Sociologist Kay Hymowitz wrote in a recent op-ed about an emerging class of “child man” who “lingers – happily – in a new hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance”. All I can say is, I’m on board.
In the article, Hymowitz explains-at length- why she believes that modern 20-something men have ended up decidedly less “grown up” than they used to be. For the most part, I agree with her. After all, why not? I am, after all, one of the child-men she describes. I’m 26, unmarried, love cartoons, play video games, enjoy “toys” of my own (kubuntu I’m looking at you) and live with roommates of similar taste. I party. I drink. I watch football with my irresponsible buddies. I act irresponsibly (let’s not forget a certain incident involving an unusually long staircase). And I enjoy it all of it. I’m today’s child-man. Come to think of it, I delayed working on a few errands to write this entry tonight. *shrug*
One statistic she uses to back up her claims that I found particularly telling was that “In 1970, 69 percent of 25-year-old and 85 percent of 30-year-old white men were married; in 2000, only 33 percent and 58 percent were, respectively”. It’s difficult to argue with numbers like that.
Now if only I had this article to back up my behavior oh, say, about 18 months ago…
*Edit* After I published this post, something didn’t quite feel right. I figured out what it was: this may have been me about a year ago, but not so much anymore. I guess my time of lingering is coming to an end.
Style Points 