 | By Annie-Rose Strasser Executive Producer, Opinion Audio |
My son is 13 months old. He can't yet figure out which hole his square block should go in, or how to tell apart the bunny and the fox on his mobile. But though his sorting skills are lacking, I've been thinking a lot about one category he's already been placed in: boy. |
"The crisis of masculinity," as it's often called, is something of a hot topic right now. Boys and men aren't thriving, according to various measures. Their female peers are outpacing them in academic performance, and their college enrollment rates are in decline. Many young men have dropped out of the labor force entirely. According to a 2021 survey, 15 percent of men say they have no close friends. On top of all that, men account for three of every four "deaths of despair," like suicides and opioid overdoses. |
How can any parent of a boy not look at those statistics and worry? |
Of course, with the panic comes the pushback: Girls are working harder in school so don't they deserve to perform better than their male peers? Men were on top in education and the economy for so long. Women now have a shot, and suddenly there's a crisis? And anyway, how much should we really care about how things fall along gender lines? |
As I've tried not to become too preoccupied by the idea of my toddler falling behind or falling under the spell of toxic male influencers, I've been hoping to hear a smart, thoughtful, nuanced conversation to help me make sense of this complicated issue. This week, we published that conversation on our new podcast, "Matter of Opinion." |
On this week's episode, the four hosts — Ross Douthat, Lydia Polgreen, Michelle Cottle and Carlos Lozada — dive deep into the discussion around men and boys, but also around girls and women. They ask each other whether there really is any crisis at all and, if so, what can be done about it. The conversation ranges from Tony Soprano to Andrew Tate to Timothée Chalamet; from the legitimate social challenges to the political opportunism driving some commentary around men and boys. It is a thought-provoking listen. |
I have no idea who my son will turn out to be. I have no sense yet of his relationship to his gender. I don't know if he'll play video games, or go to college, or experiment with drugs. But I have spent this first year of parenthood thinking endlessly about how to help him find his place in the world and be a good person. This conversation didn't figure it all out for me — if only! — but it helped me think through some of my fears about raising a boy, and I think it will be clarifying to anyone who cares or worries about the men and boys, or women and girls, in their lives. |
Programming note: The newsletter will be off Monday, May 29 and return on Tuesday, May 30. |
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