Upon searching for images pertaining to masculinity on different search engines, I stumbled across the attached photo. At first glance, it certainly seems like a harmless image of a father and son bonding, likely in a situation where the son is mimicking the dad as kids often do. But the longer I examined the image, the more it bothered me. Perhaps I am just fundamentally anti-gendering children, or at least projecting gender roles and ideals upon them. But something about equating manliness with muscle mass is outright problematic. I feel strongly that alluding to this idea of brute force aligning with manhood is the root of violence against women, and people in general. By encouraging young boys to flex their muscles, toughen up, and not ‘act like a girl,’ we instill in their young, impressionable minds that a) they must be muscled, strong, ferocious creatures to be real men, and b) that women and/or anyone who does not fit their idea of masculinity should be seen as inherently less valuable. Parents will continue to bring their children up in whatever which way seems appropriate to them, but I do hope individuals will also focus on compassion training and emotional coaching with their kids. Crying, failing, getting hurt, and so on are all part of the human experience, and young boys should not be enforced to tiptoe around those facets of life.
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