Gracie Miller: Gentleman or Beast

The double standard that “Gentleman or Beast” brings up, where men are expected to be forces of nature, yet passive and sensitive at the same time is interesting, and kind of disturbing.  Reading this article brought me back to the article we read on the hidden curriculum of schools.  In the previous article it was pointed out that little boys are told not to do things, but are not given a suitable action to replace their “bad” behavior with.  Likewise in this week’s article the contradictory standards that society holds boys to, is highlighted.  Such as the boxers who are acclaimed for being violent and aggressive, yet punished in another realm of society for the same behavior.  I am not condoning violent behavior by any means, just confused by the fact that the boundaries for men between what is expected and what is unacceptable seem to change in every situation they encounter.  Equally confusing was the notion conveyed in the article that girls are expected to control every encounter (or so it seems) between the two sexes.  When in every other aspect society dictates to girls (a majority of the time) that they are to yield to the will of men.  I find it curious that in general society gives the power to men in most cases, yet women the blame.  I found myself wondering where does all of this stem from really, the gender inequality or rather the differences in gender responsibility?  Also, I have a younger brother and when they described male behavior as “toxic” on page 239, I felt confused, for my brother is not a sexual deviant or a male supremacist, yet I know young men my age who do act deplorably as the article describes, and I wonder if they have sisters, what they think about them? 

            I was also interested in the article’s focus on the differing treatment between young boys and girls in regards to sexuality.  Young boys are looked at as sexual deviants, while girls are excused or even looked on as victims for the same behavior.  I feel that this is unjust, yet when the majority of sex offenders are men, it is not surprising that people react unfavorable towards young boys when they make sexual jokes towards little girls.  If one goes onto a website such as neighborhood watchdog and see the rampant amount of sex offenders in your own neighborhood then the demonization of little boys behavior is even more understandable.  For as one of the previous articles stated that the trouble with boys is that they must become men. 

            Finally, the point that the article made about society’s perception of men having “sex on the brain” peeked my interest.  While it is society’s wide perception that men think most of the time exclusively about sex, the article points out that this is not entirely a truism.  One of the reasons the article gave for young boys preoccupation with sexualized pictures of women is that they are forbidden.  I thought about the fact that when young people drink underage, the drinking seems much more appealing because it is forbidden.  I wonder if, as the article implies, that the scantily clad pictures of women are attractive to boys not because of their effects but because of the thrill of the forbidden?