A child’s early learning
(not limited to educational learnings) and early experiences greatly influence
their emotional, cognitive, and social development. Gender socialization begins
taking place long before a child even reaches their academic career. The common
stereotypical differences in gender are enforced almost immediately after
birth. The pink blanket given to the girls and the blue blanket given to the
boys. These small almost minute classifications create a huge impact in
limiting a child choice and demolishing certain ideas about gender before they
could even be explored, understood, and applied. Toys for boys tend to be associated with words
like power, battle, hero, and victory whereas the words associated with girls
are love, pretty, babies, and mom (Men and Masculinity). Boys in their
adolescence feel pressured to act in society’s view of masculine in order to
fit all of these hegemonic ideals, through their distance from femininity and feminine
ideas such as emotions, weaknesses, and open vulnerability.
These ideals also
influence aggressiveness and anger as the only acceptable emotions to be
expressed. It pushes boys to be seen as highly sexual and to prove ones
heterosexuality. (Men and Masculinity) Barbara Martin states “Children learn
and show development of gender identity as an ongoing process, based on social
situations. Many things can play a large role in demonstrating the preferred
actions and behavior of young boys in early childhood. The male role is also
reinforced by observing older boys and reactions of authority figures,
including parents and teachers.” (Children at Play)
A “Boy Crisis” in our
society shows
that boys are struggling throughout elementary and secondary school with more
disciplinary referrals, higher ADD diagnoses, an increase in suspension rates, declining
academic interest, and a large increase in high school dropouts. Many believe that this is due to the huge
impact media has on our patriarchal society. Negative male role models and the
notion that intellectualism is uncool for boys, keeping them more focused on
physical appearance and or being likeable rather than educated. Two researchers
at Minnesota State University, Anne E. Blackhurst and Richard W. Auger, discuss
the Medias glorification on sports and risky behavior with very little emphasis
on academic achievement and career goals. This explains the increasing numbers
of boys who aspire to be professional athletes and possible reasoning as to why
more males end up in prison. The researchers state “This emphasis on celebrity
and wealth may inhibit career development by preventing boys from formulating
realistic, long-range career plans. In the absence of such plans, boys may be
particularly susceptible to the lure of other forms of ‘fast money,’ including
criminal activity. Ironically, boys are also more likely to choose blue-collar
jobs, which—despite their lower status—provide short-term economic benefits
that seem more obvious and attractive than the
The Man box is the
perfect example of masculine socialization. The Man box contains the socially
valued expectations (some even refer to them as obligations and or roles) that
men must follow in order to feel incorporated with peers, role models, and even
social circles. This pushes on strength, athletics, sexual drive, and
aggression. The Man box card becomes so important that it minimizes and even
dismisses the violence, anger, and clear violence being directed at women and
even other men (A Call to Men). In the United States one in five women will be
raped at one point in their lives. Ninety-one percent of victims of reported
rapes and sexual assault cases are female and eighty-one percent of women report
significant impacts (short and long term) such as Post-traumatic stress
disorder (Statistics about sexual violence). The Center for Disease Control
says that men’s violence against women is at epidemic proportion. It is the
number one health concern for this country. This trend in violent acts stems
from the notion of overcompensated aggression and sexual drive and how it has
to be emphasized in order to be considered a man. Because of this a lot of time
you're faced with situations where a man might resort to baseless violence to
protect his false image of manhood from any real public attacks launched on
their stature. Society is known to project damaging standards, and the
perversion, contortion, and falsification of masculinity is no different.
This narrow constructed
definition on manhood has had major destructive consequences, not only on women
but on men themselves. This has led to major psychological barriers, violent
outbreaks, sexual assaults, academic disinterest and so much more. The current
status quo for manhood can only guide
society, and men in particular, down a primitive path to a future with
malignant and unjustifiable social inclinations.
Sources
"A Call to
Men." Tony Porter:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?language=en#t-601679>.
"Facts about Sexual
Violence." PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. Statistics about Sexual
Violence. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf>.
Laemmle, J. 2013. "Barbara martin: Children at
play: Learning gender in the early years". Journal of Youth and
Adolescence 42(2), 305-307.
"Men and Masculinities." Women and Gender
Advocacy Center. Colorado State University, n.d. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.wgac.colostate.edu/men-and-masculinities
"The [New] Gender Divide in American Higher
Education:" A (Possible) "Crisis of Masculinity" N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~halto20m/classweb/gendergap/possible_crisis_of_masculinity.html>.
Vagianos, Alanna. "30 Shocking Domestic Violence
Statistics That Remind Us It's An Epidemic." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/domestic-violence-statistics_n_5959776.html>.
