Last month's New York Times cover story about the rise of women in the United States as primary breadwinners caused otherwise intelligent men to make some pretty absurd statements loaded with Marlboro-man-machismo.
Talking to Fox News' Megyn Kelly, Lou Dobbs attributed "what is happening with women in the workplace" to the "fact that we have marriages breaking up." Erick Erickson said, "when you look at biology...the male typically is the dominant role."
David Granger's editor's note in Esquire's June/July "How To Be A Man" issue indicates that this anxiety over the rise of women is about more than just these new breadwinner numbers. He worries that "the gender gap is widening to the detriment of men" because "in some telling areas, women have flown past men."
I can hardly feign shock at meat-headed gender prejudice anymore. I take it for granted. I've seen so much of it.
When I was raising money to start my company, DailyWorth, I was often turned down by venture capitalists who believed that a financial media business geared to women didn't stand a chance because "women don't care about money." I just rolled my eyes and hurried to my next pitch. Or, how about the other day when I rode Amtrak home from New York, I sat next to a pin-striped trusts and estates lawyer. When I described my business to him, he looked me dead in the eyes, grinned flirtatiously, and said, "but really, on some level don't you just want to be taken care of?" I sighed. Since my business invokes a constant dialogue around issues of women and money, examples like these are commonplace. They hardly faze me anymore.