Childhood experiences shape our understanding of masculinity from "summary" of How Not To Be a Boy by Robert Webb
As boys, we start learning how to be boys long before we're aware of it. We don't learn it from books or classes - we learn it from the world around us. Our families, our friends, our teachers, our TV shows, our movies. They all teach us what it means to be a boy, and what it means to be a man. For most boys, this means learning that boys don't cry. Boys don't show their emotions. Boys are tough, strong, and independent. Boys don't ask for help. Boys don't need help. Boys are supposed to figure things out on their own. And if they can't, then they're not real boys. They're weak. They're failures. These lessons start early. They start in childhood, when we're still trying to make sense of the world around us. And they stay with us, shaping our understanding of masculinity for the rest of our lives. We carry them with us into adulthood, into our relationships, into our careers. We carry them with us even when we know, deep down, that they're wrong. But unlearning these lessons is hard. It's hard to let go of something that's been a part of us for so long. It's hard to admit that we've been wrong, that we've hurt ourselves and others by trying to live up to an impossible ideal of masculinity. But it's necessary. It's necessary for our own well-being, and for the well-being of those around us. It's necessary if we want to be happy, healthy, and whole. And it's necessary if we want to create a world where boys can be themselves, where boys can cry, where boys can ask for help, where boys can be vulnerable. So let's start unlearning. Let's start questioning. Let's start challenging the toxic messages we've received about masculinity. Let's start redefining what it means to be a boy, what it means to be a man. Let's start embracing our emotions, our vulnerabilities, our humanity. Let's start being the kind of men we wish we had when we were boys.
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