Gender Inequality Mutilates the Bodies and Spirits of Boys

A well written article by Laurie A. Couture, here. Excerpt:

'Our society has been silent, apathetic and cruel for too long about how our boys are treated, ignored and harmed. As a mental health professional who has worked with youth and families for close to two decades, I am on the front lines watching the spirits, minds and hearts of youth weep, tremble and rage with pain from schools, families and a society disconnected from their needs. However, while girls are embraced with incessant cultural messages of empowerment, “girl power” and support, boys must face a constant barrage of shaming, pathologizing, mockery and punishment for their maleness. Their needs, pain and suffering are simply denied existence. Not only is this pathologizing and shunning of boys happening in the media, it is happening in the fields of education, mental health, human services, the law and in the global social justice efforts that shape the world’s perceptions of gender.
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Like their sisters in our society, all boys should be able to experience such a loving “embrace” of awareness, validation, support and empowerment for what they endure, especially when their very natural behavioral and emotional clues indicate to us a problem. However, far too many raging, aggressive, hyperactive and violent boys are labeled as “behavioral problems” rather than as victims of abuse or neglect. The pathology is not the behavioral and emotional reactions of boys; the pathology is our society and how its views and treats boys and maleness. Where are the advocates for boys?'