The speaker, Warren Farrell, discusses the "boy crisis" and its causes. He begins by asking the audience if they have a son, grandson, or nephew who is struggling with motivation, grades, ADHD, or addiction to video games, and notes that about 30% of the audience raises their hand. Farrell then asks three questions: is there a boy crisis, what are the causes, and what are the solutions.
He argues that there is a boy crisis, citing statistics such as the fact that boys have fallen behind girls in education in every developed country, and that boys are more likely to be suicidal, homicidal, and to shoot up schools. He attributes this crisis to three main causes:
1. The lack of father involvement in boys' lives, which can lead to a lack of empathy, assertiveness, and academic success.
2. The feminization of education, which can make boys feel uncomfortable and unengaged in school.
3. The lack of purpose and meaning in boys' lives, which can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Farrell suggests that one solution to the boy crisis is to expand boys' sense of purpose and meaning, by introducing them to caring professions such as teaching, social work, and nursing. He also suggests the creation of a White House Council on Boys and Men, similar to the existing council on women and girls.
Throughout the talk, Farrell shares personal anecdotes and stories to illustrate his points, including a conversation with John Lennon, who told him that he had discovered a new way of getting love, not by earning money, but by being loved. Farrell concludes by quoting Lennon's famous song, "All You Need is Love."
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. In the United States, about 30% of the audience fits into the category of having a son, grandson, or nephew with problems related to motivation, grades, ADHD, or addiction to video games.
2. The UN found that boys have fallen behind girls in every single one of the 70 developed nations.
3. In the United States, for the first time in history, sons will have less education than their dads.
4. The two developed nations that have in common a greater propensity for divorce, leaving boys often without their dads.
5. Dad-deprived boys are more likely to have less likelihood of being empathetic, assertive, and doing badly in every single grade area in school.
6. Dad-deprived boys are more likely to be suicidal, homicidal, to shoot up schools, and be in prison.
7. Prisons are basically centers for dad-deprived boys, with a 93% male population, mostly dad-deprived boys.
8. Since 1972, there has been a 700% increase in the prison population in the United States.
9. The feminization of education is a contributing factor to boys' problems.
10. Boys are one-third more likely to be graded higher on reading tests when the teacher does not know that the person who took the test is a boy.
11. Girls and boys committed suicide equally before age 9, but from age 10-14, twice as many boys committed suicide, from 15-19, four times as many, and from 20-24, six times as many.
12. The women's movement helped create a furor to introduce women to professions they hadn't been comfortable with, such as STEM professions.
13. No one introduced boys to the caring professions, such as nursing or teaching.
14. There has been one school shooting per week on average since Sandy Hook.
15. School shootings are mostly white boys acting out their hopelessness.
16. White boys are also more likely to commit suicide.
17. The creation of a larger White House Council on boys and men could help address the causes of the boy crisis.
18. A study by the UN found that boys all over the world are one-third more likely to be graded higher on reading tests when the teacher does not know that the person who took the test is a boy.