News and Society

Around 1994, the percentage of young women enrolling in US colleges and universities has overtaken that of young men, and hasn't looked back since. In fact, the gap is widening. Hurray for women, right? Well, yes, sort of.

While the gap in education rises between women and men, so does the employment rate. 71% of jobs lost due to our most recent economic recession were occupied by men, and the 2011 jobless rate was 9.5% for men and 8.5% for women (it should be noted that this figure has decreased by 1.1% since 2009 for men, and increased by 0.2% in the same time for women).

What's brewing here is not about civil or social equality, it's about societies historical trend to over-power oppressive forces using the same behaviors and beliefs put upon the oppressed! I think most of us can get on board with the idea that anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or age, should have equal opportunity for employment, so let's just establish that to keep us on point here.

As a man, my concern is that more and more men are growing up without education. This means that more and more men are having a hard time finding work, and therefore, meaning in their lives. I believe the need to contribute, provide, and pursue a sense of purpose in life are biologically important for most men, and this current trend in employment and education leaves many of us with an overload of both testosterone and resentment, for a start.

This leads to further decline of masculine development and mentoring (which is hanging by a thread already), and an even bigger uphill battle for the next wave of young men, who will inevitably describe this reality through their belief systems to varying extents.

And who might they blame? Those dang women. They had an uproar in the late 20th century and exposed some very important cultural imbalances. Early feminism empowered women to fight for themselves because they sure as heck weren't getting help like the men. It worked. Lots of people who didn't get hired before got hired, went to college, created a vision for what they could achieve, and made a political statement with their every achievement.

And this, in a nutshell, is truly awesome. While they still face salary discrepancies, sexual harassment trends, and a daily pressure to prove their worth just because of their gender, feminism has helped this culture's rights and freedoms catch up to themselves a bit.

While I celebrate this intention and right for civil equality, I also want to encourage awareness. I hear from certain feminists language that suggests more about hurting male culture than in empowering female culture. Be wary of suggesting that you should have something at a cost to someone else just because of his gender. This is the exact power-over mindset of oppression. And while you do (you do!) deserve the same opportunity as he does, this doesn't mean that he doesn't!

I am taking a bold stance on promoting humanism. I say "bold" because I am a man, and I believe that this may lessen my credibility since I am part of the dominant culture right now. Nevertheless, I hope that we all can learn to identify when our own personal awareness engages in a power-over (win-lose) mindset because ultimately, this hurts ourselves as much as the other. If you truly want to promote seeing people for their integrity, performance, abilities, and character, then this, too, should apply to those who you may see as the opposition.

And this is my final point. If we are looking at one another in opposition, we are already on a playing field where there is a winner and a loser, and someone will always lose. Let's get on the same team and start working together.

More by Jesse Johnson: masculine and feminine.

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