Here's A Shock for Women

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The problem is, these guys are stepping into no man's land. Literally. The sorority of soccer moms can be every bit as formidable and exclusionary as the good ol' boys network at work. "I never get invited over to coffee," says Sueltz. "Forget about it. It isn't going to happen." The men get funny looks at Safeway at 10 a.m. Their presence is a disconnect at the PTA. At the playground they hear lots of unsolicited advice. Robert Fitts, the archaeologist, recalls one mother admonishing him because his son wasn't wearing a sweater. "Some of it is truly good-natured, and some of it is very snippy," he says. It has an undercurrent of "Who do you think you are?... You don't belong here." One at-home man finally figured out why his male neighbors treated him with such suspicion. "They thought I was going to steal their wives," he says.