It’s Dangerous to Be a Boy article review

It’s Dangerous to Be a Boy article review

In the article “It’s Dangerous to Be a Boy,” Michael Reichert describes the challenges faced by the boys when growing up. He highlights some of the activities which expose them to danger compared to their female counterparts. Some of these activities include smoking and fighting. The author begins by giving a narration of his paternalistic duties and how the ancient impulses hijack him in-home Philadelphia. He describes how his son is attacked by his elder peers when they were playing games. The boys reject his son and leave him out of the games as well as taunting him. These activities make his son have a feeling of rejection and desperation, making him trudge home with lots of disappointment. Michael tries to bolster his son’s confidence by pressing him to visit the playground continuously. He tries to train his son to be hard and learn how to fight his own battles. As a result, he dares his son that he should only come into his house after he settles the problems as a way of trying to instill the quality of perseverance. His son’s humiliation continues to become frantic which makes him scream and cry loudly

Later, the boy grows to be a strong man who leans to persevere problems and override his pains. He rises to a fine man who joins the teaching profession. Michael continues to highlight that that specific act is predictable since boys are more likely to immerse themselves in violence and bullying compared to girls.

He concludes that male children are more likely to be involved in physical fights and victims of violence compared to girls. He highlights three types of abuse that are men to indulge. These are violence against women, violence against other men and violence against themselves. However, the coins that these types of abuse are very critical in describing a real man. According to Michael, preschool boys dramatically adapt to the cultural cues which can be defined by the way they dress, play with their peers, and the way they conform to the parenthood roles. Another researcher captures how elementary school boys brutally punish other boys who fail to comply with their set standards. They have a feeling of shame when one of their peers betrays them.

The article further explores the relationship between masculine norms and social misconduct. A study involving 18- to 30-year-old men from US., Mexico, and Britain reveals that most young men subscribing to traditional gender identities are unhappier and prone to bullying. Sadly, a large percentage of them blame their parents as the source of the restrictive cues. Albert Bandura highlights that boys are not born with a tendency towards violence. Instead, the aggressiveness behavior emerges as a result of socialization with peers who lack physical discipline, and disdain for weakness. The extent to which young men and adolescent boys abuse tobacco, alcohol, drive recklessly, and engage in riskier sex compared to girls is not surprising. These behaviors can be rooted in their violence during their childhood. The author highlights that the intensity of the risks associated with masculinity can also result from racism and poverty. These barriers can prevent boys from surviving to manhood.

Even though the masculine gender faces a lot of challenges and risks throughout their entire life, one cannot regret being born as a boy, as the author highlights. I have a feeling that both genders face equal dangers when exposed to a similar environment during their upbringing. Violence is not inborn but instead acquired during the growth cycle. Therefore, parents have a significant role in ensuring that their children are morally upright and are not free from exposure to violent activities. They should train their children to persevere to life challenges so that they can grow healthy. However, parents should protect their children from bullying and other types of harassment to build their confidence. I am convinced that being born as a boy is fun as one has a feeling of exposure to physical and psychological hardships, which strengthens one’s quality of perseverance. Boys enjoy a lot of privileges compared to girls. For instance, I recall how I learned to drive at my early teen.  I grasped the skills very fast only after few driving sessions with my dad. In contrast, my elder sister knew how to drive when she was at the age of 24. She fears facing challenges, which has made her very emotional. Her emotions are triggered very quickly by anger, feelings, and any little disappointment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/opinion/sunday/boys-men-violence.html