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Gender Issues in American Society

Miedzian, Myriam. Boys Will Be Boys. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

In the book Boys Will Be Boys, Myriam Miedzian examines issues of gender in American society, specifically with an eye to analyzing why boys in America turn to violence so often in contemporary society. The subtitle is "Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence," suggesting that the book will show ways of altering the usual connection seen between being male and being violent.

The author finds that what we call male behavior is accepted in society as the norm, as if males were violent by nature and so had to act out certain rituals as part of their genetic heritage. The differences between the genders were considered set and were fully accepted for much of our history, but the women's movement and the civil rights movement challenged many of the basic assumptions about people and how they were to be divided. This brought about a reexamination and a reconsideration that is ongoing. However, as the author also notes, there has still been a lack of focus on violence as a male problem, and instead, theorists tend to see human beings as a group as violent, focusing on aggression in society rather than on male aggression as such. One reason for this, though, is that male behavior is seen to be the norm for the human community, showing a gender bias that is pervasive.

The author addresses criticisms he believes would be leveled at him for suggesting a change so that we would be raising a nation of "wimps" rather than "real men." Patriotism in America has long been associated with manhood and masculinity, and inherent in this is the idea that patriotism means the ability to wage war. The author sees a danger in such a one-dimensional perspective, and indeed it contributes to a war-like stance.

The author finds that this all derives from a view that males are born with a certain predisposition toward violent behavior. As a group, males are mor...

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Gender Issues in American Society. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:53, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1694708.html