Sunday, November 6, 2011

Boys being punished for "being boys"?


Text:
"Does your son act too much like a little boy?"
"Is he fidgety and rambuctious?" 
"Does he have trouble listening or have a puerile sense of humor?"
"Is he easily distracted?"
"Does he have a propensity to get dirty?"
"Does he enjoy playing with violent toys?"
"If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then it might be time to medicate your son. Even if he doesn't have ADD or ADHD, you'll most certainly agree that he's annoying. Well, now you can curb the boyish tendencies in your son and make him almost [unrecognizable word] in the process. E-MASQL8 Plus has been clinically proven to reduce in boys all signs of unwanted boyishness. You'll never have to deal with snips, snails or puppy-dog tails again".

"E-MASQL8 Plus; A Cure for the Common Boy"


This picture/ advertisement is clearly a parody, pointing out the over medication of youth because a lot of the time the behavior is seen as "inconvenient" whether it's in school, in social situations or at home. This faux ad really stuck out to me because it recognizes all of the traits we usually attribute to masculinity or burgeoning boys in how they're supposed to be, and yet we suppress that a lot of the times and try and shut it down after we spend so much time and energy reinforcing those behaviors, or rather punishing boys who do not have those behaviors. 
It's really funny to me how our society can be so centered around making sure boys display proper amounts of masculinity throughout their development but we don't know why these negative tendencies come out of such traits. 
Medicating it is not the answer. Clearly. This ad not only touches on the over medication of youth but also the ignorance of our society to notice the habits we perpetually reinforce and their direct consequences. "Masculinity" doesn't just come out of nowhere.

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