I have lots of hopes and fears about raising a boy; chief among the fears are machismo, bullying, the draft, and strip clubs. I hope he will be respectful, honorable, nurturing, confident but humble, assertive but gentile. This will be a difficult task indeed given the current state of masculine culture, populated by the likes of Maxim, Grand Theft Auto, and 50 cent. When power, aggressiveness and dominance are valued above all else, the complexities of emotional experience and human connection can suffer, often resulting in alienation and hopelessness.
Maybe some of these books will help us navigate the way, now at the top of my “to read” pile:
Mothers and Sons: Feminism, Masculinity, and the Struggle to Raise Our Sons
Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Dude You’re a Fag; Masculinity and Sexuality in High School
Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture
While we’re at it, here are some more thoughts on this topic:
The Sopranos and the End of Masculinity
Depression Education Campaign Looks Beyond Machismo
Masculinity and Gender Violence
Masculinity from Wikipedia
Constructions of Masculinity in Disney movies
One Comment, Comment or Ping
I agree that it is an important topic. Thanks for the book list, there are a few there that I hadn’t heard of. I’ve written a few posts on the topic too:
Raising a Feminist: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2008/11/02/raising-a-feminist/
Bias Against Boys: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2008/07/12/bias-against-boys/
January 23rd, 2009
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