The Rise of Women?

As women remake our society, the jury is still out on the direction and impact of those changes. It has been 40 years since Title IX, and the changes have been significant. Women get better grades, attend college at a 40% greater rate than men, and graduate at a 25% greater rate than men. We can only hope for better times ahead as women widen the gap in education and influence.

Here is a snap shot for education levels of 24-25 year olds in 2009:

I know everything must have a Darwinian explanation. I also know that evolution is not survival of the fittest but, rather, survival of the un-fittest in the previous environment—as it changes. The environment changed from benefiting the strong and quick to the smart and cooperative. Some men, of course, have adapted, namely, the nerds.

However, sometimes I fear that women, as smart as they are, may not be as smart as we have hoped. Will they set new and exciting standards of behavior beyond those of current society, leading us to new heights of civilization… or not. 

A brawl at the end of Friday's women's hockey game between Ohio State and Bemidji State led to 19 players being disqualified and set an NCAA record for penalty minutes in a game. Ohio State had 10 players disqualified and Bemidji State nine after an altercation at the final whistle brought the game's total penalty minutes to 303. That total set a record for men's and women's games in either Division I or Division III.

Will women take civilization to a new level or will they be led by the out-dated but powerful influence of men?

The Ohio State women's hockey coach, Nate Handrahan (a man) said, "What happened at the end of the game doesn't happen often in women's hockey. But I can tell you this: We're happy to at least see our girls show some fight and some spirit."