MND: Troubling Findings About College Men

Article here. Excerpt:

'Here's a piece on the Second Conference on College Men that took place at the University of Pennsylvania back in May (Inside Higher Education, 5/22/09). The article discusses a couple of studies done by Frank Harris and Keith Edwards into "the gendered experiences and identities of men in college." Overall, the people presenting the papers seem fairly sympathetic to men on campus, so you might ask why they open with statements like this:

"When we think about acts of violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment on college campuses, overwhelmingly the perpetrators of those acts on our campuses are men."

Now, there are several studies, like this one from the University of Florida, that contradict those claims. That showed that 32% of UF women surveyed said they were perpetrators of dating violence, versus only 24% of men. Another survey showed that 58% of UF stalkers were women.
...

Tellingly the article goes on to say,

Edwards and Harris also reported finding that the students had limited relationships with other men, particularly their friends and fathers, and experienced a loss of self. “It’s sort of for me the most poignant part of all this,” said Edwards. “I lose my authenticity when I pretend I’m someone I’m not.”

These findings are troubling. In the first place, they strongly suggest the effects of fatherlessness on these young men. The descriptions of what they understand masculinity to be are classic examples of boys without a mature masculine presence in their lives. Of course I can't say how many of these young men grew up without fathers, but the researchers pointedly noted the young men's "limited relationships" with their dads.'