Windy Sizemore
Post 1 Being an educator, it is important to understand the roles of gender in the educational setting. Pollack (2002) specifies three myths and truths common to male gender. I was struck with the realization of how prevalent and tainted these common myths are as I read: Boys will be boys, Boys should be boys, and Boys are toxic. I have personally used the phrase boys will be boys and have referred to the excess of testosterone in misbehaving boys as a mother of two boys and an educator of many through the last 16 years. Based on Pollack’s (2002) research of boy behaviors that type of thinking is a myth. In fact, he states “The level of testosterone in any boy- and the way that testosterone affects him- has less impact on his behavior than how the boy is loved, nurtured, and shaped by his parents…” (p. 92). The myth boys should be boys can be just as hurtful. Boys that are not rough “enough” or tough “enough” are left feeling ashamed for not being like other boys according to Pollack (2002). Pollack’s findings and explanations have left me to question my own beliefs and actions as they relate to the expectations of the male gender.
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Gurian’s (2002) findings cite brain differences in males and females as the reason for generalized behaviors such as boys being more aggressive, more active, and more sexually driven, just to name a few. To some degree it would seem that to accede to this theory is to go back to “Boys will be boys” mentality accepting that boys cannot help their bad behaviors as they are driven to act irrationally based on how their male brain
·Historical Information About The Period Of Publication: In 1992, the most prominent occasion that may have impacted the plot of this book is serial executioner Jeffrey Dahmer's conceding however crazy for the homicide of fifteen young men and young fellows. This attracts a parallel to the vanishings and murders that happen in Lost Boys.
The War Against Boys is the story of our cultural attack on the modern male. Twenty-first century men are looked down-upon, laughed at, and many times emasculated in our day-to-day lives. In her book, Christina Hoff Sommers does an excellent job reminding us that men are responsible for a lot of good in the world: “This book tells the story of how it has become fashionable to attribute pathology to millions of healthy male children. It is a story of how we are turning against boys and forgetting a simple truth: that the energy, competitiveness, and corporal daring of normal, decent males is responsible for much of what is right in the word.” Our culture has promoted a skewed view; most people believe that women are treated unfairly, that
William Pollack, in his article “Inside the World of Boys: Behind the Mask of Masculinity”, discusses on how boy tries to hide behind the mask and the stereotypical of masculinity. He demonstrates how boy hide their deepest though and feelings and real self. Pollack open the essay with “a fourteen-year-old boy, he is doing badly in school and he might fail algebra, but when teacher or his parent ask about it, he said everything is just fine. He hide his true identity behind the mask, and let no one see his true self.” After read the story, I think the story is really useful source to write an essay about how boy become men and they are emotionless.
The story of Inside the World of Boys by William Pollack brings the attention to us that the boys often suffer from low-self esteem, in large part due to “the boy code”, the unspoken rules that compel them to feel they need to hide their emotions and keep them from exposure. In effect, “the boy code” causes the problem of gender gap between boys and girls in academic performances. I choose this essay because I am concerned with how “the boy code” raises the gender gap between boys and girls in their academic performances and how our societies often underestimate all emotional needs of boys. This story is not only a story but also is a research paper of Pollack which is supported by his research results and statistics. The background story of Adam and his personal conversation with his mother make this story so fascinating and touching. It brings a social message to parents, school, and societies.
In an excerpt from his book, Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, which was first published in 2008, sociologist Michael Kimmel shows us how the teaching of masculinity in America begins to form at a very young age and goes far into adulthood. He focuses on how boys are molded from a young age to be men, by forms of harassment, teasing, and peer pressure from parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and society. In this specific essay, Kimmel explains the pressures young boys experience and the expectations as they grow into manhood. Kimmel vividly describes men who are pressured by their own peers to prove their masculinity. Furthermore, there is a relentless sense of having to show ones ' 'manly ' ' behavior. Masculinity is expected, and needs to be shown in-front of others at all times. For most men, being able to do
Boys think that they must put on a persona that they are tough and no one can hurt them. I agree with the author that the boys are forced to hide their emotions and fears that’s why men become insensitive. Because the most important factor of how boys become tough men is how adults treat and teach them differently from girls. The boys start hearing messages that they need to be strong and tough from adults since they are just babies. I think this is the main problem that causes men to be insensitive and emotionalist. However, it is their parents, society, and everyone around them who affect the boys to become the men that they should be. If people treat boys same as how they treat the girls, I guess men will act the same way as
The participants in this study included a total of 36 boys and 36 girls ranging in age from 3 years to almost 6 years. The average age of the children was 4 years, and 4 months. The control group consisted of 24 children, who would not be exposed to any model. The rest of the 48 children were divided into two groups: one group was exposed to aggressive models and the other group was exposed to nonaggressive models. These groups were then divided again into males and females. They were then further divided so that half of the children were exposed to same-sex models and opposite-sex models. (Leaving 8 experimental groups and 1 control group.)
Throughout the book Pollack encourages parents to take time with their sons in helping them express their feelings while showing them empathy and love. Pollack discusses the ways parents can help their boys escape from the gender straightjacket that is imposed upon them. Pollack exposes myths that negatively portray boys as macho creatures shaped by testosterone with no social skills. He instead presents examples of boys who are emphatic as a result of nurturing parents and educates the reader to be aware that boys express their love through action and work. Pollack includes chapters regarding the different but equally important role of mothers and fathers in bringing up their sons.
‘Boys will be boys’, a phrase coined to exonerate the entire male sex of loathsome acts past, present, and potential. But what about the female sex, if females act out of turn they are deemed ‘unladylike’ or something of the sort and scolded. This double standard for men and women dates back as far as the first civilizations and exists only because it is allowed to, because it is taught. Gender roles and cues are instilled in children far prior to any knowledge of the anatomy of the sexes. This knowledge is learned socially, culturally, it is not innate. And these characteristics can vary when the environment one is raised in differs from the norm. Child rearing and cultural factors play a large role in how individuals act and see themselves.
Modernized views of marital roles have led many to believe that married couples who equally split household responsibilities are happier and more content, but research shows otherwise. Statistically, traditional marriages are less likely to end in divorce and actually show more contentment. A traditional marriage can be characterized as when a couple takes on specific gender roles that currently many people believe are outdated. The traditional role for the husband would include taking care of the financial aspect of the house and doing chores that are viewed as masculine such as yard work, car repairs, and paying the bills. The wife 's responsibilities would entail taking care of the home, raising the children, and chores that are viewed
As a child develops, their surroundings have a major influence on the rest of their lives; if boys are taught to “man up” or never to do something “like a girl”, they will become men in constant fear of not being masculine enough. Through elementary and middle school ages, boys are taught that a tough, violent, strong, in-control man is the ideal in society and they beat themselves up until they reach that ideal. They have to fit into the “man box” (Men and Masculinity) and if they do not fulfill the expectations, they could experience physical and verbal bullying from others. Not only are friends and family influencing the definition of masculine, but marketing and toys stretch the difference between a “boy’s toy” and a “girl’s toy”. Even as early as 2 years old, children learn to play and prefer their gender’s toys over the other gender’s (Putnam). When children grow up hearing gender stereotypes from everyone around them, especially those they love and trust like their parents, they begin to submit themselves and experience a loss of individuality trying to become society’s ideal. If everyone is becoming the same ideal, no one has a sense of self or uniqueness anymore and the culture suffers from
It is proven that the male and female brains differ, but can one prove that it affects the behavior? Many scientists would agree that ones behavior is determined by his/her gender. Although others are convinced that social conditioning is the cause for the differences between the male and female, it is very unlikely that biological differences play no role in behavior. The male and female brains differ not only by how they work, but also on the size. For example, Natalie Angier and Kenneth Chang, neuroscientists, have shown that the women’s brain is about 10 percent smaller than the male’s, on average, even after accounting for women’s comparatively smaller body size. Three brain differences that affect ones behavior are the limbic size, the corpus collosum size, and the amount of gray and white matter.
Sigmund Freud’s theory of masculinity lies with the presence of male genetalia and a concept that ‘anatomy is destiny’ (2013), leading to a biological determinism theory and this theory has been supported by Talcott Parsons (2013), a functionalist theorist. Parsons believes that alongside the natural element of gender identities, males and females have scripts attached to their sexes and that these scripts are learnt through appropriate socialisation. Parsons believes masculine roles are influenced onto boys through positive persuasive language for example ‘what a big strong boy you are’ (Bown, 2013). Raewyn Connell (2002) explains that typically boys are not expected or taught to take care of their appearance; however toughness and control are encouraged to be primary personality traits. Boys are enticed into competitive sports like football and basketball by a minimum of both school and media, with the promise of gai...
Leo, J. (2000). Brain Structure Explains Male/Female Differences. Male/female roles: opposing viewpoints (pp. 32-34). San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press.
Seligson, Susan. "Debunking Myth That Girls and Boys Learn Differently: COM prof’s book challenges “toxic” stereotypes." BU Today. 10 Jun 2011: n. page. Print. (JUXTAPOSITION)