How many times have you heard, “man up,” or “be a man.” The chances are you have heard this any times as boys or men always want to be the “man.” Masculinity is defined as, “the quality, state, or degree of being masculine or manly,” (Merrian-Webster.com). Masculinity is something that everyone has heard of, but where does these ideas come from? While I have been writing my unit 2 essay, I have realized that for men the idea of masculinity is introduced to him as a boy. While he is young, the parents (usually the father) will teach their son on how a man should act and behave. While I do believe that parenting plays a major role in the development of children, there needs to be change in the teachings of masculinity of young boys.
Traditionally masculinity teaches boys that they need to be firm on their decisions and suppress their emotions. While many may not see a problem with this, studies from the APA (American Psychological Association) have shown that traditional teachings of masculinity teaches men to engage in hostile and unhealthy behaviors. While this study overall is very new, it shows how destructive the traditional teachings of masculinity can be.
Moving forward people should try to stop teaching traditional masculinity and let children develop into who they want to be. Although it is important to teach children basic morals and teachings, it is also very important to figure out who they want to be. As I have grown up in the west coast, I have noticed that these teachings of how to be a man are very different than my friends who have grown up in the mid-west. Though I do not believe there is any correct way to teach masculinity, I do think there needs to be a stop into teaching bad habits to young men.