There are many ways to be a boy
Many serves to encourage healthy standards and expectations for young children of all genders.
Many serves to encourage healthy standards and expectations for young children of all genders.
The first messages we receive about masculinity are in early childhood. We learn from a young age that men are expected to be stoic and invulnerable, but this often leads to mental health issues and struggles with violence. The media is full of these messages, and young children need the guidance of parents to help them understand what they are seeing, hearing, and feeling. Parents and caregivers have the awesome responsibility of nurturing kindness and healthy personal expression into the future.
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Boys learn what it means to be a man from family and peers. Ideas about approved behaviors and modes of thought are focused on and supported by media messages. Bravery, adventurousness, and strength, for example, are all "manly" traits that are usually encouraged. Media images supporting these behaviors include the strong, silent Marlboro man and military ads. At the same time, males are discouraged from pursuing many positive traits that are perceived as unmanly.
