Manhandled

Two guys on the verge of adulthood break free, break out, cross the country on bikes.

by Matt Stroud

"[The 'child-man' in my generation is represented by] immaturity ... passed off as an inclination towards whimsy or ennui which manifests itself in unenthusiastic, off-pitch indie music, mindless and countless pirate and ninja jokes, and the thought that any of this behavior is without historical precedent."

—Nate Boguszewski, photographer, 28, unmarried, via MySpace

The State of Man.

Though it's been covered all over the place, there are two major — meaning very widely read — outlets that briefly thrust college graduates into national discourse, and got me thinking about who we are and how we fit into history:

Evan M. Lopez PROJECT MAYHEM: Matt's journey across the country continues inside the Internet at citypaper.net/thecycle.

The first, a 2005 Time cover story ("Parlez-Vous Twixter?"), discusses postponement of adulthood, not only in the United States, but around the world. It says students finish high school, go to a university, graduate and then flounder — either avoiding their chosen field (for example, not becoming an accountant after completing an accounting degree), or, if they decide to get a job in their field, they move back in with their parents to save money, pay off their tuition loans (if they have them) and avoid the stereotypical responsibilities of adulthood (i.e. mortgage, a monthly rental payment, electric bills, spouse, kids, dealing with your landlord unaided, etc.).

Time's coverage is fairly general and impartial. In addition to noting that young college grads (called "twixters") are perhaps way less mature than they were in previous generations, it also cites experts who note that the economy is different now (it's much more expensive to purchase a house, the dollar is weaker, gas is more expensive) and that maybe kids are closer to their parents than they were in previous generations — which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The second article ("Child-Man in the Promised Land") ran in City Journal. It is less general. Its author, Kay Hymowitz, calls twentysomething men "child-men" and accuses them of selfishness: Why are they partying all the time and not getting married? She points out that, 40 years ago, if you were 26, you were probably married already. And if you didn't have a child or children yet, you were probably expecting one with your lovely wife in your suburban home. Now, she says, it's all keg parties and video games and indiscriminate sex. If women are in the picture at all, it's to be courted drunkenly in bars, or to be ogled in any number of lad mags like Maxim or Arena. This trend is not only harming the institution of marriage, she says, it's also ruining women — who, as a result, are more promiscuous, less driven to start families and more generally awful.

Which brings us to me: My name is Matt Stroud. I'm smack dab in the middle of my twenties. Though I don't believe I'm a "child-man" (I've done some fairly interesting work as a writer, editor, friend and person; I've supported myself financially like I'm supposed to; I've lived well, traveled as much as I could and avoided reading Maxim), I'm drawn — by very real, very important forces (i.e. a beautiful woman) — toward stationary adulthood (i.e. marriage, mortgage, kids, pool membership).

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

I, like many young men, am in a mutated variation of Time's twixterism. I'm not moving back in with my folks, or living less independently. But I've seen American Beauty and Fight Club 8 billion times, and I'm not ready to insinuate myself into a job I hate or a corporate America that values spending over living.

So, like any good "child-man," I'm ditching out — temporarily avoiding the "real life" and, for you, dear readers, embarking on a journey.

A friend and I are bicycling across the country. We'll start in Boston, end in San Francisco and pass through Philly among other places. Ours is not as elaborate a journey as those of explorers who dare to bike around the world or cross the Atlantic on a barn door, but it is, perhaps, my last major trek — a bachelor party before adulthood, to collect ideas and to write about what it means to be a man in this weird time. The goal? Maybe, somehow, over the course of this ramble, I can talk to enough people — "child-men," "regular men," women and children — to determine how we can live the inspiring parts of adulthood, without being ruined by sameness, a lack of creativity, the peculiarities of commercial American living and, worst, the childish tendency to produce "unenthusiastic, off-pitch indie music."

And if not? Fuck it — at least I'll have some stories to tell.

(editorial@citypaper.net)

Matt Stroud and Bill McNelis will travel generally through Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Fargo, Portland and San Francisco, between now and September 15. They'll blog the journey on The Clog. Tune in, make comments, make fun — whatever.