Girls can win by winning in their own hierarchy—by being good at what
girls value, as girls. They can add to this victory by winning in the boys’
hierarchy. Boys, however, can only win by winning in the male hierarchy.
They will lose status, among girls and boys, by being good at what girls
value. It costs them in reputation among the boys, and in attractiveness
among the girls. Girls aren’t attracted to boys who are their friends, even
though they might like them, whatever that means. They are attracted to boys
who win status contests with other boys. If you’re male, however, you just
can’t hammer a female as hard as you would a male. Boys can’t (won’t) play
truly competitive games with girls. It isn’t clear how they can win. As the
game turns into a girls’ game, therefore, the boys leave. Are the universities
—particularly the humanities—about to become a girls’ game? Is this what
we want?
The situation in the universities (and in educational institutions in general)
is far more problematic than the basic statistics indicate.^177 If you eliminate
the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
programs (excluding psychology), the female/male ratio is even more
skewed.^178 Almost 80 percent of students majoring in the fields of healthcare,
public administration, psychology and education, which comprise one-quarter
of all degrees, are female. The disparity is still rapidly increasing. At this rate,
there will be very few men in most university disciplines in fifteen years.
This is not good news for men. It might even be catastrophic news for men.
But it’s also not good news for women.
Career and Marriage
The women at female-dominated institutes of higher education are finding it
increasingly difficult to arrange a dating relationship of even moderate
duration. In consequence, they must settle, if inclined, for a hook-up, or
sequential hook-ups. Perhaps this is a move forward, in terms of sexual
liberation, but I doubt it. I think it’s terrible for the girls.^179 A stable, loving
relationship is highly desirable, for men as well as women. For women,
however, it is often what is most wanted. From 1997 to 2012, according to
the Pew Research Centre,^180 the number of women aged 18 to 34 who said
that a successful marriage is one of the most important things in life rose