• Some research suggests that it is not inherently true that "normal adolescent boys" are naturally aggressive, withdrawn and emotionally unexpressive. More importantly, there needs to be an increasing awareness that many parents and schools support these types of behaviors in the belief that they are necessary for male success, and in fear of hindering the development of "normal" masculinity.

• Boys are more likely than girls to have discipline/behavior problems; to be diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Disorder; to be placed in special education; and to be involved in violent crimes. For example, boys constitute 71% of school suspensions.

• Boys in high school are much more likely to be involved with crimes and violence on school property than are girls. Three times as many boys as girls carry weapons to school; twice as many have experienced being threatened or injured with weapons at school; and twice as many boys have been in physical fights at school. In general, African American and Latino boys are more likely than other boys to be involved with crime and violence on school property.

• Boys are seriously underdiagnosed for depression. Studies also show that traditionally macho attitudes are linked to greater depression.

• Males, in general, have limited definitions of masculinity available to them. This definition is usually confined to such behaviors as competition, repression of fear and emotions, and strength, both physically and emotionally. Boys of color and those of lower economic status tend to encounter fewer alternatives for defining their masculinity than do white boys and those of higher economic status.

• As a result of the limited range of definitions available for masculinity, boys tend to define themselves in opposition to others, either as non-female, non-homosexual, or anti-authority (i.e. schools, parents). Adolescent boys, in particular, see female behavior as non-acceptable.

• Eighth grade boys and girls use substances at about the same rate. However, as teenagers get older, the disparity between boys and girls increases. Both boys and girls smoke cigarettes at about the same rate, with boys smoking slightly more. during that same period, 7% more senior boys than girls used marijuana; 8% more used alcohol; and nearly 14% more report binge drinking.

• The range of affiliations available to boys are very limited; they are generally competitive models defined by winning or losing (ie. organized sports and athletics). The impact of this paradigm is that we have very few acceptable markers of malehood and, therefore, emotional connections become unsafe and threatening to masculinity.

• Are You a Buddy or a Bully? Poster
• It's Your Right! (full-text available on-line, click here)
• Forthcoming: What Do Boys Talk About? How Adolescent Boys Affiliate

Gurian, Michael. The Wonder of Boys. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1996.

Kantrowitz, Barbara and C. Kalb. "Boys Will Be Boys." Newsweek. May 11, 1998, 54-60.

Moore, Joan (1991) Going Down to the Barrio: Homeboys and Homegirls in Change. ERIC Document 393622.

Osborne, Jason. (1997) "Race and Academic Disidentification." Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(4).

Pollack, William. Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. New York: Random House, 1998.

Sadker, David and Myra Sadker. "The Miseducation of Boys." Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994, 197-225.

Silverstein, Olga and Beth Roshbaum. The Courage to Raise Good Men. New York: Viking Press, 1994.

Gary Gool
American Psychological Association (APA)
The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
(573) 882-3084

Publication titled Gender Justice: Boys Speak Out
(718) 283-2506 or 283-2461.

New Journal from Sage Publications: Men and Masculinities -- editor, Michael Kimmel, State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Nan Stein
Wellesley Centers for Women