Simone Ryan: The Mass Destruction of Masculinity

A fracture doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it hums beneath the surface, disguised as a slow unraveling. And, in the quiet corridors of classrooms and the swelling data sets of college admissions, something is splitting, but not in the way many would have us believe. 

We are told, again and again, that boys are in crisis. That they are lonely. Isolated. Left behind. Maybe that’s true, but it’s only part of the story. Because, in the same breath that we mourn their descent, we are warned, whispered, and shouted against celebrating the ascent of girls. But, the truth is that boys are not simply failing. Rather, many men prefer to drag down the ladder than admit that girls have climbed it. In classrooms, girls outperform boys in nearly every subject. According to the American Psychological Association, they read earlier, write longer, and test higher. They lead student governments, control academic clubs, and fill out honor rolls. This pattern of females somewhat dominating academic settings isn’t new. It’s not a sudden feminist plot or an accidental tilt of the world. It’s what happens when you stop clipping wings. Yet, instead of reimagining what this continuous surge in feminine success means for equity or progress, we are told to worry. We are told to fear. Fear that boys are being left behind. Fear that traditional masculinity is under attack. Fear that if a girl shines, she casts too long a shadow. 

So, into this fear walks the man who is not just politically angry but spiritually starved. He sees a girl winning a scholarship and claims her success to be unfair. He sees a woman in political office and calls her power unnatural. He’s not merely nostalgic for a past that coddled him; he’s enraged that the future no longer bends to his image. The rise of girls has not made the world crueler for boys, but women’s gain has only made it less rigged. On podcasts and social media, from dorm rooms to statehouses, a chorus grows louder: boys need help. Masculinity is under siege. Feminism has gone too far. But what the disturbed men really mean is this: We no longer recognize a world where girls don’t need our permission to thrive. The decrease in academic performance among men is real, and so is their epidemic of loneliness. Regardless, neither phenomenon is caused by the success of women. These cases are rooted in the refusal to adapt, in a version of masculinity that shuns vulnerability and scoffs at emotional intelligence. Boys are not failing because of girls, they're failing because no one ever taught them how to build an identity not anchored in dominance. 

Women surpassing their male counterparts isn’t a tragedy of lost boys; it’s a reckoning of rigid men. And this denial to face the growth of feminine dominance begs the question: what do we mourn more, the actual pain of young men, or the loss of their default authority? Girls are not just excelling in spite of obstacles; they are thriving because they have learned to live outside the myth. They have practiced resilience in systems never meant for them. And, now, in a moment when they are finally allowed to lead, rise, and imagine themselves as whole, capable, and self-defined, they are told to slow down for the comfort of boys still trying to learn the language of accountability. 

Girls should not be asked to dim themselves so boys can feel less lost in the dark. The success of girls is not the end of boyhood, it is the beginning of something freer for everyone, if we let it be. If the old world is crumbling, let it. Build something better in the cracks. Let the boys cry. Let the girls run. Let the old myths burn down to ash. And in that clearing, plant something that doesn’t need to compete for the sun.

About the Author:

Simone is an incoming Sophomore at Winchester High School who loves to read and write in and outside of school. In school, Simone participates in various clubs such as Model UN and the school newspaper, where she is able to channel her love for writing. In her free time, she enjoys reading new books as well as rereading old favorites, and also loves cooking/baking for her family and friends.