And the Battle of the Sexes
By J. Jeff Toler for Shenandoah Christian Alliance j.toler@sca4christ.org
- “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” Proverbs 22:29
This election year is bringing three, yes four, random issues into sharper focus.
Once upon a time, one would be hard-tasked to conflate the dropout of several million able-bodied men from the workforce, the feminization of both higher education and the evangelical church, and finally, with a woman presidential candidate—one holding no honest contributions to any virtuous political accomplishments. And yet, here we are.
I believe there is a connection with all these developments. It’s all coming into focus. Able-bodied men are in big trouble.
The topic is not new to me. In July of 2022, I wrote about this in the Understanding the Times essay: “Resigned to the Great Resignation.” [https://mailchi.mp/ef16095366fe/can-pastors-save-a-nation-16249339]
Chris Williamson (left) and Nicholas Eberstadt
Chris Williamson is a British podcaster and YouTuber; he hosts the Modern Wisdom podcast—with nearly 2.9 million subscribers. The show has been downloaded more than 400 million times.
Williamson’s interview guest (April 13, 2023) was Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist, demographer, American Enterprise Institute scholar, and author. The episode, “How Are 7 Million Unemployed Men Actually Surviving?” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vknKvG3yrYM] garnered nearly 1.25 million views.
“More than 7 million prime working age men in America,” he says, “are not looking for work, and each year that number continues to grow.” We’re told unemployment today is relatively low. So, why are so many capable men checking out of the workforce with little sign they’ll be coming back?
Studying unemployment issues going back ten years, Emerson noticed a peculiar contradiction with claims by the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and politicians alike, that the US was at or nearing full employment. At the same time he noticed half of the country was saying we were in a recession. Why the contradiction?
The National Employment Statistics (NES) still in use today, are a holdover from a system developed during the Great Depression more than 90 years ago. In that era you would simply want to know how many people were unemployed. At that time, 1933, it was reported to be at its highest—25%. It continued to remain at double digits until the Second World War.
Then, fact gathering assumed you were reporting on men, 25-54, who were out of a job, healthy, and actively looking for work. Today, using only that metric, you are not accounting for men in that same cohort, a number four times that, which are actually not counted by the NES in the civilian, non-institution population. We were told unemployment is low, but in truth, the figures are much higher.
Ethnically and educationally alone, Blacks and Hispanics are over-represented, as are high-school dropouts. Men with some college are more likely to be under-represented, and better still—18% to 20% for men with college degrees. But, not so surprisingly, Eberstadt discovered married men were “way less likely” to be in this pool. Moreover, their ethnicity made no difference.
Seven million men 25 to 53 are purposefully about jobs in the private sector. Jobs that don’t require an expensive education, or even innate talent, but pay well enough to enter into marriage and start a family.
It’s almost as if these otherwise productive men were targeted for extinction. It’s no wonder if they’re becoming men without purpose.
By the fall of 2022, 57.9% of postsecondary students were female. This is a continuation of a trend where women have outnumbered men in college enrollment for decades. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2024/08/07/women-continue-to-outpace-men-in-college-enrollment-and-graduation]
These same institutions of higher learning are over-burdened by administrative hires. According to research, the ideal ratio of tenure-track faculty to administrators is 3:1. [https://www.ou-aaup.org/news/fewer-faculty-more-administrators]
Much of the “bloat” indicates a continuing trend for DEI and other political and compliance demands. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinesimon/2017/09/05/bureaucrats-and-buildings-the-case-for-why-college-is-so-expensive] Title IX and financial aid, along with meeting quotas and changing academic standards, have made young men less than welcome in many college and universities.
It can only be getting worse. If men are not in college and they’re not on the job, where are they?
As it turns out, they may not be in church either.
Research shows that women outnumber men in church in the United States and other countries. [https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/22/the-gender-gap-in-religion-around-the-world/]
On average, 61% of the adult congregation in a typical US church is female, while 39% is male. This gap exists across all age groups. [https://davidmurrow.com/quick-facts-on-christianitys-gender-gap/]
It’s taken decades, but the impact of feminism has now begun to reveal the devastation it ushered in. The issue is extraordinarily controversial—except for the women who are waking up to the reality of its impact. Some caught on the to the trend more 25 years ago.
In “The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity,” by Leon J. Podles claims the church has long become emasculated by such things as universalism and quietism. It’s still available in hardcover and paperback on Amazon. [https://www.amazon.com/Church-Impotent-Feminization-Christianity/dp/1890626074]
More recently, in “The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us,” Carrie Gress, author of “Theology of Home,” writes how, “Fifty years of radical feminism have solidified the primacy of the traditionally male sphere of life and devalued the attributes, virtues, and strengths of women.” [Amazon]
What this means for men is that surrendering is easier than participating. In both leadership and attendance. It’s easier because they lack the acquired skills, training and paternal role-modeling.
What this means for this upcoming election, for all voters, but men in particular, and for Kamala Harris, is significant.
Reportedly, Ms. Harris is counting on single, white, college-educated, career women to bolster her political base. [https://news.gallup.com/poll/649826/exploring-young-women-leftward-expansion.aspx] What brings them together is the environment and abortion.
On the other hand, her support among Black men shows indications of diminishing. If so, that would be attributed to those alpha males who don’t find her appealing. There was a time, not so long ago, when effeminate men in the Black community were ostracized and ridiculed.
Putting aside the polling and the punditry, this election could signal the demise, once and for all, that’s been a feature of western civilization for centuries: men who hold the position of leader, authority, and provider in family and community.
There is a saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Well, things are certainly broken, and they are urgently in need of fixing. The issue is, no one has been paying attention to what—or who—is breaking things.
I suppose it’s quaint to think that men and women are not meant to do battle with each other. From a Christian, biblical worldview perspective, it’s obvious the enemy of humankind has made great strides—in pitting men and women against each other.
From my vantage point, taking into account all my own experiences and observations, such a ridiculous situation will require someone strong, dedicated, and devoted to healing the rift, and conquering the evil.
Thankfully, such a man—the God man—already has.
Photo by Piotr Wilk on Unsplash
