This was the provocative title of a debate My Daughter and I attended last night at NYU. On one side, were Hannah Rosen, a journalist for Slate and The Atlantic, and Dan Abrams, a legal analyst for ABC - who both argued that women are clearly in ascendency in education and in the economy. On the other side were Christina Hoff Sommers, an academic who wrote "The War Against Boys" and David Zinczenko, the editor of Men's Health magazine. Zinczenko maintained that men were doing just fine, thank you, still dominating in politics, brute strength and other areas. Sommers seemed to be admitting that boys and men were struggling, but that it was because the system was rigged against boys and men.
Who won? I can't tell you, since My Daughter had made 8:15 dinner reservations at a neighborhood restaurant, and -being women - we balanced our need to eat with our desire to listen to the entire Q and A period before the vote, and came out on the practical side of food.
But it was a fun evening - Rosen is whip smart; Zinczenko is funny, though highly pleased with himself. I was interested in the debate because I refer to both Rosen and Sommers' work in my book. Part of what I argue is that mothers need to raise sons in ways that will better prepare them for today's world, precisely because boys are struggling in school and men are falling behind in the economy.
As always, SO much fun to spend time with My Daughter, who -upon hearing the title of the lecture - replied, "I'm in."
For sure, Man is finished! Women are leaders cause we have more tolerance and power on achieving our goals. Men only struggle aginst it and survive crashes everywhere!!!
Posted by: Renne | January 26, 2012 at 08:34 AM