5/26/11

Manchild in the New Girl Order

Here's my review, for the Belgrade News, of Manning Up: How the Rise of Women has Turned Men into Boys by Kay Hymowitz of the Manhattan Institute.

More reviews at Amazon.

The author argues that preadult* women are not only the new force in higher education, they are also outearning men in the knowledge economy. Preadult males, conversely, are regressing. They much prefer to be in the mancave, in the company of their nonjudgmental male buddies, playing Halo 3 and snacking on Chipotle burritos - far from the feminist boss or the girlfriend who wants him to 'put a ring on it.'

Ms. Hymowitz understands, very well, current cultural flash points and the realities of the age. She also backs up her arguments with credible statistics. It's a breezy read; ideal for a chick-oriented book club.

But it's also an unsettling work. Dr. Jim Eckman, president of Grace University in Omaha, also read Manning Up. He concludes that in the New Girl Order "husbands and fathers are now optional."

One caveat: Some bawdy language.

*This is the term Hymowitz uses to define those who are "college-educated, single (not married), young adults, almost always living in cities."

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