out you could plan? Are there fantasies you haven’t played out, perhaps; encounters that will bring back that college-lust feeling?
Once you’ve contemplated all this, you have to realize the bottom line: Are you willing to lose her over this? Ultimately, the decision is not on her scale, but in your hands. You need to take time to carefully answer that question—and let her know the answer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lynn Harris is co-creator, with Chris Kalb, of the award-winning website, BreakupGirl.net and author of the comic novel Miss Media. A journalist and essayist, Lynn also writes about gender, relationships, and culture high and low for Salon, Glamour, the New York Times, and others. In her spare time, she enjoys being married. Submit your own relationship questions for Lynn at breakupgirl.net. Your question may be answered in a future column.
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me TWICE, shame on ME
This broad knows that she has the dude by the short curlies AND that she doesn't need to lose the weight. What's her incentive when she knows that she has him dead to rights? His faithfulness is repaid with an attempt to look like a model for a Rubens painting! What he NEEDS to do is to let her catch him red-handed gawking at another, slimmer, HOTTER woman. Now THAT'S incentive! IF she truly wants him and once she realizes she may lose him to another woman (after all, aren't baracuda AW's fiercely COMPETITIVE?) she'll diet and exercise with all the dedication of a gladiator-in-training. Fuck the sensitive, supportive crap! He needs to turn the circumstances around by making it a life-or-death situation. If she still doesn't respond favorably, he still ends out ahead: he knows she didn't respect him (a no-no) and loses unnecessary baggage, freeing him to scope out better prospects. However, it's unlikely he knows he has BETTER options than picking through the trash on THESE shores.