Men's Struggles: A View From Europe

I ran across this article in my friend Ken's daily blog--Ken is an amazing teacher at the University of Oregon who daily combs the web for interesting stories.  Written from Zurich, the story remarks that more and more young European women are concluding that they are better off without a man, as men are slow to grow up and are having trouble holding their own in the new economy.  The article notes several possible causes for males falling behind, including the fact that boys, especially, tend to associate doing well in school with being feminine.  I've started to do some reading, writing, and thinking about this for the U.S., where younger females, especially, are outperforming their male counterparts in school and the job market--and doing a better job, on average, as parents and friends and at staying healthy.  The modern economy is shifting to reward skilled communicators and collaborators.  These traits are more commonly associated with females than with males, and males who focus on those skills--like males who do well in school--risk being stigmatized as "girls."  Older men often seem to feel that being a man entails taking health risks--eschewing cancer screenings or sunscreen, for example.  But refuing to "act like a girl" is causing us to fall behind them.  Here's a link to the article: http://www.worldcrunch.com/men-struggle-keep-some-women-pose-question-who-needs-them/4736