Is it the End of Men?

Hana Rosin’s argument in her controversial article The End of Men starts out steadily enough, with somewhat even argument, stating viewpoints from both sides. Soon after that however, the arguments that she uses in her article take a turn for the worse. “A role reversal is under way” she says, that masculinity was the most prominent characteristic at one point in our history. She claims that “women work better than men, live longer, and learn better” than men. It’s easy to see how these generalizations have been put on women through statistical analysis of the population, but I don’t see how it’s related to a change in the views that western culture has on the relationship between men and women. Lastly, as opposed to a reversal of roles I truly believe that there’s a balancing in roles. My experiences in ASL have truly taught me about the inevitable equality between both genders. There isn’t so much a complete reversal as there is a shift towards balance that I see on a daily basis. In addition to this, her statements about how masculinity was viewed as one of the most common attributes of leaders and powerful people in history severely downplay the role of women in history. I showed my mother, who was raised in a convent, these two articles and she had one thing to say about both of them. She said, “If women could’ve become more dominant than men, they would’ve a long time ago.” Although it sounds somewhat sexist now that I type it out, what my mother actually meant was that no one of either gender truly wants to take the place of the other. It’s simply ridiculous to believe that women could play every role in society because of the innate genetic differences in our makeup. I believe that Hana Rosin’s focus on the differences in gender is a one stuck in the past. It’s the similarities between the two genders that have really allowed for social progress to be made, as we become a more balanced and equal society. The emphasis that she puts on western civilization is also inaccurate, my family lives all over the world and from first hand experience I can safely say that the role of women in modern times was brought forth by equal desire from both sexes for true equality.