Adolescent boys who bind to stereotypically masculine characteristics are more likely to hurt others, and hurt themselves, a large study also found that overall, boys are in the minority.
Through the men’s project, 1,401 boys, girls and non-monthly adolescents aged 14 to 18 were surveyed about masculinity by the Jesuit Social Services (JSSIT).
It is known that those boys who most endorse the ideas about what they should understand to be “Manly” – to avoid the gay or girl who attacks someone; To view violent and indecent pornography; and revenge when rejected.
But the study, a young man box (Ambox), found that most do not endorse strict ideas of masculinity and that they look to real life models more than online ones.
Sign up: AU Breaking News Email
“There are many reasons for hope,” Mat Tyler, the executive director of the men’s project, said.
“I’ll start with girls. Girls reject these ideas. If you’re a heterosexual boy, that’s a pretty compelling pitch.
“Girls say they don’t want the alpha male…they want you to rock up as your true self and connect with boys who are bad ideas.
“The second reason for hope is that there are many boys, girls, non-prison teenagers who are under the pressure of these ideas but a much smaller number who endorse them.
“And parents are very important. There are many people who have online and online influences, but teenagers tell us their parents and their friends are very important – that’s mums and mothers.”
The Ambox model is built on four pillars of belief about what it means to be “Manly”: to always be strong; emotionally stoic; that one should be able to think of both mockery and mockery; and “heterosexism” – that masculinity is in opposition to homosexuality and femininity and anything “girly” or “gay”.
The study found that those who held stereotypical beliefs were more likely to get their ideas about masculinity online, and more than half said that pornography had a big influence on “their ideas about how to be a boy in the world”. They are more likely to see sexually explicit material and to view pornographic content that is compulsive.
“The pornography they’re watching is more likely to be violent and non-consensual: over 80% are watching pornography where girls or women are choked, kicked, punched, shoved, slapped, gagged, choked, or experiencing something that is non-consensual,” the study found.
“The more powerful adolescent boys hold views about masculinity, the more likely they are to harm others.”
But they are also injured by these factors. They are more likely to feel misunderstood, to feel alone, to have poor mental health, and to feel that life is against them.
And at the other end of the spectrum, those who most strongly endorse the “norms” are more likely to have healthy attitudes toward gender equality, and reject violence against women.
The majority of boys – 96% – thought girls should be treated as equals, even if their specific beliefs did not reflect that.
After the newsletter promotion
And, despite fearing about the influence of social media, the boys rated their family members as having the biggest influence on their ideas at 68%.
Friends, peers and colleagues reached 56%; Institutions including religion and sporting clubs in 48%, and media in 39%, including 22% for social injustices and 14% for pornography.
There is a striking difference between the proportion of boys who endorse the “rules” and girls.
Two or three times as many boys as girls agree with statements about the importance of being human, not talking about feelings, not having many friends, to suffer even if it is explained or humiliated.
Most girls recognize the pressure on boys to “act manly”, but don’t necessarily think they have to. For example, 62% of girls acknowledged there was an expectation for boys to be manly, but only between 8 and 15% agreed with the stereotypical “rules” of manliness, compared to 25 to 44% of boys.
In general, the report says, Everyone has a role to play in challenging the “norms”. “It does not fall to boys to challenge these expectations,” it found, and recommended stronger measures to prevent boys and care for sensitive topics of boys, and that the digital environment can be made safer.
“The crux of it on a basic human level is that anyone, but especially teenagers, longs to belong, for connection and a sense of purpose,” Tyler said.
“When [that sense] from these socially constructed structures related to gender, your life may not be that good. They are bad ideas on which to hang your identity. “