The weaker sex?

By Will Crois

Special to the Express

I have begun to wonder if, in many ways, men have grown weaker while women have grown stronger.

I base this observation on what I see around me every day.

Not so long ago, saying someone "throws like a girl," "runs like a girl," or "walks like a girl" was meant as an insult. Today, those old stereotypes ring hollow.

Look at the women journalists, the women in politics, and the women who have found the courage to speak out against what they see as the travesty unfolding in our country. Yet too often, there are far too few men willing to stand beside them or lend their voices.

Then there is sports, once considered the unquestioned domain of men. I watch women's tennis and see serves exceeding one hundred miles per hour. I watch women's basketball and remember a time when critics dismissed the game as slow or unskilled. Today, players routinely drain three-point shots, the pace is fast, and scores regularly climb into the hundreds. The level of athleticism and competition continues to rise.

Meanwhile, I see too many men becoming complacent. Turn on congressional hearings and watch elected officials dodge the simplest questions. Rather than answer "yes" or "no," many dance around facts that have already been settled by the courts or by the evidence before them. It is an exercise in avoidance rather than accountability.

Perhaps the greatest change has taken place at home. Increasingly, women are not only managing households but also serving as the primary financial support for their families, while too many men seem content to sit back and let others shoulder responsibilities that were once shared.

This is not an indictment of all men. There are countless honorable, courageous, hardworking men who continue to lead by example. But as a society, we should ask ourselves whether too many men have surrendered initiative, conviction, and responsibility, while women have stepped forward to fill the void.

If that is true, then perhaps it is time to rethink who we call the stronger sex.