Summary of "Of Boys and Men" (Part 2)

Summary:

Richard Reeves discusses the economic struggles that men are facing in today's world. He explains that the economic gaps and inequalities have widened, which are important to understand in the context of gender inequality. Men with less education and fewer skills are not being able to adapt themselves to a world where many traditionally male jobs have reduced over the last few decades. He mentions the need for men to adapt to this new world, which is changing rapidly and not getting much help to adapt. He further emphasizes the need to create more job opportunities in different fields like STEM and HEAL, where women and men can both have equal opportunities. 

*My notes:

- After understanding the struggle that boys are likely to have in education and how it affects their future path, they are also facing the challenge of many manual labor jobs being replaced by automation.

Many people would say, "So, what's the big deal? We had dealt with this situation before during the industrial revolution."

The difference is that the two genders were not considered equal at that time, and men were still mainly the providers for their families. In fact, it was not considered equal not so long ago.

I am a supporter of gender equality for women, but at the same time, we have a large number of men losing their place in the world. In a world that seems to be more individualistic than ever, men suffer more than women, in my honest opinion. 

With lesser financial stability in a patriarchal society and toxic masculinity alive in it, men are more likely to be looked at as the world's problem. 

Richard Reeves discusses the gender segregation of the workforce in the healthcare and education fields. While significant efforts have been made to get more women into STEM fields, there is a lack of effort to get more men into healthcare and education jobs, which are becoming increasingly female-dominated. Men who do want to enter these fields often face a stigma, which is similar to the stigma women faced when entering very male jobs before. Additionally, men have faced a "one-two punch" from globalization and automation, which has reduced traditionally male jobs while increasing the need for relational and soft skills. Finally, the shift in the shape of families has created a dad deficit, where fathers are being held to an old standard of what it means to be a successful father, and many men are being benched by societies and families as a result.

Richard Reeves discusses the impact of the changing roles of women in society on fatherhood and masculinity. With women increasingly able to provide economically for themselves, they no longer need to rely on men for financial support. However, this has led to a challenge in understanding the role of fathers in modern families and in the lives of their children. The narrowing of the traditional definition of masculinity leaves many men feeling dislocated and disoriented in a rapidly changing world. The lack of a clear definition of what it means to be a good father has left many men feeling benched, while also contributing to the troubling health consequences of the so-called "deaths of despair."

My Summary:

*This youtube video is just one example of successful Indonesian women in STEM fields and you can find some more on this youtube channel.

We simply don't question the gender anymore when it comes to prestigious jobs, but when we take a look at the healthcare industry (especially nurses), we associate the occupation with women. We all saw how they saved lives during the pandemic, whether they were male or female.

In education, this data and the explanation from the link below is showing the stigma men have to endure in the field:

https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2022/11/24/mayoritas-guru-di-indonesia-adalah-perempuan#:~:text=Dari%20total%20populasi%20guru%20nasional,orang%20atau%2029%2C16%25.

We are talking about two essential industries here, and the missing presence of men in the field will further suffocate the growth of boys because we are still using the same standard for men in masculinity, fatherhood, and society.

I remember vividly two comments coming from two different people at different times. One was from my close friend, and the other was from my adult student.

My female friend was strongly against women being the provider in the family, while my male student said that if he had a daughter, her future husband better come from a higher status.

As you can see, with this old standard, men have an even smaller place in this modern world, especially with the kind of vision they inherit from their parents. The outcome is not pretty, and it will be elaborated further in the next part of the summary.