Where have all the young men gone?

catherine
Sat, 17 Sep 2005 18:07:41 +0000

Marite,
I would agree that there is definitely some sexism involved, although at our high school there are more girls than boys in AP Calc. and AP Physics (my daughter is one of them). However, many of these girls are taking the courses because they think they should for college (I’m sure some boys are too). But when you get to college you see more men in these majors, just as in engineering. I don’t know why - I think some of it may be that parents and society don’t really put the same pressure on women to go into fields where they will make a lot of money. My son assumes his lifestyle will be based on what he makes and he is leaning toward business (and he’s only in hs and we don’t say these things to him). My daughter somehow assumes the money will be “there” - it’s not her job to provide for a family (even though half of all families end in divorce.)
I think that is one reason you see fewer men in the arts and education - these are not big money fields, except for a very few at the top.
I also think society rewards men for being rich and women for being beautiful. This is a very unsubtle message sent to all our kids.