Men: Spend More Time with God By MARK JUDGE for The Stream
Masculinity is in the news again. The film Don’t Worry Darling caused a minor stir when it based a main character on Jordan Peterson and depicted men as wanting to talk women back to the 1950s. Tucker Carlson has an entire documentary called The End of Men, focusing on the massive drop in testosterone levels over the last several decades.
These cultural flare-ups about masculinity happen pretty frequently. But I’d like to propose something a little different: Men these days need to spend less time at work, and even less time with the wife and kids, and more time with God.
The Burnout Express
In a fascinating and well-researched 2017 article in 1843 magazine, Emily Bobrow reports that between 1977 and 2008, “the percentage of American fathers in dual-earner couples who suffered from work-family conflicts jumped from 35% to 60%.” During the same period the percentage of similarly afflicted mothers “grew only slightly, from 41% to 47%.”
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Bobrow talks to Nathan, “a successful lawyer in Manhattan.” Divorced and in his late 40s, Nathan says his life is good and he is thriving in his career. But then, and “only with some hesitation” according to Borrow, he admits something he has never discussed before: “In the society that I live in, as a professional in New York City, I think it is easier being a woman than being a man.”
Nathan says he is an earner and “the person who kills bugs and fixes things around the house.” But “at the same time, I’m going to be responsive to feelings and helpful with cooking and the children and those kinds of things.” He concludes: “For the last 20-plus years I’ve been chained to a desk. I’m in a profession that I’m happy to be in, but if I were a 20-year-old and told I could do anything I wanted with my life, I’m not sure I’d be doing this.” Speaking of women who left professional careers after having children, Nathan says, “They weren’t perceived as failures. If anything, they were told ‘That’s so great, you’re choosing to be a mom, that’s the most important thing in the world.’ That is not an option open to men.”
The Goalposts Never Stand Still
Bobrow also talks to Eric, a corporate litigator at a law firm in Philadelphia. Eric says he works around 50 hours a week:
