The modern woman has what she thinks is an airtight explanation for why no man has stuck around: “It’s not MY fault. Men aren’t growing up.”

The media agrees, claiming modern men are man-children, suffering from “Peter Pan” syndrome; essentially an extended adolescence. It must be true. They keep saying it everywhere from television to reputable newspapers. Except it’s not.

Let’s go through their various arguments.

Men Don’t Make Enough Money

You see this everywhere today. The media echoing the female argument that women have to financially support their man because he doesn't earn enough, women have overtaken men as the primary breadwinners, there are not enough ‘eligible’ men for the “alpha women”. “Money problems” is cited as a top reason not to get married. The end conclusion is always: “men need to get their act together”.

You hear things like “It is not uncommon to walk into the hottest new West Village bistro on a Saturday night and find five smartly dressed young women dining together—the nearest man the waiter. Income equality, or superiority, for women muddles the old, male-dominated dating structure.”

Actual data disproves the idea . Men earn more than women across age ranges and races.. Here are the comparisons in terms of median income per week:

“What about white men? Aren’t young white men just wasting time in bars these days?”

White men 16+ outearn white women $896 to $733. White men 25+ outearn white women $951 to $767. White men 25-54 outearn white women $918 to $760. White men 55+ outearn white women $1,071 to $793.

“Well that’s white people, how about Asian people? Don’t young Asian men just play videogames all day long?”

Asian men 16+ outearn Asian women $1,087 to $795. Asian men 25+ outearn Asian women $1,142 to $818. Asian men 25-54 outearn Asian women $1,159 to $866. Asian men 55+ outearn Asian women $968 to $644.

“OK, OK, white men and Asian men are moneybags, but what about Hispanic men. Their women make more than them by working white collar and pink collar jobs…..right?”

Hispanic men 16+ outearn Hispanic women $617 to $553. Hispanic men 25+ outearn Hispanic women $657 to $588. Hispanic men 25-54 outearn Hispanic women $655 to $587. Hispanic men 55+ outearn Hispanic women $668 to $595.

“You patriarchal shitlord! Well, black men have fallen behind. We KNOW this because we tell you every 15 minutes that black men are underachievers, and black women are super-strong career women.”

Black men 16+ outearn black women $679 to $608. Black men 25+ outearn black women $720 to $631. Black men 25-54 outearn black women $683 to $612. Black men 55+ outearn black women $835 to $745.

So let me ask the question: if immature men are falling behind, why do we earn MORE than women for every age bracket and racial category? It’s because we’re not. Excelling at what one does for a living is a sign of capability and competence. It’s difficult to outperform other people in the workplace without maturity.

They Play Videogames

This is honestly one of the funniest (and most intellectually dishonest) arguments I’ve heard. Videogames were popularized in the late 70’s with the Atari 2600, and then grew in popularity with the Nintendo 8-bit console in the 80’s. In other words, on the scale of society and culture, or in the case of the definition of male identity, they are relatively recent.

When a new kind of recreation emerges, it’s not uncommon for the youth to be the first to embrace it. The hula hoop was embraced by children before it became a health tool for adults. Texting is an example of a modern phenomena that millennials engaged in growing up but continue to find the usefulness as they enter adulthood. Today, the games that come out on modern consoles like Xbox are designed for adults and have complexity that make them different from kid’s games. But there’s no mistaking, we go from one generation where some activity is largely the province of the youth, but then later it is more broadly accepted by the population. When we make this transition, it is a simple but a rather phony charge that the activity is “something kids do”. I’ve yet to hear one argument as to why these games are inherently ‘childish’ other than last generation, mostly kids played video games.

Women like to claim “Video games are for kids” whereas it’s a disingenuous syllogism that women hope people won’t think too hard about.

Meanwhile the press will go to great lengths to justify the fact that many adult women indulge in reading “young adult” (YA) literature meant for 14-year olds.

Men Live with their Parents!

Let’s think about the choice of where to live based on the growing burden of student debt. Take a look at these facts:

  • Women take longer to repay student loans (Choy & Li, 2006).
  • “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, single men spent 30.3 percent of their annual income on housing; and single women spent 39.8 percent. “ (source).
  • 26% of young men manage to save more than 10% of their incomes, compared with just 9% of women. (source).
  • The median Net Worth of single, black women is $5 (source).

Here is median net worth by age and race (summarized from “Lifting as we Climb”):

White men 18-35 have a median net worth of: $5,600. White women 18-35 have a median net worth of: $0. White men 36-54 have a median net worth of: $70,030 White women 36-54 have a median net worth of: $42,600.

Non-white men 18-35 have a median net worth of: $1,000. Non-white women 18-35 have a median net worth of: $0. Non-white men 36-54 have a median net worth of: $11,000 Non-white women 36-54 have a median net worth of: $5.

So the press wants us to believe that men are “sad Peter Pans” for living with their parents but its likely this decision that allows them to spend less of their annual income on housing, pay down their student debt faster, save more money in general, and maintain higher net worth. Most men move out by 30 when roughly only 10-15% of both men and women elect to stay at home. When men choose to save money and do the responsible thing, they are faulted. Immature? Sounds like the future-orientation and fiscal responsibility men are known for. And this better financial picture is precisely why women seek out men as Beta Bux after blowing through all their disposable income, having serious unpaid debt, and little to null net worth. Ever wonder why every other girl on Match talks about every foreign destination she wants to travel to? She hopes that the men who were far more mature than her have saved enough to afford it.

Young Men are Just Living in the Now, Not Thinking about the Future

61% of millennial men are saving money for retirement and only 50% of women are. This is blamed on income disparity, but realistically, anyone can save for retirement, however little. The more likely explanation: the lack of maturity amongst women to understand financial matters. “Millennial women tend to be less financially literate than their male peers, according to a study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Only 18 percent of millennial women demonstrated high levels of financial literacy, compared with 29 percent of millennial men.” (source). Maturity means thinking ahead and becoming knowledgable about things that matter - young men seem to be well ahead of women on these fronts.

Where are the Men in College?

Women are patted on the back for regurgitating textbook and classroom material and receiving their proof of attendance certificate from the diploma mill. That men are doing so less than women is hardly a sign of immaturity.

Women are graduating with majors that earn modest income. Not every job requires a college major. What is more mature: going to college because of social pressure and having a job where you can barely pay off the student loans, or going directly into the workforce?

The highest paying majors are dominated by men. The lowest paying majors are: animal science, social work, and child development which are dominated by women. The education choices of men appear to be a sign of pragmatism. To the extent, that men attend college, they are more likely to get a major that leads to solid income. To the extent they avoid college, they avoid massive debt. What they are less likely to do is what women often do which is to incur college debt and exit with a major thats likely to lead to underemployment and low wages - the worst of both worlds.

In Summary

Women are grasping at straws to depict men as immature. In reality, a woman will always try to define male maturity as being ready to submit to marriage and serve as her provider. Ultimately, this means suppressing our own wants and goals for lifelong servitude to their baby rabies instinct, their nesting instinct, and their vapid life of constant trips to Bed Bath & Beyond, and a life of Keeping up with the Joneses.

Their disparagement of men has nothing to do with actual maturity, earning a solid income, net assets, or responsibility. Single men earn and save considerably more than single women. In actuality, single women are grown up children: reading ‘young adult’ literature, playing the popularity game well into their 20s, babbling about reality shows and “boys”. That they consider themselves the arbiters of maturity is simply preposterous. Women want us to believe the marrying them is somehow a "rite of passage" to real manhood or maturity. Yet, we have nothing to prove.

The “Peter Pan” depiction of modern men is like Peter Pan in one sense. It’s fiction.

Originally posted on GoingYourOwnWay forums.