161-172 henslin, On becoming male

This chapter of down to earth talks about growing up as a male in today’s society. A lot of what this chapter talks about is something that I relate to on a daily basis. From when we are a little baby we are wrapped in a blue blanket to signify that we are a boy based on what genitalia we have. As a little kid I was given toys that were meant to be “for boys”. I had Dinosaurs, army toys, and race cars. They was given to me at an early age, I was morphed into liking them and I did. This article talks about how we are taught toxic masculinity at an early age. As men we suck up pain, we are taught to be less like girls and more like boys, we don’t cry, we don’t get scared or turn away from a fight and if we do we get called a sissy, pussy or faggot. I can’t tell you how many times over my life I’ve been called those names because I didn’t show off my alpha maleness. I’ve been made fun of for crying, I’ve had kids wanting to fight me. I’ve had to pretend that I wasn’t scared and I think that’s what I relate to most about this chapter because all boys are actors at some point. When we’re young, we have to prove to everyone else that we’re tough and we don’t care, we’re not afraid and all of that is just an act because we don’t want anyone to think of us as a “sissy”.