The Castration of Modern Married Men

Why men are no longer the head of the household

I’ve witnessed too many friends become shells of their former selves after they get married. A few months after the reception, he falls off the face of the Earth. He checks in his balls and offloads the burden of decision-making to his wife. He becomes the “I need to ask my wife” guy. As a result, his wife becomes his boss, she loses respect and attraction for him over time, and he becomes more feminine. Everybody notices but nobody wants to tell him. He’s too far gone.

“I need to ask my wife.” Far too often this just means “I need to ask my wife for permission.” At this point, he’s already given up his role as the head of the household. As a result, he will rarely see his friends again. This is different than responsible coordination. A father shouldn’t just go on a golf trip with his friends without talking to his wife first given she will have to pick up the slack. They should discuss planning and arrangements first before he commits. But that’s rarely what happens. And I’m not being anecdotal. The percentage of American men with at least six close friends has dropped from 55% in 1990 to 27% in 2021. The percentage of men with zero friends has increased from 3% to 15%.