m-ness

I've been thinking about the new manliness since reading the Fallon planning post on the trend of the changing view of manhood, marked by more women than men attending universities, Moms attending their kids' sporting events solo, etc. I'm reminded of an AdAge cover story titled "Man vs. Man" that was loosely based on the Maxim campaign by CP+B last spring. I tried to find it online, but couldn't - use the "email us" link and we'll send a copy your way. The article discussed many reasons why manliness is changing, citing feminism, pop culture, the structure of families today, and marketing:

"And both [the metrosexual and the Maxim reader] have been raised without fathers. 'Males are being raised more and more by single mothers-and corporate capitalism,' [British sociologist Mark Simpson, who coined the term 'metrosexual'] wrote. 'Boys are fathered by Nike, Sony, MTV. Boys are emulating their heroes, but their heroes are delivered to them by Madison Avenue, in a highly incestuous/eroticized package.'"

Today I came across this article on Harvey Mansfield, who is causing quite a stir with his polarizing views. And finally, Iconoculture must have known I was thinking about all this, as here's a related piece of research that was highlighted in their weekly newsletter. I wonder how these numbers change depending on current trends:

"An Internet survey asked adult men and women in the U.S. age 18-45 to indicate their preferences if they had several kids:
• Equal number of boys and girls: 50%
• No preference: 27%
• More boys than girls: 7%
• More girls than boys: 6%
• Only boys: 5%
• Only girls: 4%
HARRIS INTERACTIVE, WEBMD 2.16.06"

Photo via Flickr user jachi