Why Men Are in Trouble

I would like to preface the article by noting that it is woefully problematic. The author, William J. Bennett, is an upper-middle class white man- and that is exactly the angle presented in the article. The most startling statistic he offered was "Today, 18-to- 34-year-old men spend more time playing video games a day than 12-to- 17-year-old boys." Although his points of men's lack of maturity and ambition are provocative, his solutions (industriousness, religion, marriage) are archaic. The article read as if it intended to register fear in men that "the women are getting ahead" (as if that would be a bad thing). It is full of sexist language (i.e. the dawn of "mankind", men are the "dominant sex") and concludes with masculinity crisis inducing "it's time for men to man up". What Bennett fails to talk about is HOW men got this way- and it's not by lack of faith- it's because of the harmful effects patriarchy can have on EVERYONE. The masculinity crisis is one that should be taken far more seriously than Bennett seems to realize- men don't need to "man up", they need to be able to express emotion, become vulnerable, heal, and join forces with women, transgendered individuals, and gender queers. In my opinion, steps toward a harmonious and progressive future would be far more advantageous than attending weekly church services.