# "Men are getting weaker" and 60s entertainment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333 "2015-12-13T16:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/1 "2015-12-13T16:28:10Z")
I watch a lot of TV shows and movies from the 60s (born in 1975). One thing I’ve noticed (most notably in “It’s a Mad World” and a couple of “Dick Van Dyke” episodes) is plots that mention the idea American men have become soft and dominated by their women. It’s often compared to the supposedly more manly European male. Why was this so prominent back then? Compared to today’s men, the notion that early 60s American males were being ordered around by women is laughable. Is there something I’m not picking up on? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/2 "2015-12-13T17:27:02Z")
The notion that men are becoming feminized goes back to the 19th century. It was part of the anti-feminist backlash toward suffrage and woman’s rights. Check out the cartoons toward the bottom of [Predictions - The First Look Back](http://www.flyingcarsandfoodpills.com/#!predictions---the-first-look-back/chok) on my website. Prohibition was blamed on women and of course the flappers of the 1920s and their faux equality with men was considered to be proof. Many movies in the 1930s featured strong women and especially women bosses, and that was more proof. After WWII, women were put back in their place by being forced to lose their jobs when “the boys came home,” and all was right with the world. But those men were always insecure in their dominance and fixated on every tiny victory by women as a direct attack on masculinity. It hasn’t let up for a second since. Nothing ever changes. Except for their specifics, most of the other vile cartoons on that page could be put out today because too many people still agree with them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/3 "2015-12-14T01:13:20Z")
And what about this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms?_ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/4 "2015-12-14T02:08:02Z")
Men have bosom buddies, don’t they? No, I absolutely will not make a Tom Hanks/Peter Scolari joke, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/5 "2015-12-14T02:17:55Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Is there something I’m not picking up on? yes. men get pissed off and defensive whenever someone suggests they shouldn’t be in charge of everything, ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/6 "2015-12-14T02:43:25Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > And what about this positively infantile preoccupation with _bosoms?_ Did you just…quote Terry-Thomas? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/7 "2015-12-14T02:50:29Z")
**Exapno Mapcase** : Many thanks for the link. The final issue of NEMO magazine, a short run publication of the 1980s (30-some issues) about the history of the comic strip, featured in its 28th issue an absorbing cavalcade of the politically incorrect cartoons and caricatures of 19th and early 20th century America. Lots of insane depictions of German- and Irish-Americans, as well as the expected Blacks and Jews. But the Harvard football team of the future was a new one to me… ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/8 "2015-12-14T02:58:36Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes. men get pissed off and defensive whenever someone suggests they shouldn’t be in charge of everything, Do they? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/9 "2015-12-14T03:00:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes. men get pissed off and defensive whenever someone suggests they shouldn’t be in charge of everything, Do they? And what do Blacks do in that situation? Starting popping caps in asses?And Jews? Do they try to connive their way into power? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/10 "2015-12-14T03:05:34Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Do they? They sure do. Loudly. All the time. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/11 "2015-12-14T03:09:21Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > **Exapno Mapcase** : Many thanks for the link. What? You don’t remember them from the originals? > [@](#): > > The final issue of NEMO magazine, a short run publication of the 1980s (30-some issues) about the history of the comic strip, featured in its 28th issue an absorbing cavalcade of the politically incorrect cartoons and caricatures of 19th and early 20th century America. Lots of insane depictions of German- and Irish-Americans, as well as the expected Blacks and Jews. But the Harvard football team of the future was a new one to me… I put in an order for that. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/12 "2015-12-14T03:18:00Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > They sure do. Loudly. All the time. In the same way the Negroes eat watermelon all the time. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/13 "2015-12-14T03:26:53Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > In the same way the Negroes eat watermelon all the time. Right? Nope, in the myriad ways that men turn woman into inferiors. It’s not a stereotype; it’s an observed fact about societal behavior. Welcome to the social sciences. They’re real, and they’re spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/14 "2015-12-14T03:34:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I put in an order for that. What, you can just buy a copy online? You mean my collection…is just a sad joke? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/15 "2015-12-14T03:44:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nope, in the myriad ways that men turn woman into inferiors. It’s not a stereotype; it’s an observed fact about societal behavior. Really? All men do this? > [@](#): > > Welcome to the social sciences. They’re real, and they’re spectacular. “It’s not a stereotype, it’s an observed fact”. Seriously? It’s an observed fact that all men get pissed off and defensive whenever someone suggests they shouldn’t be in charge of everything? Someone observed that? It certainly seems about on par with the quality we’ve come to expect of the social sciences. So I will give you that. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/16 "2015-12-14T05:55:28Z")
Obviously if not _all_ men do this, then _no_ men do this, and **Exapno** is all wet. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/17 "2015-12-14T07:39:04Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Obviously if not _all_ men do this, then _no_ men do this, and **Exapno** is all wet. :rolleyes: Obviously if some women are not good at maths then it is an observed fact about societal behavior that women are no good at maths. Obviously if some women lack the agression to make it as senior management then it is an observed fact about societal behavior that women lack the agression to make it as senior management Obviously if some Mexicans are rapists then it is an observed fact about societal behavior that Mexicans are rapists. :rolleyes: Right back at ya. Bigoted rubbish is bigoted rubbish. It doesn’t cease being bigoted rubbish because it’s not being spewed against your favourite victim group. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/18 "2015-12-14T13:19:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The notion that men are becoming feminized goes back to the 19th century. It was part of the anti-feminist backlash toward suffrage and woman’s rights. Check out the cartoons toward the bottom of [Predictions - The First Look Back](http://www.flyingcarsandfoodpills.com/#!predictions---the-first-look-back/chok) on my website. Maybe you can answer a question I’ve been kicking around for a while now – when was the last time that American Manhood was not in crisis? Because men seem to be freaking out all through the 20th century, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/19 "2015-12-14T13:44:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Welcome to the social sciences. They’re real, and they’re spectacular. Did we go back to bosoms when I wasn’t looking ? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333/20 "2015-12-14T16:18:06Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nope, in the myriad ways that men turn woman into inferiors. It’s not a stereotype; it’s an observed fact about societal behavior. > > Welcome to the social sciences. They’re real, and they’re spectacular. Actually social sciences are mostly made up and certainly aren’t science. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-are-getting-weaker-and-60s-entertainment/740333.md?page=2)