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SOCIAL ROLES OF BOYS AND GIRLS.
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Examines differentiation between the 2 genders formed by role of popular culture. Adverse effects on boys & girls of cultural stereotyping.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines differentiation between the 2 genders formed by role of popular culture. Adverse effects on boys & girls of cultural stereotyping.

Paper Introduction:
In our contemporary landscape, violence masquerading as the display of machismo and the relentless pursuit of beauty are celebrated. American boys and girls are constantly bombarded by a barrage of images that pressure them to fit into cultural stereotypes. While boys are mesmerized by the cold steel of modern weaponry in the gun culture, girls are dazzled by the vast array of fashion, beauty products, diet programs and plastic surgeries. The bottom line is that boys are judged by what they do and girls by how they look. This fundamental characteristic ultimately defines the crucial differentiation between the two genders and their social roles. According to the typical masculine stereotype, men are not allowed to display their weak emotions, such as sadness and fear. Consequently, with the passage of time, the long-term

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Therefore, they have to have perfect skin (Brumberg 61), perfectbreasts, arms and legs (Brumberg 98). Consequently, most boys drift away from their families and rely ontheir own perceptions of life culled from violent videogames, films andtheir peer groups (Garbarino 169). Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. For the boys, aggression is a vitaltool for them to achieve their objectives (Garbarino 81). Bypresenting women dressed in slinky outfits that expose body parts, such asarms and legs, films and fashion have heightened the pressure on women tohave hairless legs and arms and a svelte torso (Brumberg 98-99). On the other hand, girls are taught to hidetheir emotions. While prevalent cultural messages teach girls to hide their negativefeelings, boys are taught to display their emotions in acts of aggression -- the macho way (Garbarino 51-52). Thus, theyhave been deprived of learning about the personal experiences of olderwomen in meaningful exchanges between generations (Brumberg 54). In accordance with cultural dictates, boys and men are expected toact in a "masculine" fashion; women are expected to be the objects of themale gaze. Garbarino and Brumberg paint a vivid picture of the potency ofpopular culture in shaping the consciousness of the boys and girls today.With the erosion of parental influence and the disintegration oftraditional family units, young people today are seduced by thestereotypical images of masculinity and femininity presented by thecultural media. Young girls are being taughta vital lesson that their appearance is more important than anything else(Brumberg 55). In addition, mass culture, in the form of advertising, has taken overthe role of initiating young girls into their womanhood. Therefore, theylearn to depend on themselves (Garbarino 1 9). Furthermore, contemporary American culture has shifted away fromspiritual and moral anchors to materialism. The bottom line is that boys are judged by what they do andgirls by how they look. Terrence Real's I Don't Want to Talk About it, cited in Garbarino(117), documents clearly the connections between the cultural expectationsof masculinity and male behavior. Thetreatment of women as sexual objects by the popular media further endangersthe well-being of girls who become easy prey to aggressive men. Any signs of submissiveness in men invite humiliation andviolence against themselves. They also uphold gungho mottos such as "Livefree or die" (Garbarino 131). Consequently, withthe passage of time, the long-term suppression of these accumulatedemotions explodes into anger and aggression. In the liberated atmosphere ofwomen's rights and equality, girls have lost the protection of theirparents and the general community (Brumberg 185). Even though women are more sexually liberated today compared to theircounterparts in the past, they have also become more vulnerable to sexualviolation in our contemporary society. Consequently, boys are encouraged to externalize theiremotions by using weapons in violent acts against others. Young girls are no longer shelteredby the privileges of the "fairer" sex. In our contemporary landscape, violence masquerading as the displayof machismo and the relentless pursuit of beauty are celebrated. Assaulted constantly bythe reality that "women's bodies are used to sell everything" (Brumberg196), they are forced to be self-conscious about their appearance.Furthermore, deprived of the important knowledge of womanhood from theirmothers or other female predecessors, young girls, like their malecounterparts, rely upon the mass culture to form their perceptions abouttheir social roles. The pressures to be tough and strong pushmen and boys towards guns and other weapons because they can feel safe andpowerful (Garbarino 1 3, 117). Furthermore, parents today no longer exercise the greatest authorityover their children. Alienatedfrom the traditional moorings such as family and church, young girlssubstitute the cultivation of internal qualities for the external quest forbeauty (Brumberg 1 1). Through their actions of fittinggirls into fashionable bras, mothers and the general culture transformyoung girls into sexual beings before their time (Brumberg 118). The boys' perceptions oflife stem from their observations of an increasingly violent society:adults are no longer capable of protecting them from harm. New York: The Free Press, 1999. Americanboys and girls are constantly bombarded by a barrage of images thatpressure them to fit into cultural stereotypes. For them, their suppressed feelings are manifested in theobsession with their bodies. Their definition of masculinity followsthe cultural stereotype, where macho attitudes are flaunted and women areplaced in a position of dependence (Garbarino 169). Thus, they seek self-esteem in superficial andmaterialistic acquisitions. Violent boys are caught up in adrive to acquire possessions such as expensive clothes and jewelry, tofulfill their inner emptiness (Garbarino 157). in Garbarino111). When the internal significance of the woman's changing body isignored, girls learn to focus on the external aspects of their body. Through Garbarino's insightfulexamination of the emotional psyche and social background of violent boys,general perceptions of male social roles are revealed. Brumberg's bookprovides a historical perspective that illuminates how girls are trainedfrom the moment of puberty to pursue bodily perfection. While boys are mesmerizedby the cold steel of modern weaponry in the gun culture, girls are dazzledby the vast array of fashion, beauty products, diet programs and plasticsurgeries. For example, instead ofteaching their daughters the emotional and social implications of theirmenstruation, mothers simply introduce them to the different sanitaryproducts to control the blood flow (Brumberg 29). The serious underlying meaningof these events are lost in the flurry of superficial activities (Brumberg33). Contemporary culture, in the formof movies, video games, advertising, the Internet, and other media, plays apowerful role in defining distinctive social roles for boys and girls.Furthermore, with the waning of parental authority, peer groups and othermedia have come to exert tremendous influence over young boys and girls.Boys and girls today have a lost a vital foundation in spiritual values andinternal self-worth. Consequently, both girls and women expend tremendousenergy, time and money on diet regimens and beauty products to attain the"ideal" bodies of models and film stars. Most significantly,boys and men are not allowed to express their feelings, especially emotionsthat reveal their vulnerability and desire for connection (Garbarino 43).Not only do they become skilled at hiding their feelings from others, theyalso repress them to the degree that they are no longer consciously awareof them (Garbarino 42). Massadvertising also taps into the young girls' need to be accepted in theirpeer groups. This fundamental characteristic ultimately definesthe crucial differentiation between the two genders and their social roles. The materialistic contemporary American culture also plays a largepart in carving the identities of girls and women today. Works Cited.Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. First, young girls learn from theirmothers the standards of feminine beauty, as they are fitted with bras andintroduced to various beauty products. Using James Gabarino's Lost Boys and Joan Jacobs Brumberg's The BodyProject, the social roles of boys and girls will be explored within thelarger context of contemporary society. Ultimately, their emotions are converted into angerand externalized through violent action against others. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. Usually, boys externalizeanger and aggression through the use of weapons: they hit out at otherpeople and hurt themselves in suicidal acts. While they areencouraged to strive for the best, they are also taught that their bodiesplay an integral part in determining their lives. The moment they reach puberty, girls are made extremely conscious oftheir changing body shapes and bodily processes. Consumed with their "bodyprojects," women today identify themselves through their bodies becausethey are taught that their self-worth depends on their appearance (Brumberg97). According to psychologist Alan Kazdin,the likelihood that boys will exhibit a pattern of aggression is triple toquadruple that of girls (Garbarino 82). According to the typical masculine stereotype, men are not allowed todisplay their weak emotions, such as sadness and fear. To them,love and tenderness from their mothers are considered weak emotions, whichdo not protect them from the evils of society. Furthermore,putting on a mask of aggression protects them from victimization.Therefore, for many boys, hiding their feelings in the guise of aggressionenables them to survive in a social environment that bombards them withimages of masculinity from advertising, television and films (Garbarino 88-91). New York: Vintage, 1997.Garbarino, James. If I don't join a gang, I'm zero percent safe"" (qtd. In contrast, the emotionalcenter of girls revolves around their bodies. With increasing divorces and broken homes, manychildren are left alone at home (Garbarino 141) when single parents leaveto go to work. This important femalerite of passage becomes reduced to a trip to the mall where products suchas bras and sanitary products are purchased. They are exposed tosexual harassment and violation on a daily basis (Brumberg 188). Girls today face a conflicting set of realities. Their loss of trust in adultprotection leads them to join gangs: " "If I join a gang, I'm fifty percentsafe. In popularculture, the show of violence and aggression is an indicator of theirmasculinity. Young girlsacquire their knowledge about menstruation and sex from brochures andvideos presented in schools or via the mass media (Brumberg 53). For example in the fifties, an advertisement for a bra soldthe idea that girls using the bra were good-looking and had many friends(Brumberg 114). In fact, various groups in society seemingly conspire to cultivatewomen's obsession with their bodies. Both the books are invaluable studies on thedramatic impact of cultural stereotypes in defining the social roles ofboys and girls. Therefore, they internalizetheir feelings to the extent of developing eating disorders, such asanorexia and bulimia (Garbarino 163). Theconnection between menstruation and reproduction is relegated to the needto deal with the messiness of the blood flow. Especially in the case of boys, they need strong authorityfigures to guide them towards positive activities (Garbarino 56). Although boys and girls respond differently to their emotions, theyare affected by similar societal forces.

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