To “man up” means to “demonstrate toughness or courage when faced with a difficult situation.” That’s precisely what men need to do. Face up to a changing world and redefine what it is to be a man. In his recent book “Of Boys and Men,” Brookings Institution scholar Richard V. Reeves details how American men face a crisis of enormous proportions. The evidence is abundant.
Three of every four who die of suicide or drug overdoses, “deaths of despair,” are men. Men face a widening gap in higher education and a diminishing portion of the labor market. Women now constitute nearly 60% of university students and, more telling, graduate at 50%, while men complete their college education at a disappointing 33%. At every level, high school, associate degree, four-year and post-graduate level, men graduate at a lower percentage than women.
Women, freed from former societal constraints, show greater ambition, motivation and initiative. Opportunities are more gender-neutral, and women are stepping up to the full range of positions while many men are not. They appear stuck in antiquated stereotypes.
