In "The End of Men," Hanna Rosin argues, in essence, that men may be seeing an end to their dominance over society and the workplace, as an increasingly equality-driven society gives women the chance to prove their worth doing what they want to do. "Man has been the dominant sex since, well, the dawn of mankind. But for the first time in human history, that is changing—and with shocking speed" (Rosin). Rosin's argument, however, is that women are starting to surpass men in the workplace and in society, leaving them little place to go. I believe that there is some merit to Rosin's assertion, particularly based on the statistics she provides - more women than men are now managers and accountants, etc. - but that this is merely evidence of a new marketplace for which women are simply better equipped, and men are refusing to adapt to. I strongly disagree with the assertion that men are victimized - they may feel that they are, but I argue that it is merely a loss of privilege.
Rosin believes that the changing nature of society, in which manual labor jobs are becoming less in demand, women who are trained for these other skill sets are thriving while men are lagging behind. "As thinking and communicating have come to eclipse physical strength and stamina as the keys to economic success, those societies that take advantage of the talents of all their adults, not just half of them, have pulled away from the rest" (Rosin). The workplace is becoming a less labor-intensive field, and higher-paying jobs are going to women with greater social intelligence and reasoning skills. "The range of acceptable masculine roles has changed comparatively little, and has perhaps even narrowed as men have shied away from some careers women have entered" (Rosin). These are the reasons why men are starting to be eclipsed in the marketplace - they are not changing with the demands of the new world, and instead demand that the playing field be altered in their favor.
Rosin toes a dangerous line in her article, particularly at the end - she states that media is going toward a trend of domineering women, who emasculate men and leave their former dominance in the dust, making them resentful. The rise of 'cougars' in popular culture is cited as evidence of the reversal of the 'rich man, younger woman' cliche, and masculine mascots like the Marlboro Man are treated with a snicker. Advertising is now catering to men who feel victimized.
However, all of these images simply serve to create the narrative that women are undeserving of what they have worked hard for, and that their simple desire to be given the same opportunities men have for centuries is actually a secret war on men to control them. It should not be a question of which sex dominates the other, but of how both men and women can interact equally in the world and the marketplace. Many of these accusations of men losing cultural power, despite them still being incredibly wealthy and consist of the vast majority of the wealthiest, most powerful people on the planet, seem disingenuous. Any shortcomings on the part of men come from an unwillingness to adapt to changing norms simply because they liked it better in the past, when they were on top.
Works Cited
Rosen, Hanna. "The End of Men." The Atlantic, July/August 2010. Web.
