By Shauna Scott Rhone
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Hacker

In his new book, Mismatch (Scribner; $25), political science professor Andrew Hacker takes up "the growing gulf between women and men" and the resulting emotional tangles.

Hacker, who teaches at Queens College in New York, uses census statistics and other published data to chart that gulf.

For example, women are now receiving 57.2 percent of all bachelor's degrees, an annual rate of 134 women grads for every 100 men. And, highlighting a tendency of well-educated, accomplished women to avoid traditional male-female relationships, 17 percent of women who make more than $100,000 a year have never been married.

Recently, the best-selling and controversial author spoke to the Enquirer by phone. He discussed Mismatch, why he saw a need for such a book, what the consequences may mean to everyday American life and what, if any, solutions are available.

Question: Several polls taken before the war with Iraq reflected a gender gap on the need for military action. Is that indicative of the divisions shown in your book?

Answer: Yes. In fact, a recent Washington Post poll showed a 17-point spread between men and women on going to war. Men were saying, "We've had enough talk," while the women wanted to continue discussions. It's almost like the men were from America and the women were from Europe.

It's part of the "fragility of masculinity" I discuss in my book. Men are big on guns and sporting, but these days it isn't easy being a "man's man." We're not doing men's work anymore, not anything involving muscles. For the most part, we sit at computer screens all day looking for a surrogate manhood.

Q: Why did you decide to examine this men-women issue?

A: I like to write books where my readers are already experts themselves. I regard this as a challenge. Let's see if I have something to say on the subject. I actually go out and get the numbers, which are available to anyone. This is where I'm proud of our government. They do the census and other statistical data.

Take the stats on divorce. Women now can initiate divorce because they can afford to take the financial hit. Right now, 80 percent of women in this country make under $35,000 a year, and they suffer financially when they divorce, but the other part is, they do it anyway.

Q: Why is the gender gap increasing in the area of education?

A: Around 1970, when a lot of men's colleges became coed, almost immediately women started applying in droves. They started excelling at schools with (good) reputations. At Yale University today, there are 2,000 fewer males enrolled than 30 years ago. There are more women in medical schools and other professions, with the exception of engineering.

Someone once defined school as 17 years of "sustained sitting" and women are just better at it. Because more is expected from men, they're not as eager to accept that routine, which is unfortunate. ...

Q: In Mismatch, you compare the gender division to America's racial division. Do you consider this book a sequel to your earlier book, Two Nations?

A: That chapter ("The Black Experience: A Portent for Whites") offers ways the black culture has been influencing whites, but it doesn't necessarily prove that. For example, how many white women have looked at black women and their ability to raise their children alone, complete their educations?

Twenty-three percent of children born have unmarried mothers. The non-marital rate has just been increasing with every census.

I actually thought about calling this book Two Nations: Male and Female because of the similarities. Someone called them "intimate strangers," as though men and women live in different towns. What's interesting to me is that women are more willing to admit their failings or fears about relationships.

Q: Was there anything that surprised you in your findings?

A: That we're having fewer children and that the rate is going down at the same rate for all races. The exception is with Mexican-Americans, who are averaging two children apiece. Less than 60 percent of new births are white. American women are deciding to have fewer children, and the guys are not objecting because they don't see it as being primally masculine anymore.

Q: While the book exposes many truths in the gulf between men and women, there were few solutions. Can you offer any?

A: Of course. I regard myself as a historian. I look at the past, present and future, the changing tides in the affairs of men. This book doesn't mean things are hopeless. There are historical changes going on and we, as men, are going have to adapt. Women are now becoming full human beings and we'll have to adapt to doing things differently. Women want to be physicists but also want to find Mr. Right. To quote Bette Davis, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride." This is not the kind of subject you can have a 10-point plan to solve.