Poll: Age for Dating and Marriage

[R7ehr]

I'm sure there are a complex set of reasons for why men are attending college at lower rates than women. But the notion that colleges have made their campuses hostile to men is not one of them. To the contrary.

Eh. This is akin to a husband regularly belittling and berating his wife, and then pointing to the new furniture he bought for her as proof that he is not hostile to her.

[Ken]

I'm sure there are a complex set of reasons for why men are attending college at lower rates than women. But the notion that colleges have made their campuses hostile to men is not one of them. To the contrary.

Eh. This is akin to a husband regularly belittling and berating his wife, and then pointing to the new furniture he bought for her as proof that he is not hostile to her.

Nowhere have I belittled men who haven't gone to college.

What I did was belittle men who are slackers and refuse to grow up and turn themselves into the sort of responsible adults that would be attractive to women. Trust me, there are plenty of college grads who fall into that category too.

[R7ehr]

I'm sure there are a complex set of reasons for why men are attending college at lower rates than women. But the notion that colleges have made their campuses hostile to men is not one of them. To the contrary.

Eh. This is akin to a husband regularly belittling and berating his wife, and then pointing to the new furniture he bought for her as proof that he is not hostile to her.

Nowhere have I belittled men who haven't gone to college.

What I did was belittle men who are slackers and refuse to grow up and turn themselves into the sort of responsible adults that would be attractive to women. Trust me, there are plenty of college grads who fall into that category too.

I didn’t mean that you did. I meant that universities do/did. They tell white men they are racists etc. They tell men a bunch of garbage about toxic masculinity, etc.
“But hey, here’s a climbing wall!”

[Ken]

Eh. This is akin to a husband regularly belittling and berating his wife, and then pointing to the new furniture he bought for her as proof that he is not hostile to her.

Nowhere have I belittled men who haven't gone to college.

What I did was belittle men who are slackers and refuse to grow up and turn themselves into the sort of responsible adults that would be attractive to women. Trust me, there are plenty of college grads who fall into that category too.

I didn’t mean that you did. I meant that universities do/did. They tell white men they are racists etc. They tell men a bunch of garbage about toxic masculinity, etc.
“But hey, here’s a climbing wall!”

I think that is another conservative old wives tale as well. You hear conservative activists making such claims but they never provide any actual examples that stand the slightest scrutiny. 99% of the time it is just stuff like an ordinary history class on some subject like slavery or Indian genocide and conservative activists extrapolate that to some sort of attack on white students. Which is patently ridiculous.

For that matter, I have never once heard any male HS student ever say anything to the effect that they are reluctant to apply to college on the off chance that while in college they might be made to feel bad for being a white male. And because of that they are giving up their dream to be a software engineer, doctor, attend business school, etc. When you actually write something like that down in print you realize how ridiculous it sounds.

[temporal1]

You know my experience was firsthand applying for scholarships and seeing zero for men in Nursing. I counted one or two gender neutral that I could apply for and being in competition against all the women and 14 for only women.
It’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance here. you may live in a bubble.
The point though was that this is a perception that you dismiss out of hand and failed to understand where a person is coming from. Which was exactly my point.

It’s annoying when members take the time here to relay personal experiences, personal opinions, personal observations and studies, from real time, real life, to be insulted and dismissed. Over+over+over.

Regarding HS and college counselors, beware, it’s a crap shoot, some give awful advice, causing the need for extra semesters or years (time+$$$$) .. my family has endured plenty that way. Bad advice.

At least this forum serves to add reason to home school, private school, possibly charter school, to support reduction or elmination of the DOE, and open eyes to problems with teachers’ unions.

- - - - - - -

Soloist, and Mrs.,
i cross paths with male nurses from time to time, always good experiences.
i’m not sure what this has to do with the OP, or dating, or young marriages, or marriage.

Are female physicians marrying male nurses?
i’ve known male physicians married to nurses, and female nurses who wanted to be married to doctors.
i’ve heard nothing about female doctors marrying male nurses, or wanting to.

i’ve heard of well educated women unhappy that they put careers first, then find they want to be stay at home wives+mothers.
i’ve read that wealthier couples choose lives that (quietly) look a lot like ‘50’s homes with stay at home wives+mothers.
my daughter sees that in her pricey PNW area.

If money is no object - back to the 50’s??!!

i don’t sense females pursue careers with the idea of being primary breadwinner, head of household, etc., the way that’s common for men. they want challenge and fulfillment, which isn’t the same as seeking to be sole provider for their families. it’s a different instinct.

In the 21st century, wealthy households are increasingly influenced by the 1950s in terms of family dynamics and lifestyle.
The evolution of family life has shifted from the idealized nuclear family of the 1950s to more diverse households today, reflecting societal changes2.
Wealthy families often maintain traditions and values that were prominent in the 1950s, such as family gatherings and traditional roles3.
The rise of male and female wage labor has transformed family structures, but some wealthy families continue to uphold these traditional values4.
Overall, while modern families may vary in composition, many wealthy households still embody elements of the 1950s in their family life practices5.

[JohnH]

I think that is another conservative old wives tale as well. You hear conservative activists making such claims but they never provide any actual examples that stand the slightest scrutiny. 99% of the time it is just stuff like an ordinary history class on some subject like slavery or Indian genocide and conservative activists extrapolate that to some sort of attack on white students. Which is patently ridiculous.

For that matter, I have never once heard any male HS student ever say anything to the effect that they are reluctant to apply to college on the off chance that while in college they might be made to feel bad for being a white male. And because of that they are giving up their dream to be a software engineer, doctor, attend business school, etc. When you actually write something like that down in print you realize how ridiculous it sounds.

Yet men (including white men) do seem quite reluctant to attend college now, so obviously something is going on that makes women feel very comfortable there and men not so comfortable.

[Ken]

I think that is another conservative old wives tale as well. You hear conservative activists making such claims but they never provide any actual examples that stand the slightest scrutiny. 99% of the time it is just stuff like an ordinary history class on some subject like slavery or Indian genocide and conservative activists extrapolate that to some sort of attack on white students. Which is patently ridiculous.

For that matter, I have never once heard any male HS student ever say anything to the effect that they are reluctant to apply to college on the off chance that while in college they might be made to feel bad for being a white male. And because of that they are giving up their dream to be a software engineer, doctor, attend business school, etc. When you actually write something like that down in print you realize how ridiculous it sounds.

Yet men (including white men) do seem quite reluctant to attend college now, so obviously something is going on that makes women feel very comfortable there and men not so comfortable.

College attendance rates for men are higher than they have ever been historically. Far higher than decades ago. There was a short blip during peak COVID for obvious reasons but it is back up again. It is just that women have passed them. Which doesn't represent any sort of crisis whatsoever in my book. These trends also follow the economy. During recessions college attendance goes up as happened from 2006-2010 during the great recession.

This sort of infantilization of men and their "sensitive feelings" is frankly unseemly. And I see very little sign that it is a real thing in either the HS or college level. There are a whole lot of reasons why men and boys are not performing as well as they might academically in both HS and college. Hurt feelings or being "uncomfortable" is not one of them.

[JohnH]

College attendance rates for men are declining.

[Ken]

College attendance rates for men are declining.

I posted this previously. There was a momentary dip during the pandemic when colleges when to virtual learning (and then hiring for non-college jobs went way up) which caused a drop in college enrollment, especially for men. But they have since recovered and 2025 is rising again and back to pre-pandemic levels.

The percentage of college students who are men (compared to women) has been declining (because more women are attending). HOWEVER,

The percentage of men who attend college relative to those who don't attend has been increasing.

Don't confuse those two percentages. They are measuring different things.

[ohio jones]

College attendance rates for men are declining.

I posted this previously.

Yes, you did. It's graduation rates, though, not attendance rates.

Don't confuse those two percentages. They are measuring different things.