Men: On shifting sand, Part II

Man has been the dominant sex since, well, the dawn of mankind. But for the first time in human history, that is changing—and with shocking speed. Cultural and economic changes always reinforce each other. And the global economy is evolving in a way that is eroding the historical preference for male children, worldwide... What if the modern, postindustrial economy is simply more congenial to women than to men? The postindustrial economy is indifferent to men’s size and strength. The attributes that are most valuable today—social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus—are, at a minimum, not predominantly male. In fact, the opposite may be true. Women in poor parts of India are learning English faster than men to meet the demands of new global call centers. Women own more than 40 percent of private businesses in China, where a red Ferrari is the new status symbol for female entrepreneurs. Last year, Iceland elected Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, the world’s first openly lesbian head of state, who campaigned explicitly against the male elite she claimed had destroyed the nation’s banking system, and who vowed to end the “age of testosterone.” Food for thought, gentlemen. Link to original post: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135

Quote of the day--The Tea Party

"You have to understand the" Tea Party "mindset. They have this nostalgia for the America that they think was stolen from them, the used to be, that was better. It's really the 1950's, okay? That's what they think was 'Shangri-La' and you know what they never get is that it's kind of insulting to a lot of Americans to pine for this era because it wasn't that good for a lot of people. It was good for you if you were a white man. It wasn't that good if you were a Mexican. Or Black. Or Jewish. Or Disabled. Or Gay. Or a woman." --Bill Maher, from his latest HBO special "But I'm Not Wrong"