Objections to ‘Decline of Men’

Gonzaga Bulletin Opinion Editor Ian Dempsey's "The decline of men," published Feb. 24, offered a brief overview of Dempsey's concern for the position and identity of men on Gonzaga's campus. This piece constituted a compilation of facts and conclusions the author drew from those pieces of data.

Dempsey's article serves as a simplified view of the complicated, nuanced issues of gender and identity. While I hold very strong opinions on these issues in academic and social contexts, for me, one of the more troubling aspects of Dempsey's piece is its fundamental lack of logic which leaves me questioning its purpose and intent.

In the opening paragraph, Dempsey posits that if we are to host a production of "The Vagina Monologues," there should be a "counterpoint to this movement," presumably to catalyze meaningful and informed discussion. However, he then goes on to outline the numerous ways in which academia has historically favored men, men's thoughts and men's experiences. This makes me wonder: If the issue at hand is indeed informed discussion regarding the thoughts and experiences of men and women, is "The Vagina Monologues" itself not already a counterpoint to the historic movement of phallocentric academic discourse?

Dempsey's association of the alleged "death of patriarchal society" with male oppression proves problematic when juxtaposed with the final paragraph of his piece, which calls for a common goal of "gender freedom." The inherent subjugation of "the feminine" embedded deep within patriarchy (see: "The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology" for a complete sociological definition of patriarchy) negates the possibility for the allowance of uniqueness and gender equality. What, then, should our goal be? Should we seek to revive the patriarchal society that women's movements have been killing softly with their metaphorical painted fingernails and testosterone robbing tendencies?

Or should we take up arms in a gender revolution and take down the tall, dark, not-so-handsome giant of patriarchy?

Dempsey goes on to cite statistics from the book that lent part of its title to his article: "The Decline of Men: How the American Male is Tuning Out, Giving Up, and Flipping Off His Future." Later in Dempsey's piece, he states that if we are to consider ourselves adherent to the Jesuit ideals of education, "we must account for our men." Who is responsible for the education and actions of men? Initially, it seems that Dempsey intends to imply (through the inclusion of the cited book) that men should take their education and actions upon themselves. However, he also insinuates that the Jesuit higher education system should be held responsible for educating men within its institutions. I concede that both of these arguments hold a certain level of merit, but this simple inconsistency of rhetoric only serves to bring about more questions regarding responsibility and blame in this already brief discourse on gender.

In addition to the questions that arise from these specific examples, the piece as a whole brings about overarching questions regarding its intent and purpose. Dempsey begins with a call for the aforementioned "counterpoint" to "The Vagina Monologues." He then moves on to a critique of the allegedly too-far-reaching Women's and Gender Studies program. From there he cites evidence for the oppression of men outside of academia (using programs such as Women's and Gender Studies as evidence for the supposed over-correction of female oppression). He includes disjointed facts that purportedly serve as evidence for male oppression while some ironically prove the opposite: "Women's earnings have steadily increased by 10-15 percent yearly since the early ‘90s, while men's have stayed roughly the same." The wage gap remains at about 77/100 in the US — women earn $0.77 for every $1 that men earn. (Lovell, Vicky "Evaluating Policy Solutions to Sex-based Pay Discrimination").

He then jumps to the absence of males from various aspects of political and social sectors of society. After that, he goes on to advocate for an understanding of "what it means to be male or female," and then swiftly makes his conclusion that we should seek to make gender an aspect of identity expressed uniquely by each individual.

Dempsey's final paragraph sums up an ideal I can support. I hope that we, as students of the greater community of higher education, can navigate the topic of gender in a meaningful and intentional way with the aim of gender equality.