Sir, - Frank Kelly (September 11th) is amused each year by the "hullabaloo in the press about girls doing better than boys across the board in the Leaving Cert". I, however, am far from amused.
His analysis is a perfect example of a common double standard. In the past, when girls consistently performed worse than boys, the hullabaloo in the press was most welcome. All sorts of academics and social commentators had opinions on why this should be the case, and it was deemed society's duty to remedy this terrible situation. Now that girls outperform boys, the analysis extends to "girls work harder", and good for them.
It is imperative that we recognise there are other factors at work in order to discover what it is that makes boys shirk their studies. Is it because society's increasing demonisation of masculinity causes young boys to subconsciously feel less important than the girls? Is this a cause of the increase in the so-called laddish culture with its no-studying ethos? Is it because boys are afraid to fail - so they don't try?
Or worse, is it because they are so brainwashed by anti-male messages everywhere in the media that they actually expect to fail? Why is it that girls outperforming boys across the board is deemed a good thing? Is it some kind of "girl power" nonsense, or is it just old fashioned sexism?
If the current trend of male academic performance continues, society itself will end up paying a heavy price. - Yours, etc.,
Fergus McCann, Sycamore Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.