What Is Masculinity in the 21st Century?

Steve Adubato talks with Jack Myers, author of “The Future of Men: Masculinity in the Twenty-First Century” about the changing role of men in society as well as his views on President-Elect Trump’s language toward women.

1/31/17 #2012

Excerpt:

"We are pleased to be joined by Jack Myers, the author of The Future of Men: Masculinity in the Twenty-First Century. Good to see you Jack. Good to see you, Steve. Good to be here one on one with you. Well thank you. Listen, I'm curious about this. Has masculinity changed that much say, in the last, I don't know, ten, fifteen, twenty years? Well, if you broaden it up to ten, fifteen, twenty years, probably not. But the last five years, and the generation, the Post-Millennial generation... Right. The ages 17 to 27, 15 to 25, they're definitely changing. How so? The young men growing up today are not their fathers, they're not their grandfathers, and they're not even their older brothers. They're the first generation to have grown up in a more feminist world. A majority of them have... of Post-Millennial young people have grown up in either fatherless homes, or homes where the mother is the primary, or equal, wage earner. Most of their teachers in the schools they've gone to have been women. They're 60 percent of the... their classmates in college have been female. So it's... they have a very different sensibility about gender norms, gender equality, and multicultural, they've grown up with it, it's part of their DNA, so... Is it better for us as a society? Well, it's definitely better for us as a society. They really come in... they're the first generation to grow up not believing that they're going to be more successful financially than their parents. And they're right. In many instances, a larger percentage are still living at home with their parents, even after they graduate high school or college. They're the most... Out of necessity? Out of necessity, and also because the parents often don't mind, and the kids don't mind. Right. [laughter] Very different than when I grew up. For sure. [laughter] Right. Same here. Cause my parents were like, "What? Are you still doing?" Yeah, why... exactly. [laughter] You're in college now. Don't come home. [laughter] Yes. Exactly. So I'm curious about this. I hate to get so political so quickly. But we're taping this at the end of 2016. It will be seen after that. Mm hmm. Donald Trump will be the President of the United States. Donald Trump as a man? Mm hmm. And the question of masculinity in the context of what you just described. Loaded, I know. Go ahead. Your turn. Well, I don't even... I don't necessarily believe this is an opposition statement to Donald Trump to say that he personifies the negative qualities of the patriarchy in many ways. He embodies the... throughout his campaign, at least, the realities of misogyny, sexism, objectification, and it wasn't hidden during the election..."