Hanna Rosin sur la crise d’identité des mâles américains.

Une entrevue du Spiegel

SPIEGEL: The phenomenon you’re talking about is one that puzzles experts. Has your research shed any new light on why so many young men are having problems in school and college and dropping out?

Rosin: I think the common claim that it’s because there are more female than male teachers is nonsense. People have been complaining about the feminization of schools since the turn of the last century, long before boys started having these problems. My impression is that we’re dealing with a cultural phenomenon. It’s seen as uncool and girly for boys to pay attention in school, do their homework, study. Then there’s the deluge of distractions, for example computer games, that tend to appeal to boys more than girls. But the decisive point is that in the past, men without a higher education had disproportionately more opportunities than they do today.

SPIEGEL: That sounds very optimistic. But in your book, you describe couples for whom the fact that the woman was suddenly earning more money than the man caused considerable tension.

Rosin: That’s true. These arrangements are so new that both men and women often have mixed feelings about them, and you don’t have to dig very deep to find those feelings. I think one young man from Canada put it very well when he told me that theoretically and politically he believes in the idea of a househusband 100 percent — he just doesn’t want to be one himself.