Why Does America Have So Many 'Peter Pan' Men?

Working in an office full of women, many of whom are young, single gals, I hear all the time, “Where are all the good men out there?” Even in this post-feminist age of asserting independence from men and having both a career and a family, women still want their prince and these days, he can be really tough to find.

Bill Bennett, who used to work for President George H. W. Bush and is now at the Claremont Institute, just came out with a new book called, "The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood," and it could not have been released at a better time.

Bennett writes about how the culture has so badly confused males in what their role in life should be that they just never grow up – or man up for that matter. They have fallen behind in college where women now surpass men in getting their college degrees. These women are getting jobs in the workforce while the men are lingering in dead-end jobs -- if they are working at all. While opportunity for women is a good thing, men should not take this as a cue to coast.

And don’t even get me started on the maturity level of these Peter Pan-like boys. The statistic from Bennett’s book that perhaps struck me the most is that teenage boys, ages 12-to-17 years old, actually spend less time playing video games than 18-to-34-year-old men. I can understand the desire to play a video game here and there as a kid, but as an adult? Grow up.

These men should be studying in college, getting a job, and contributing to society through the workforce and family. How in the world do they have time to play video games for hours? The answer is that they just don’t ever grow up.

But are women contributing to the demise of the man? Feminism has been detrimental to the identity of the American male. Men have been rebuked if they pull out a chair or open a door for a woman. If they offer to pay for dinner (which they should), their date may be offended and demand to split the check because she can pay her own way. -- Ladies, it’s not such a bad thing to be treated to dinner unless that meal comes with sexual expectations, which is another column.

Yes, men should man up, take on the responsibilities of an adult, get a job, have a family and be a contributing member to society. The benefits to being a married man are huge. According to Men’s Health magazine, married men make more money, have more sex, get promoted faster, and are generally healthier than unmarried men.

But women also need to let men be men. Men don’t have to linger between college and well, college, forever. They can make choices to take control of their lives and be the men they are called to be if they just put down the game controls and choose a better direction. Sadly, at the moment, American women are apparently still in need of a few good men.

Penny Nance is CEO of Concerned Women for America.