POWERFUL MEN

"What's happened to us? We used to be the hairy hunter!"
-Billy Connolly

For decades now I've been waiting for the backlash. Women's movements and an anti-male culture have been pushing men over and over for a long time. Men, being naturally lazy and uninterested in trouble, have been stepping back over and over while becoming increasingly annoyed, and I've watched for and even feared what men would do once we reached the point we said "OK that's enough" and started rolling up our sleeves. Some false reactions have been seen such as the "Promise keepers" movement and bongo drum playing bands of hugging, weeping men who complain they never knew their father.

Perhaps we're starting to see it, finally. The Chicago Tribune has a story by Sara Olkon about a group of guys on campus who've had enough:

A group of University of Chicago students think it's time the campus focused more on its men.

A third-year student from Lake Bluff has formed Men in Power, a student organization that promises to help men get ahead professionally. But the group's emergence has been controversial, with some critics charging that its premise is misogynistic.

Others say it's about time men are championed, noting that recent job losses hit men harder and that women earn far more bachelor's and master's degrees than do men.
...
Steve Saltarelli, the president of Men in Power, wrote a satirical column in March in which he suggested forming such a group. "Anyone with an interest in both studying and learning from men in powerful positions, as well as issues involved with reverse sexism, may become a member of MiP," he wrote.

The group has rapidly grown in popularity despite opposition and even mockery by women on campus. Here are a few quotes from the story:

Jessica Pan, president of Women in Business and a fourth-year student, questioned whether Men in Power's goals were being met by existing student groups. "I'm not sure we really need another student organization that focuses on pre-professional development for men," Pan said, noting that, in just the area of business, there were five or six students groups that were gender-neutral.

Similarly, Ali Feenstra, a third-year student and a member of the Feminist Majority, questioned Men in Power's utility. "It's like starting 'white men in business' -- there's not really any purpose," she said.

Mark Perry, an economist at University of Michigan in Flint disagrees. He points out that while women have an unemployment rate nationally of 7.6%, for men it is 10%. Since 1981, women have gotten 135 bachelor's degrees for every 100 by men, and professional jobs such as education and health care tend to ride out economic stress better than low education jobs such as construction.

Generally speaking, groups like this don't work well for men. Masculinity tends to be more defined by action than speech and individuality rather than joining a group. Men view organizations with suspicion, and Robert's Rules of Order aren't exactly a masculine concept. And I would point out that the reason men aren't graduating as much and are facing harder times is not because someone outside is holding them down, but because men in general view education as a lot of work and little value. The popular culture heavily promotes the cave man/frat boy image of a young man - party and have a good time bro! Drink beer, get laid, wooo!!!

You aren't getting an education because you aren't trying to get one, guys. Women aren't holding you down, the government isn't holding you back by not promoting men enough. Programs and systems aren't keeping you from getting a degree.

Yet at the same time, a group of men who promote the idea of men with power, confront and oppose the insulting and destructive lies and bigotry of women's study departments, and fight the freakish caricature of men given by extremist feminists is a good thing, particularly on college campuses. If this can be pointed in a constructive direction - you fight your own battles, you lead, you fix your problems, you stand shoulder to shoulder and work for a better future - rather than destructive - you need to get the government to help, you need to be seen as an identity group to get aid and programs at college - it will be a very positive thing.

I'm not confident this will work out well, but I'm hopeful, and this is a nice change of pace for college campuses.