The End of Men

Men have always been the dominant sex. It is a fact that the world is male-dominated. Even the bible is colored by sexism. The first human on earth was a man and the first woman was created from his bone.
Man has always been at the top of the hierarchy. But what about the future? Is man determined to be the dominant sex? In the article “The End of Men”, Hanna Rosin thematises women’s increasing power and the fact that women is now the dominant sex.
The article “ The End of Men” was written by Hanna Rosin and published in 2010. The article focuses on women’s increasing influence in society and how the balance of power is changing in favor of women. According to Hanna Rosin, women will be the leading sex in the future. In 2010, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in American history. More women than men get good educations and when parents choose the sex of their children, they most often choose girls because they are of that opinion that girls have brighter futures than boys.
The title of the article doesn’t refer to some apocalyptic future where women are the only living sex on earth but to the fact that men doesn’t have the same status as they used to. The title is very provocative towards men because it sounds like men will become redundant in the future.
Women are taking over the political system and the economy. But is this really the truth? In the article, Hanna Rosin only refers to the western world’s shifting power situation. She doesn’t mention the Middle East’s oppression of women. In other parts of the world women doesn’t live as privileged as they do in the western part of the world. In the Middle East, women are considered as nothing compared to men. It is considered as the woman’s own fault, if a man rapes her. The article, “The End of Men” doesn’t tell the whole truth. The changing power situation is not represented in the Middle East for example.
Hanna Rosin is very convincing in her argumentation. She uses the appeal form logos by involving the biologist Ronald Ericsson, who supports her theory about women's increasing power in society.
“Even more unsettling for Ericsson, it has become clear that in choosing the sex of the next generation, HE is no longer the boss. “It’s the women who are driving all the decisions,” he says – a change the MicroSort spokespeople I met with also mentioned.” (Lines 29-31). Ericsson supports her theory about the parents who choose to have girls instead of boys, because of the impression that girls have a very bright future. If this tendency continues, women will be the majority of the population in a near future. The reason of why women want girls is that they like to be women and that they expect a bright future for women.
Another technique that Hanna Rosin uses in order to be trustworthy is facts and examples. “Women dominate today’s colleges and professional schools – for every two men who will receive a B.A. this year, three women will do the same. Of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most in the next decade in the U.S., all but two are occupied primarily by women.” (Lines 95 - 98) First, she uses a statement and then she supports the statement with expert knowledge and facts.
It has a strong effect on the reader that Hanna Rosin uses Ericsson in her argumentation. Ericsson is a ‘real’ man. “Instead of lab coat, he wore cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and doled out his version of cowboy poetry.” (Lines 10 - 11) Because of Ericsson’s masculinity, it makes Hanna Rosin’s theory a lot more trustworthy that he recognizes it.
Throughout the article, Hanna Rosin is very subjective. “Even Ericsson, the stubborn old goat, can sigh and mark the passing of an era.” (Lines 47 - 48). This quote shows that Hanna Rosin doesn’t like Ericsson.
It is obvious that Hanna Rosin is very proud of being a woman and that she is very positive towards the changing situation between men and women. The article is clearly written by a woman and addressed to women.
Hanna Rosin is also using pathos in her article.
“In some war-torn states, women are stepping in as a sort of maternal rescue team.” (Lines 72 - 73).
She thinks that women are better suited for important jobs than men are. In the quote she uses pathos by appealing to the motherly instinct. During the Great Recession, women need to take care of some countries. They have to nuture it and take care of it, as if it was some kind of child.
Hanna Rosin tends to generalize, which makes her statement a bit untrustworthy.
“Social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus – are, at minimum, not predominantly male.” (Lines 103 - 104). This quote is very generalized. Some men have these qualities, and it is therefore impossible to make such an assumption. Sometimes it even seams that she has some personal problem with men.
The article is very well-written, and the fact that she uses pathos makes it very trustworthy. But her subjectivity and her generalization makes the article very untrustworthy and narrow-minded.
The article makes any woman feel proud to be a woman but Hanna Rosin definitely doesn’t tell the whole truth. If you look at the big picture, the world is still male-dominated.