How Boys Become Men Essay

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,

While boys focus more on status in conversation, girls tend to concentrate on emotional connection and sympathetic sameness. Early on, boys tend to realize that there is always going to be a dominant position and a subordinate position in communication. Because of this, boys will aim to be the dominating person, or at least not the subordinate. This can be seen in competitive games where little boys try to outdo each other by saying that they have or that they are the best. When these same boys grow up, this importance of status becomes embedded into their heads so that

In this case society wants men to become better looking and masculine. This connects to the term “ The Great Set Up” discussed in the film The Mask You Live In. From the earliest age boys are told to “ Be a man!” “ Stop with the emotion!” and “ Man up!”. Boys are made to wear a mask that separates who they are from who they have to pretend to be to the world, and that creates a toxic culture. The content of the films suggest that masculinity is a cultural creation. Society’s standards changes boys to conform to a hyper-masculine

This is also influenced to boys by their fathers when they are growing up. Kids see what is happening around them and they are like sponges once they see something they will soak it up. So when a father is being demanding to a mother then their kid is soaking it up and later on in life the kid will us it on any women that might enter his life. This is an example as of how young boys get the idea to be stronger than a women. Boys also might be the same way with their mom but the mom will see it and hopefully tell them that it’s not a good thing to do to a women. Kids are growing up and noticing what they are doing but still do not want to change their ways because they think it is

Men need to understand that being a stereotypical masculine figure doesn't mean that they need to always be strong and powerful. Shakespeare explains through his work that being a stereotypical man is actually unhealthy and will lead to dire consequences. In today's society men should model their approach at life more like Macduff and Ross who know to show emotion, and less like Macbeth who only wants to assert his dominance in every situation. The play Macbeth, and the documentary The Mask You Live In, both stress that being a real man means to be a leader, show true emotions, and protect what matters most to

While it is normally considered acceptable for women to be feminine and show their sensitive side, if a guy does this, he will often be made fun of. I think this is a good example of patriarchy within our society – being a strong alpha male is considered a good thing, and being feminine and sensitive is considered weak and bad. I watched an interesting documentary last year in my psychology class about toxic masculinity and the affect it has on boys even at a young age. In many traditional families, parents teach their boys to toughen up or “man up” if they are hurt, instead of allowing them to be emotional. Boys often feel as though they have to constantly be tough and brave, and are not allowed to show any type of emotion because it is considered weak. This is extremely toxic behavior to teach young children, and often causes issues as the child grows up. All children should be taught that they should be free to express themselves however they want, regardless of their

The title of the story “Boys”, by Rick Moody, is quite misleading. Although this is a story about boys, one often denotes that term to necessarily be referring to maleness. This story though, is lacking quite a bit of maleness and masculinity. As we see these two “boys” grow up in life, they lack the ability to grow into proper men, but rather stay as boys, at best. The boys are unable to become men, due to the women in their life limiting them to a feminine nature, and only when everyone in their life is gone are the boys able to grow into real men.

For good or for worse, young boys have continuously been shaped in history to suppress any femininity. Yes, centuries ago this was a very helpful trait seeing how wars were being waged and exploration was at its height, but like anything times have changed. Increases in feminist and LGBTQ movements have given men the ability to fully embrace who they really are, yet times have not caught up to this fact. Men continue to put on a façade for one another that inhibit them. Behind closed doors, men are fully able to embrace their true selves, but the moment they are confronted with other males, the battle of machismo begins:

In the article "How Boys Become Men," Jon Katz gives us some examples to explain why men grow up to be insensitive. Katz points out that boy are supposed to learn how to handle things by themselves and hide their weakness and tears. Boys always pressured to be tough and not allowed showing any emotions and fears. Boys ' growing up experiences has prepared their adulthoods, all the attitudes and behaviors. I agree with Katz that boys learn from other boys. However, I believe the most important idea of how boys become men is how adults treat and teach boys different from girls. In addition, boys are hearing messages that they need to be strong and tough from adults even though they are just babies. This might be the main problem that causes

The boys believe that men are better than women, and they should do as men

Charles kanneh Analysis How boys become men. How boys become men is a typical story addressing problems in society from a man's point of view. The author states valid points that answer some questions the reader may have about why men act the way they do, The author gave self experience to give a better idea of the story, Jon katz gave different circumstances, and how men and women have different viewpoints. These reasons are why I'm supporting this essay.

They will eventually learn that it’s only cool to be happy or angry, and that talking down to your male friends is fun. However, the most important lesson about being a man that I learned was how to treat a lady. I saw how my father was with my mom, and I loved my mom so much, I knew she didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I learned to treat a woman you care about the way you want your mom to be treated, with calmness, affection, and love. This is a value that most “men” are missing, and it should be taught by the

The role of males in society has consistently changed throughout the years. Males, from an early age, learn the differences in masculine and feminine characteristics. The gender differences that exist in regard to socially acceptable have historical implications as heteronormative and gendered values are passed down between generations. This paper will examine the ways in which different countries socialize males as they learn the proper notion of performing masculinity. The paper also discusses the mechanisms of how gender expectations manifest themselves and how they are forced upon males in different countries. The discourse surrounding masculinity as a learned social phenomenon is important as it holds strong implications for the influence

All of these traits can be used in productive ways, and in this way young boys can learn from male role models and become future leaders in government, school, and business. If men are brought up believing masculinity is only toxic, they may be hesitant to adopt any male qualities at all. To prevent this, “we should stop trying to re-engineer the human soul to prevent boys from being boyish” (Newell 3). Stopping young boys from playing competitively, showing independence, or being decisive can be harmful to them in the future. If parents try to prevent competitiveness in their sons, they may not be ambitious later in life which can stop them from being goal-oriented or even competitive in school-life. Decisiveness in males is often seen as harmful in this Millenial generation; however, if parents of the generation known as the Baby Boomers had tried to take this quality away from their sons, would we have had William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack H. Obama, or even Donald J. Trump? Decision-making is important in today’s times, especially since businesses are focusing on finding employees who have future leader qualities. So by discouraging boys from some innate qualities, parents may be harming their children’s future characteristic development,and even harming the future of the

There is a common misconception that men don’t go through the pressures that society enforces on them. Young boys learn how they should act and look,