In Flux

I don't know about the ten archetypical males this article talks about, but I am in complete agreement with the author when he describes the consequences of women redefining their own gender roles in the wake of the Women’s suffrage movement :

As women took steps to define their own gender roles, men missed the opportunity to do the same. We were left with a confused, ragtag concept of what it means to be a man, defined not by ourselves, but rather by contrasting ideals from two sources — liberated women and posterity.

While his archetypes are probably more relevant to the Western world than they are to the Eastern, the issue of manhood caught in the flux of two contrasting ideals - "liberated women and posterity" is fairly universal. Reading this reminds me of a comment my friend Janet made recently. She got married a few years ago after dating many men over a long period of time. The marriage has run into rough weather and they will end it officially soon.

I asked her if she was seeing anyone and she said "After dating men for so many years, I now wonder if I am even looking for a man. That's the only way to explain why no man has ever been right for me". At fifty six she should know what she's talking about. Interestingly, she is not the first woman I have heard regretting they were straight even if in jest.