“Being a boy is not a social disease.” – The War Against Boys
That’s what little boys are made of. Little girls, of course, are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Based on a popular nursery rhyme from the early 19th century, the author knew one thing, boys and girls are different. Equal, but different.
Yet, in modern times, the gender pendulum has clearly swung in the direction of girls. International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide every March 8, after it was established by the socialist and labor movements in the early 1900s. The feminists jumped on board in 1967; before the United Nations (UN) officially gave it its stamp of approval in 1977. In 2009, the Obama Administration created the White House Council on Women and Girls. Three years later, the International Day of the Girl Child, aka the Day of Girls, was also launched by the UN.
Boys, on the other hand, have received no equal recognition. The month of November serves as International Men’s Month, and on November 19, 1992, International Men’s Day began, although it is not yet recognized by the UN. On the flip side, International Boys Day began in 2018, but they can’t even get a Wiki page.
In an attempt to advance girls, schools have re-engineered education and unintentionally undermined boys. Girls are excelling while boys are being left behind. Educators, who began by creating a gender-free environment, have unintentionally removed everything that made boys boys, like physical education and competition, replacing them instead with a more nurturing atmosphere and passive activities. This feminization of schools has forced boys into new gender roles. Seeking to erase traditional stereotypes, these gender activists are treating boys and girls as if they are the same. But these missteps did not create the equality they imagined, it only made matters worse for all. Biological differences are natural and cannot be changed through coercion.
In this country and throughout the developed world, boys are more likely to get failing grades, drop out of school, or be expelled for a minor offense (like making a finger gun). They are more likely to suffer from ADHD and be numbed with Ritalin. In the US, male obesity is the highest anywhere in the world, with life expectancy lower than women from the time of birth and dropping. Since single motherhood now produces half of all births, and with divorce on the rise, an increasing number of fathers are missing in action.
Fatherlessness, and its significant effect on boys, cannot be ignored. In the 2018 book, “The Boy Crisis”, we learn that dad-involved sons have increased verbal development, fewer discipline problems, and higher IQs. When a dad is absent, their sons are more likely to suffer from depression, be bullied or be the bully, and commit suicide. Fatherless boys are more likely to become criminals, with a staggering 85 percent of juveniles in prison coming from homes without dads. Boys are also more likely to become addicted, whether it is drugs, gambling, video games, or eventually, porn.
The Women’s Movement has worked successfully to raise the profile of girls who have historically been overshadowed in many nations and cultures. The feminist movement, however, perceives any gains on behalf of boys as coming at the expense of their girls. Some feminists even view the demise of boys and men as a sort of payback for what they believe is decades of oppression, often making men scapegoats for their own failures. Anyone concerned with the downward plight of boys and men are siding with “them” rather than “us”. These misandric sentiments are becoming an obstacle to any meaningful change for boys and men.
In Christina Hoff Sommers's 2013 book, “The War Against Boys”, Sommers describes the increasing decline in the social and academic performance of boys following reforms implemented to help girls. These policies unknowingly created a hostile environment for the natural development of boys. Sommers details not only the regressive outcome of these policies but also the unintended consequences we invite by ignoring the problem. While other countries have responded to their own “boy crisis”, the United States remains apathetic.
There is an active bias against boys, not only in academic circles but in the general culture. Difficulties that boys face in adolescence are only magnified when they reach adulthood. Men are nearly half the world’s population and significant participants in the lives of women and girls. We ignore their distress, at our own peril. Boys Lives Matter!
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