By Melissa Plowman
After needing a few more credit hours in order to apply for a scholarship, Ryan Faggard found a class that would not only help him economically but socially as well.
?I was just searching through the class [catalog] and hadn?t clicked on the HFL link [before],? said Faggard, a business student looking to be a dentist. ?I saw food preparation and thought it would be a fun, unique class.?
When he arrived the first day of class, he discovered he was one of a few males in a female-dominated course.
?I would absolutely recommend the class to guys,? Faggard said. ?One, for good food and two ? if you?re single ? because there are a lot of cute women in the class.?
He, who is one of many males in a stereotypical female class, said he doesn?t feel out of place in class.
The Associated Press reports that for other universities across the country, the ?Mrs.? degrees were increasing in their male enrollments. BYU, however, isn?t following the trend, and the enrollments for males in the female-dominated majors are not increasing.
The numbers of both genderes in “Mrs.” programs remains the same.
Out of 121 people who were qualified to apply for the nursing major this semester, only nine were male. Five of the men were accepted along with 59 females. Over the last four semesters, 224 students have been admitted to the major, with only 23 being male.
Susanne Olsen, associate professor in the marriage, family and human development major, said the male to female ratio in her classes is usually pretty constant with 10 to 15 percent male enrollment. ?The only thing I can think of as a possible reason is that it?s a liberal arts degree where there are no set jobs out there for the males,? Olsen said. ?A major like engineering has a set job after graduation.?
Olsen said she didn?t think the males in the liberal arts majors were taking those classes to meet women.
Shirley Klein, chair for the Department of Home and Family Living, said the reason for less male enrollment is post-college work.
?Our major doesn?t have a direct path to a wage job,? Klein said. ?It?s as good of a social science degree, but people will train you once you get the job.?
Klein?s department began last fall and has since doubled in size to about 400 students. Out of the 400, about 99 percent are female.
?It makes sense that the major appeals more towards a woman,? Klein said. ?The notion of homemaking has always been a female thing because they decorate the home.?
Another reason, she said, for a female dominated major is because of the LDS Church?s perspective of the home and family.
?I don?t apologize,? Klein said. ?The family proclamation says the woman?s role is as a nurturer and the male?s is to provide.?
Society has placed past misconceptions on the role of the male to only outside the home, but once children are introduced, there is a balance of home life between both parties, she said.
?It?s considered not cool to have a home as your main focus,? Klein said. ?But with women and children it?s tough to pull it all together. You can have it all but not all at once.?
Klein said she expects to see more male enrollment once the courses become more rigorous.
?Our job is to help people remember the importance of home life and protect it,? Klein said. ?It?s special and sacred and yours, but you have to claim it.?
Although some males are making the jump into female-oriented majors, the trend at BYU doesn?t look like nursing or family living will be male dominated in the next few years.
