http://kenan.ethics.duke.edu/teamkenan/girls-are-to-wrestling-as-boys-are-to-pink-nail-polish/ Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:09:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 http://kenan.ethics.duke.edu/teamkenan/girls-are-to-wrestling-as-boys-are-to-pink-nail-polish/#comment-50 Bethany Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:56:46 +0000 http://devilsdilemma.wordpress.com/?p=575#comment-50 I think it is also important for us to look at the far reaching effects of this strict enforcement of cultural gender norms for our society. Much is written on the effect of highly sexualized views of women which began affecting girls at ages as young as six or seven, when many girls get their first Barbie (probably the most ridiculous “body image” anyone could have). But, what about the boys? One of the reasons I think that as a society we fail to address gender issues and inequalities is that many assume its a one-way street that only affects young girls and women. They are woefully wrong. Not only does the way in which young boys are taught to perceive women have drastic effects for both women and men, but some of the gender roles that we thrust on young boys are hurting them just as much as the pressure to achieve “effortless perfection” is hurting girls. We only need to look at what the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education is reporting (that 34% of boys are in grades below their age, compared with 26% of girls and in 12th grade, only 28% of boys rate as proficient readers on federal tests, with girls at 44%) to see that boys aren’t prospering from our image of them as care-free, womanizing, jocks. This isn’t a one-way street and its an issue we should all be concerned about.

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