Kimmel
makes really good points on trying to explain why men in “general” are more aggressive and I
have to agree that it’s not biology (testosterone) to blame is the environment boys are raised
and how can really shaped their lives. One of his quotes is “There is no
question that there’s a boy crisis. Virtually all the books cite the same statistics:
boys are four to five times likely to kill themselves than girls, four times
more likely to be diagnose as emotionally disturbed, three times more likely to
be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and 15 times more likely to be
victims of violent crimes”. (pg. 1).But why is this happening? It is alarming seeing that all these
characteristics are applied to boys because as we all know that each person is
different regardless of their gender or beliefs. It’s all about social
construction boys unfortunately are thought not to show or express their
feelings and emotions “that is a sign of weakness”, the famous phrase “boys don’t
cry”. This horrible thing to do to a child everyone should be able get their
feeling out; it’s the best way to take care of oneself and your overall wellbeing. Girls are socialized to be less aggressive than boys are.
In connection girls are supervised more closely than boys are. Males are more
likely to display physical aggression, while females display relational
aggression.
Females fear that anger will harm
relationships, and males are encouraged to react to anger with moral outrage;
in addition to blaming other's for their discomforts. Females are also more
likely than a male to be targets of sexual abuse and physical abuse.
The
"boys" part has a kind of a sexist connotation, it implies that boys
will be mischievous, childish, and wild and there's no use trying to change or
deny this innate tendency. (“Boys will be boys”) as if they can't control their
actions. So, not only should we accept their negative behavior, we should sigh
& smile knowingly & appreciate that their misbehavior is actually part
of their charming "male" personality.
We as society are ok with this
concept. Kimmel makes the reference of some books written by Gurian and Biddulph
that are blaming “feminist” for the “boy crisis”. Kimmel concludes that they
are “the real male bashers”. “Feminists imagine, and demand, that men (and
boys) can do better. Feminism offers the possibility of a new boyhood and a new
masculinity bases on a passion for justice, a love of equality, and the
expression of full range of feelings”. (pg. 3.). This great way to see feminism, it’s all
about individuality and equality.