breathtakingben
Well, I'm not sure why you'd ask that unless you're the journalist for one of the articles, or you're from the Times and trawl the web for reaction. However, I will answer as if you are just another MNer and give you the benefit of the doubt.
I thought that the Janice Turner inverview with Hugh Dennis was interesting light reading. Very insightful that he's noticed no men come up to him and say that they're like Pete, just that their family is like Outnumbered.
The personal stories were an interesting snap shot. The happiness article ok, but why was it illustrated by a semi naked woman?
Overall though, I struggled with the concept. Ooh, men are in crisis. If they are it is only because the world is inching slowly slowly slowly towards being structured more equitably in some areas. All that 'oh, they don't know how to be men anymore' stuff rings hollow for me. The men who struggled are those who struggle with the idea that the world isn't totally shaped round men anymore. The struggle is the giving up of privilge. It's a bit like running a story on how white south africans couldn't cope with integration. You'd never do that without acknowledging the wider political context. Indeed, you couldn't, because it would be so blatant in everyone's understanding - but the underlying issue is never acknowledged in gender politics. Somehow men adapting is never acknowledged as having to give up privilige in the same way (no, Leith's Nazi analogy does not count).
I would like to see something more thoughtful. There's a lot to be said. Take those stats trotted out about male underachievement at school. I have never once seen an article that asks why boys start school less able to sit still and listen. It's taken as a bioligical norm and all the articles I have seen are about changing teaching methods to fit boys better (if you want to be cynical and political, bending the world back to the historically male preferences.). How about someone exploring whether we are letting boys down in the modern world by conditioning them to be physical. There is some fascinating research about how adults struggle to relate to a baby if not told its gender (and why would that be an issue, unless we had underlying stereotypes in our behaviour) and how baby boys and girls are equally verbal and physical at (I think) about 9 months, but the verbal behaviour is rewarded and encouraged in girls and the physical in boys. That article may well have been written in the mainstream, but I've not seen it.
I would be interested to see more about flexible parenting and parents who both flex their careers to care for children. If you wanted a male slant, I do think that they have different challenges doing that to women.
Just for starters.