I’m clearly a reader and I have a house of readers, sometimes to the detriment of my kids getting ready for school on time. This video ties together some interesting points about how when a hobby or field becomes just over 50% women, men suddenly flock away from it to the point where a field like nursing that was dominated by men is now almost entirely dominated by women. You’ll often even hear the term “male nurse” to denote that the specific nurse is a man.
This is a result of misogyny which we see all the way back to Plato who equated men with all things spiritual and higher intellectual pursuits, while women were associated with carnality1 and prostitutes with the sewers that drain away men’s lust2. For young men/boys one of the worst insults is being called a “pussy”3, being associated with a woman’s genitalia. I find this specifically ironic because not many years later boys/men will spend the rest of their life trying to get access to that which they use as an insult.
It saddens me to see the connections drawn in the video. From fields that have high stature and pay when men dominate them, to low pay and stature when you tip past 50% women. It saddens me to see the harm men to do other men in the quest for being “masculine”, something I try to opt-out of at every opportunity.
I hope that reading never becomes a “just for women” past-time. Men, if you’re not reading fiction you’re missing access to empathy as you get the opportunity to experience myriad lives that exist outside of maleness.
- A Brief History of Misogyny Pg 27 ↩︎
- A Brief History of Misogyny Pg 23 ↩︎
- Raising Empowered Daughters Pg 2 ↩︎