MASCULINITY IN CRISIS

The somewhat perplexing narrative of        

the feminist Diane AbbottMP's lecture

this week in London at Demos about the

crisis of masculinity calls for a multi-
faceted re-definition of what makes a
man.

Feminism has and continues to re-define
the identities of young, mainly working-
class men, to whom Ms Abbott refers. In                 
doing so, middle-class followers of the
feminist movement have successfully 
skewed society to reflect their own,
continuing, Marxist, anti-male agenda.

Endemic since the 1980s, it is a process
that has been given added impetus by
accelerating economic and social change.
It has happened at a time when Britain has
been transformed from an industrial to
a mainly service economy, where
different, 'soft' skills are in increasing
demand.

The result has been the greater
empowerment of women in the
workplace over the past fifty years.
They have benefited from improved
educational opportunities and the
ability to control their fertility. It has
meant growing financial independence
from men, not only for those in work,
but also for young, single mothers who
have been prioritised for housing and
receive attractive state benefits.

Along with this has been the changing
perception of what is meant by a
nuclear family. It is a complex and
fluid picture. Marriage continues
to decline with 42% of marriages
ending in divorce. Serial monogamy
and cohabitation between single-sex
couples are common.

Gone is much of the stability and
certainty of family life in the 1950s.
In its place are more fragmented
environments, often devoid of the
influence of paternal role models,
which are so important in the
development of the male identity.

Feminist opinion-formers in
politics, education, and especially
in the media are not seeking a
comapact between the sexes, but
female preferment, in the form
of positive discrimination. The 
impact of the corrosive influence 
that the feminist lobby has had on
female attitudes to men has been
profound. 

In education, where only 12% of
primary school teachers are male,
the predominantly female culture 
cannot, nor in many cases would
it seek to, encourage the
development of the male identity
as such. Female characteristics are
seen as good, male as bad. Many
male graduates are put off teaching
by the threat of being falsely
accused of improper behaviour, the
consequences of which are often 
devastating.

Gender bias continues into
secondary education. Some ten
years' ago, Jenny Murray, presenter
of the BBC Woman's Hour, asked
a guest why boys outperformed girls
in GCSEs. She was told that boys 
responded better to the pressure of
an examination, whereas girls
preferred coursework. 

Murray's reply was that if that was
the system, then change it. It was
and the result of less rigour has
undermined the credibility of the
examination system in schools and
further up the learning process in
higher education.

This creates the backgound for the
the root causes of many of the chronic
social problems relating to young
men that Diane Abbott highlights. 
They leave school with inferior
qualifications, poorer job prospects
and face unemployment. Dismissed 
as potential husbands, fathers and
providers by young women who are
supported by the state, they feel
unwanted and express growing anger. 

Greater tolerance in society for
generalised 'men are useless'
statements, jokes, advertisements
and so on, than would be used to refer
to any other group, reflects a situation
for which there is an increasing
human and economic cost.

A significant cause of the problem
that society has with its young men
is, as Ms Abbott states, their bleak
environment. However, setting aside 
the various red herrings she throws
into the mix, in order to justify her 
thesis, a key factor is overlooked: the
role of feminism in creating that
environment. 

The Labour MP and misandrist
should be calling to re-establish a
more 'multi-faceted' notion of what
makes a feminist, one that seeks
equality and harmony in humankind,
not conflict between the sexes 



John Barker, MA, accepts commissions
to research and write articles on business,
economics and politics, together with
market research reports. Contact:Email:
executiveprofiles@btconnect.com