Formal Reference Tools On Young People

A boy longs for connection at the same time he feels the need to pull away, and this opens up an emotional divide. This struggle between his need for connection and his desire for autonomy finds different expression as a boy grows. But, regardless of their age, most boys are ill-prepared for the challenges along the road to becoming an emotionally healthy adult. Whatever role biology plays (and that role is by no means clear) in the ways boys are characteristically different from girls in their emotional expression, those differences are amplified by a culture that supports emotional development of girls and discourages it for boys. Stereotypical notions of masculine toughness deny a boy his emotional resources. We call this process,

The confident assertions that Nancy Lesko provides in regards to adolescent culture from prior to 1996 show the view of adolescent culture or category as per the attribute theory as a set of knowable attributes:

In this article, “Boys will be Boys,” Barbara Kantrowitz and Claudia Kalb are exploring the difference of psychological and sociological developments in girls and boys during their different age periods. In the beginning of the article, Kantrowitz and Claudia points out that both girls and boys are coming from two different planets and they have two different turning points in their economic and social development. Both the authors provides with an example that boys are emotionally weaker than girls. A study that took place in Children’s Hospital in Boston found that when the baby boys are unhappy they use to cry loud, whereas the girls will suck their thumbs when they are unhappy. From this study, the researchers found that girls are able

The literary pieces, Bad Boy and “I Was A Skinny Tomboy Kid”, are similar and different in many ways. Both present common themes that girls and boys are expected to have certain roles. Girls are expected to play with dolls, wear dresses, and care about makeup. Boys play sports, hate books and schooling. As a child, it’s hard to be yourself and show your true colors. Being different is quite difficult. Everyone is expected to be this way or that way, we are all special and unique.

In Guyland, Michael Kimmel chronicles the journey of young males and the issues they face while trying to exert their masculinity and prove themselves to their peers. Based on interactions among North American males between the ages of 16 and 26, Kimmel has found that at an age where young men had previously prepped for a life of work and committed relationships, they are now living in “Guyland” where they spend their time drinking, playing video games, and having immature relations with women. Kimmel explains that these young men are “frighteningly dependent on peer culture” and “desperate to prove their masculinity in the eyes of other boys.” (30) These young men live in constant fear that they will not measure up to the ideals of

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

1. In “Many Boys Today Define Masculinity Negatively”, the author Leonard Sax writes about how the meaning of masculinity has become redefined in a negative way. Sax states that the phrase “Be a man!” didn’t always mean to not be feminine, the phrase originally meant to be courteous, respectful, and competent. The original intention of this phrase to have boys emulate the wholesome family men in popular culture but in recent years the men portrayed in pop culture have become less principled. This change in role models has led masculinity to be seen as a negative aspect in society today. Sax believes that the best solution for this issue is to give young boys the guidance they need by connecting them with gentlemen from past generations who actually learned what it meant to be a man.

By now, you've probably heard there's a "war against boys" in America. The latest heavily-hyped right-wing fusillade against feminism, led by Christina Hoff Sommers's new book of that title, claims that men are now the second sex and that boys--not girls--are the ones who are in serious trouble, the "victims" of "misguided" feminist efforts to protect and promote girls' development. At the same time, best-selling books by therapists, like William Pollack's Real Boys and Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson's Raising Cain, also sound the same tocsin, warning of alarming levels of depression and suicide among boys, and describing boys' interior lives as an emotionally barren

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.” (Golding). This line comes from the book Lord of The Flies a book about a group of boys stranded trying to create a colony, and all of the troubles they face. A number of the troubles they actually face come from their own doing, arising because of the way that they learned to behave very “masculinely.” The boys are all trying to appear dominant and repress their emotions so they don't look weak or feminine to the other boys, much like how men in today's culture try to do. So, what would happen if boys were brought up in a more supportive and less harsh culture? Would men appear more communicative and open to their emotions, or would they stay the same? Boys and men growing and maturing in today's society should not be pressured into suppressing emotions and killing all semi-feminine parts about themselves.

The boy code has been around for many generations, passed down from father to son, like a family heirloom. It is cherished and use to make boys into men. As boys grow up they are taught that it is not ok to cry and not to show any emotion unless he is fighting for his manhood. Boys are raised with shame and a certain type of sadist way. A father’s responsibility to his son is to raise him to be a man. Sensitivity and weakness is not allowed but, if he slips up and cries, he may be shamed and may come to fear the repercussions. The things that a boy may hear are “man up”, “quit crying”, “quit being a sissy” and “unless you want a reason to cry you better shut up”. No a days instead of building them up males are treated like they must put their emotions in a box, locked away and never used in any situation.

So what's the point of guy code affecting boys? I think most boys know the feeling of being left behind from the pack; when not being able to keep up in masculinity. Although they want to change the rules of guy code, they can't because all males take part in it and continue to build off on who is more superior. Naturally, I think it's a natural instinct and males can't help but compete in wanting to be more masculine than one

Growing up is a naturally occurring life process that a young boy cannot avoid, and while growing up the pressures of growing into the expectations already set for them can be a lot. In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” David Sedaris states that when boys involve themselves in feminine related activities they don’t please the masculine idea that is set for them. This same idea is represented in the documentary “Raising Cain” where young boys are pressured with the idea of being more of a masculine character than a feminine character. In both of these texts, they put on view the troubles young boys have while growing up to fit into the masculine form already molded for them.

Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School by C. J. Pascoe Introduction In this California high school, that Pascoe call River High, there is a small-scale society just like every other high school. Dude, You’re a Fag focuses on describing how the society “construct adolescent masculinity through idioms of sexuality”(4). Various aspects of the society like political system, race, stratification, and family help shape the minds of these teenagers. Many aspects of the society influence, and intersect with each other.

In our society, there are norms of what is considered to be feminine and what is to be considered masculine, but how are these norms constructed? Through the use of toys, books, and clothing, children are socialized into their “appropriate” gender. These objects provide influence over behavior and appearance, showing boys and girls what is appropriate for each gender. After some investigation it was found that the toys, books, and clothing that children use not only foster the norms of gender behavior and appearance, but also construct gender roles in their young minds.

Stories of teenage years and coming-of-age have always enrapt children, teens, and adults alike. But why do they? These groups share virtually none of the same interests, and reside in very different emotional levels of life. In every other form of media, these groups can scarcely coexist—the prospect of watching Power Rangers for the six hundredth time would make any parent blanch, and the thought of their four year old asking to borrow his parents’ copy of The Canterbury Tales is laughable. And surely no other age group would condemn themselves so deeply to internet culture than teens. Coming of age stories, however, are the exception. Nadine Gordimer beautifully explains this phenomenon in her short story “A Company of Laughing Faces”.