| Subject: The Boy Code and Masculine Ideology |
Author:
Carolyn Brown
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Date Posted: 11:47:46 03/30/08 Sun
I selected my Unit 8 Reflection Question 7 because of a discussion we had in class about how adolescent males behave in school with bullying and other aggressive behaviors. I come from a predominantly boy family, have all sons, and one grandson, so I figured I knew something about boys. Two researchers, William S. Pollack and Joseph H. Pleck, studied issues of masculinity that affect adolescent males, the boy code, the behavior expectations, and masculine ideology, the societal norms and interactions required of males. Boys are taught a code from infancy to shake it off; to talk, walk, dress, and act certain ways; to avoid crying behind mama’s apron strings; to play with male toys; and to engage in male oriented activities. In traditional society, men should be strong, virile, in control, aggressive, and competitive. They should not cry, show emotion or weakness, be sissified, or reveal pain, but in sub-cultures of the main culture, variations of the masculine ideology might readily accept other features, such as musical, artistic, or feminine traits or responsibilities. The masculine ideology is shaped by specific cultural contexts, so black boys in New Orleans’ French Quarter and Hispanic boys in Memphis’ Raleigh-Egypt region internalize different standards of acceptable male behavior.Pleck was concerned about the conflict that existed between what society expected of males and what an individual male personally expected of and for himself. Male behavioral issues, such as abuse, risky sexual behavior, educational difficulties, and legal difficulties were more prevalent among adolescent males who rated high in this traditional masculine ideology. Young black males in Memphis’ Raleigh-Egypt region shun feminine responsibilities and attributes, resist admitting what they do not know, and embrace an aggressive sexual posture.
Boys learn what is acceptable of them by the time they reach middle school, a time when critical biological, emotional, and social changes also occur. Peer pressures, physical comparisons of body image, personal fable, bullying, and teasing reinforce the lessons of the boy code.
The masculine mask that Pollack studied as the boy code and the internalized male socialization processes that Pleck examined as the masculine ideology have negative impacts for the full emotional development of male adolescents. Both Pollack and Pleck are alarmed by the negative impacts and failings of the accepted way we teach boys to be boys and men to be men.
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