Welcome to Sex and the State, a newsletter about power. I’m a writer working on decriminalizing and destigmatizing all things sex. I use evidence and stories to interrogate existing power structures to propose better ways of relating. To support my work, buy a guide, buy a subscription, follow me on OnlyFans, or just share this post!
~~~~~
If you’d rather watch me read this:
Got a question from a reader about this episode:
Here’s the question:
I'm not convinced here: "Furthermore, the white ones were told (and are still told) that simply being white and male would be enough to deliver those things to them if they put in a modicum of effort. And there was a time when all that was mostly true. But it’s definitely not true anymore." I believe it is still mostly true—that material stability can be had with a modicum of effort for white males all across the country.
Why do you think that's definitely not true?
What is missing, I think I'd say, is that even with the material returns on the modicum of effort (house, cars, kids) there's a desire for status that perhaps goes unfulfilled. Perhaps.
Here’s why I think that simply being white and male and putting forth a modicum of effort is no longer enough to deliver a job that can afford you a wife, house, kids, and two cars.
In the 1950s and 60s, wages for bottom-75% white men were high relative to the cost of housing, healthcare, childcare, and education. Perhaps more importantly, jobs that could provide a comfortable middle-class existence to men without degrees were plentiful.
That’s no longer the case.
First, we have wage stagnation. Lifetime earnings for the bottom 75% of US men have declined since the 1970s, while women’s has risen.
Then, we have cost disease. Sure, the cost of TVs has dropped dramatically since the 1970s. But Americans are paying way more than we were then for the stuff that takes up the bulk of our spending — namely health care, housing, education, and child care. Even cars have gotten more expensive.
So we have declining wages for most men and a rising total cost of living for all men.
Add to that degree inflation. Degree inflation makes it more difficult to get a job without a degree, while cost disease makes it more expensive to get a degree. Plus, women are earning more degrees than men and tend to prefer similarly educated husbands.
Add to that shifts in labor demand toward industries where women excel.
In short, men of all skill and education levels used to have an inherent advantage in the US labor force because our economy demanded labor with physical strength and stamina.
That’s not true anymore. Outsourcing and automation have slashed demand for low-skill labor, especially agriculture and manufacturing. Support for this theory: Council of Economic Advisers' 2016 report on declining male labor-force participation rates, Brookings.
Meanwhile the demand for skilled labor is rising, but men’s skills aren’t keeping up.
Simultaneously, labor demand is growing in traditionally female-dominated professions, which men refuse to enter.
Meanwhile, economic mobility is low and declining.
So yeah. For the average white man in the US, it takes a LOT more effort to get the same results as his father or grandfather got.
Share this post