Went and dug a little deeper and it seems that for high-income nations, this trend of more women than men graduating in universities (as well as outperforming in school) has been going on for multiple decades now.
Apart of me wants to think its just right-wing hysteria because this was brought to my attention by some random podcast clip using this example as somehow proof that patriarchy doesn’t exist lol. Some articles I read did mention how other factors (particularly class and race) was a higher determinant of school/university success.
And I particularly do not like biological explanations anyways (too essentialist to my taste, but I can’t say for sure). I forgot which article in particular but it did argue it’s because men used to be able find jobs in more traditional blue-collar industries, leading to this present day discrepancy.
What do you all think?
Good response. I agree.
Pointing out the higher incidence of suicide and depression among men makes me wonder if alienation is a factor along with culture and political economy.
As we’re in c/revolutionaryfeminism, I wonder if anyone knows of a Marxist analysis on gender and alienation. I doubt it’s possible to say that men experience more alienation than women, but I’d bet there are gendered differences relating to alienation. These differences might explain academic achievement.
As for class, I go through the same cycles. Working class / middle class is convenient short hand for many discussions. If I’m talking with non-Marxists, I’ll often reject that binary (liberals seem to rarely ask what is above the middle) and insist on a Marxist definition. But this is to make a point. Among Marxists, we can probably get by knowing that if one of us uses e.g. ‘working class’ we’re invoking it for convenience and as a relational term.
And I agree about labour aristocracy / petite bourgeois. Although maybe if add that in many cases, the middle / managerial / professional class(es) seem to have a petite bourgeois ideology. So they fit into that category even if they’re not a small business owner of minor landlord.
As for labour aristocrats. This is a useful category, but it’s meaning can seem too wide and too narrow at the same time. Depending on who you ask, it covers everyone in the imperial core or only those on the highest salaries. 🤷