Men Are So Last Season

Posted by Allen Baird, Partner on Aug 2, 2010 in gender, gender at work | 3 comments

There have been a few quality articles written recently about a topic close to my heart – the place of men in the modern workplace.  In this blog, I intend to do two things.  Firstly, I want to provide you with links to them so you can read them at your leisure, and a summary of what they’re about.  And second, since they mention some issues that I’ve touched on before, I’ll provide links to my relevant posts.  Here goes!

The End of Men (The Atlantic Magazine)

“Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way— and its vast cultural consequences”

Issues:

• Feminine management style – post-heroic leadership
• Emotional/Social intelligence
• Learning style of boys
• How pop-culture portrays men

The New Heavyweight Champions (The Globe and Mail)

“Women are out-studying, out-working and out-earning men. And all evidence suggests the shift is permanent”

Are Men Obsolete? Ask Sebastian Junger (CBC News)

Issues:

• war as a distinctly male activity
• the need for male rites of passage

Let me end with some quotes from this last article.  Since this is a blog about me, I’d appreciate a man having the last word.  (The two articles above were penned by women.)

“In today’s modern culture where, Junger argues, there are no rites of passage anymore, going to war provides a simple, stable set of meanings. It gives the participants a purpose and a job, provided they can conquer the fear of being killed. War brings males together in a bond of “love,” Junger says…In combat, Junger tells us, something quite extraordinary happens. You might literally sacrifice yourself for your comrade, even if you hated him…Still, you can’t create this intense bonding in everyday society. That’s the tragedy…So, in the end, it’s not simply the violence that these men are largely addicted to. It’s the sense of belonging. These soldiers believe their simple, structured life, lived with comradely intensity, is easier than the confusions and uncertainties of civilian life. You can see small versions of this sentiment in street cafes right now — the bands of men cheering wildly for their tribe, their World Cup team.”

I’m writing this blog on the day before the World Cup final.  I remember a clip from the film Black Hawk Down.  As I watch it for the hundredth time, I’m tempted to do something very unmanly, something that starts with ‘c’ and rhymes with die.  Which is kind of fitting, since die is what these articles tell me men do best anyway.